Way back in 2016, I started this yearly Halloween Reading tradition by performing "The Repairer of Reputations" by Robert W. Chambers, the first story from The King in Yellow. Now, all of these years later, I bring you the final of the four horror stories that open that book.

An aloof painter has a grudge against a nightwatchman at the church across from his studio, a strange man who disturbs anyone who sees him or interacts with him. This includes his favorite model, Tessie. As he learns more about his and Tessie's dream regarding the man, they discover that they've long been doomed by the Yellow Sign and the grim omens it portends.

Music used: "Varklärte Nacht, Op. 4 - Boulez" by Aldan Schoenberg, and "An Ending (Ascent)" by Brian Eno.

Other Halloween Readings:

• "The Repairer of Reputations" by Robert W. Chambers

• "This Band Could Be Your Life" by Gary Butterfield

• "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

• "The Mask" by Robert W. Chambers

• "The Tower" by Marghanita Laski

• "The Prodigy of Dreams" by Thomas Ligotti

• "In the Court of the Dragon" by Robert W. Chambers

• "In the Penal Colony" by Franz Kafka

• "Shiva Open Your Eye" by Laird Barron