Just two days left for me to squeeze in Halloween posts!
THE KING IN YELLOW (1895) – Having mentioned this book in passing when I reviewed the Phantasm film franchise, I decided to repost this item from October 16th, 2012.
THE KING IN YELLOW
If you’re like me you’re sick to death of the flood of vampire and zombie stories in recent decades. It’s gotten unbelievably monotonous. When it comes to Goths in particular you just want to shake them and scream “There’s more to Gothic horror than just vampires!”
In that spirit and in keeping with my blog’s overall theme here’s a look at an 1895 work of Gothic horror that is among my favorite Halloween reading material, The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers. This unjustly neglected book was praised by H.P. Lovecraft himself and has been called America’s most influential volume of horror between Poe and the moderns.
The King in Yellow is a collection of short stories in which a published but unperformed play, also titled The King in Yellow, brings madness and death to anyone who reads it. Daring to peruse the pages of this damnable drama also makes the reader susceptible to attacks from the sinister minions of the eponymous King, who rules over his own private Hell like Freddy Krueger rules over the Dream Dimension. Here, then, are the tales that make up the King in Yellow cycle. Continue reading
MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN Vol 1 #1 (Jan 1973) 
That chunk is brought on board Walton’s vessel and stored in the hold. While the captain relates to a crew member the tale told to his ancestor about the monster’s creation and history, the rest of the crew plot a mutiny over being kept in the frozen north for so long just to recover a monstrous corpse.
GHOST RIDER – Daredevil biker Johnny Blaze makes a deal with the devil: Johnny’s soul in exchange for Satan curing the cancer in the body of Blaze’s mentor “Crash” Simpson. We all know how deals with the devil go, and not only does Crash die anyway, but Johnny Blaze is cursed to periodically transform into the flame-headed monster called Ghost Rider.
THE WERE-WOLF (1896) – By Clemence Annie Housman. Halloween month continues at Balladeer’s Blog! This neglected story features a female author writing about a FEMALE WEREWOLF so that makes it a bit special right there.
This weekend’s light-hearted, escapist superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at Cassie Hack, the horror superheroine who battles a long line of slashers as stylishly as Buffy fought vampires. 
HACK/ SLASH Vol 1 #1 (Apr 2004) 
Readers are now dropped into the main story, set years later when Cassie Hack has established herself as a roving heroine who battles living and undead slashers alongside her African American sidekick – the hulking, gasmask-wearing Vlad. He views Cassie like a daughter and wields meat cleavers and butcher’s knives in battle. 
MAN-SIZE IN MARBLE (1887) – One of the iconic Edith Nesbit’s short horror stories. This was first published in the December of 1887 issue of the magazine Home Chimes. Nesbit later included it in her collection of short stories titled Grim Tales (1893). For modern readers – and possibly Victorian Age readers, too – it’s always clear where the story is headed but it’s still worth checking out. 
DEFENDERS Vol 1 #17 (Nov 1974) 
THE DAY OF RESIS (1897) – This sci-fi novel was written by Lillian Francis Mentor. The main character is Enola Cameron, a strong-willed 20-year-old American woman from a well to do family. She purchases a very old goatskin document describing a hidden African kingdom called On. 
The participants consist of her lady friends, mixed male and female relatives and Henry, who is in love with her. In a gross element common to a lot of stories back then, he is also her cousin. Enola boldly leads the expedition to Africa and a march to the interior.
Balladeer's Blog 