Balladeer’s Blog resumes its examination of the macabre 1868 French language work The Songs of Maldoror.
THE MIDNIGHT OMNIBUS
Midnight strikes in Paris. An eerie double-decker horse-drawn omnibus bursts forth from the ground and begins making its way through the nearly empty, night-darkened streets.
A few late night wayfarers regard the unusual omnibus with a shudder as it goes by. The vehicle carries the full passenger load of twenty-four but all of the travelers on the upper deck appear to be lifeless corpses leaned against each other.
The top-hatted driver looks like another corpse, and the whip he uses to urge on his horses seems more alive than he is. That whip appears to be what animates the arm of the otherwise lifeless driver, not the other way around. Even the passengers on the inner deck remain mute and still and are likewise as pale as ghosts. Continue reading
Fifth Canto, Stanza 1: BETWEEN YOUR LITERATURE AND MINE – Maldoror goes meta, addressing the reader directly for daring to condemn him while still continuing to read about his nightmarish activities. He recommends a recipe for preparing the flesh of one’s mother after killing her, and otherwise seems to presage many modern-day serial killers. CLICK 
Fourth Canto, Stanza 1: PRELUDE TO A PRIVATE ARMAGEDDON – At Dendera in Egypt Maldoror recalls his past visits to the city and foresees a future day when he will battle all of the Earth’s armies in that same location. CLICK 
Third Canto, Stanza 1: THE MYSTERIOUS RIDERS – The enigmatic monster Maldoror and his lover Mario (another supernatural being) terrorize humanity, mate in space and encounter unspeakable creatures beneath the sea. CLICK 
I am always glad to interact with readers of Balladeer’s Blog! Many of you have been asking for a guide to my examination of the surreal horrors in The Songs of Maldoror. Readers asked for it to be the same format I used for the Navajo epic myth about the war god Nayanazgeni battling the dark gods called the Anaye. 
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