The King in Yellow

Night 12
The King in Yellow (1895) By: Robert W. Chambers

The first four tales feature the manuscript, the sign, and the specter of the titular character.

The Repairer of Reputations 7.5/10
America is in a state of peace. Living in the security of a militarized state, it has legalized suicide. However, a manuscript threatens the sanity of Hildred Castainge. Hildred, recently released from a mental institution after a fall from his horse, tries to cope with his life.

A bizarre story, which sets up the universe for the King in Yellow stories. Chamber's alternate history is as curious as it is unsettling. For all its pronouncements of peace, it shows a zealously militaristic and nationalistic U.S. Our unreliable narrator may be to blame as he interacts with the repairer of reputations. A great start to the set.

The Mask 7.5/10
Boris shows his friend Alec his new method of instant fossilization when he creates a stone lily. The friends are sculptors finishing up pieces for a show. Alec recently admitted his love to Genevieve, but was rejected in favor of Boris. The friends made up, but something is still nagging at the trio.

This one had a few twists and turns. It is not a standard love story, nor does Chambers fall into the trap of repeating his initial story. The King in Yellow elements make a very minor but significant appearance in this tale.

The Court of the Dragon 7/10
A man sits in church distracted by the sound of the great organ that is interrupting the lovely service.The narrator has found his mind filled with hateful thoughts since he read The King in Yellow. As the organist leaves the man feels relaxed, but soon he sees the organist leaving, yes again, as the man sinisterly glares at him.

Another profoundly weird tale and the only appearance of the legendary King in Yellow. Though strange, this tale is a simple one. The key points are the atmosphere it builds and the harrowing final line.

The Yellow Sign 6/10
An artist paints his model when he notices an obese man outside. He returns to his painting and finds it tinged with a sickly green tint. The more he tries to remove it, the more it spreads. Finally, he gives up on the painting and his model tells him of a strange dream she had where he lay in a coffin drawn by the fat man.

The yellow sign has some great imagery, but the story is similar to The Repairer of Reputations. The affects of the King in Yellow manuscript and the Yellow sign are both more oblique and more abrupt, leaving the ending more jarring than the previous stories.

The stories after this one aren't really horror stories.

The Demoiselle of d'Ys 7/10
A man falls asleep among some forgotten moors. He awakens to find a woman reacquiring her falcon and its prey. He asks her if there's a way out and she suggests that it takes longer to get out than get in. He decides to return to her estate and meets her anachronistic household.

The description of falconry lends realism to the world and the pride the woman has for it tells a lot about her. This tale is likely not for everyone and the ending is a bit cliche, though it does provide solid characters and a look back to a simpler time.

The Prophet's Paradise 6/10
Several mini-stories that mirror lines and tell a sort-of story. This is why I don't review poems. This is an interesting experiment that succeeds in being weird, but doesn't quite make it to creepy.

The Street of the Four Winds 7/10
A cat wanders into an old man's shop, so he pets her. As he pets her, he notices a garter around her neck and begins thinking about the woman to who must must belong. This one is pleasantly macabre with just the right feeling of tenderness.

The Street of the First Shell 6/10
People struggle with their lives amid war-torn Paris streets. A secret emerges between two lovers that threatens to tear them apart. An okay story that is very Parisian. There is some gorgeous imagery. The last three stories are based on Chambers' experiences in Paris as a young man.

The Street of Our Lady of the Fields 6/10
A Parisian man introduces his American friend to the lovely Valentine. They hit it off, but there remains something barring their relationship. An incredibly French tale of romance and complications.

Rue Barree 6/10
A young American abroad hears about a gorgeous girl  that all the guys are in love with. He forgets about her until he notices a beautiful woman on the street. Another classic tale of love abroad that has been told many times and many ways. This version is good with beautiful description as is typical of these tales.

Overall
If you're just looking for something scary, stop at the first three tales. However, if you like the style and want to read something different by Chambers, check out the whole collection. The transition between horror and more grounded fare can be a bit jarring, even with the transition pieces in the middle. Be sure to read at least the King in Yellow stories if you're a horror fan.
7/10

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More Ghost Stories

Night 4
More Ghost Stories [of an Antiquary] (1911) By: M.R. James

After last year's mostly pleasant Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, it is time for M.R. James' second set.

"A School Story" 7/10
A teacher asks his students to write down a Latin phrase. When he collects them he finds that one of the students has written down something disturbing.

Even though this one has a bit of a standard horror progression, provides solid thrills and ruminates on how ghost stories are spread. The story is told mostly in Gatsby-esque style by the best friend of the creepy student. Unlike The Lost Stradivarius, the point of view and frame story allow just enough to be seen to not spoil elements of the story.

"The Rose Garden" 4/10
A woman is having trouble when a post is discovered in her garden. She soon finds that it has lead to people having visions of being put on trial for their lives.

This story is the first of this set to mistake trials for being scary. Mastigophobiacs beware, I guess. That's the fear of being punished, which is the closest I could come to finding someone to be afraid of this, perhaps it was more common back then. This one achieves strange, but doesn't make it even close to scary.

"The Tractate Middoth" 7.5/10
A man stumbles into a library searching for a book. The clerk apologies and says an old man checked it out earlier, but it should be back the next day. The following day, when the young man goes to check for the book, sees the old man close up and faints of fright.

Half horror and half drama, this story manages both well. The young clerk is drawn into a feud between siblings and that plot builds to a race to the finish with a horrific end to the tale.

"Casting the Runes" 7/10
A man rejects the paper proposal of an old alchemist. He thinks nothing of it until he learns of the death of another man. Soon the man notices some strange things happening around him.

A dash of horror and a bit of adventure combine to make this tale rather entertaining. Most horror stories involve unstobable forces as this one does, but it proves just how fickle they can be.

"The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral" 6/10
A man runs across the obituary of an old Archdeacon, which strikes him as odd. Later, at his job, he finds of the diary of the Archdeacon and learns of the strange occurrences surrounding some engravings he recieves.

While there are some great moments, the atmosphere of this tale just doesn't hold up. The archdeacon's death is 'spooky' in all the wrong ways.

"Martin's Close" 4/10
A section of land is brought to the attention of a man. He goes around asking about its namesake and hears the tale of the trial of George Martin, the murderer who's buried there.

Another one for the mastigophobiacs. The trial is too formal to provide any atmosphere and the scares on their own are middling at best. This is the tale of a douche who got what was coming to him.

"Mr. Humphries and his Inheritance" 5.5/10
Mr. Humphires inherits an estate from his dead uncle. He soon finds an old maze on the property that his uncle had locked up. Is there more to the maze than it seems?

Close, but not quite enough. After an eternity of uninteresting build up and an almost good turnaround, this story just end on what probably should have been the middle. Mazes are awesome and, unlike trials, are actually scary; however, this story is left with only a few good ideas and a lot of dull characters and action.

Overall
More Ghost Stories continues in the style of the first, though the successes are due more to clever genre mixing than straight horror. In fact, most of these stories have only elements of horror. Read the best of them if you enjoyed the first set.
7/10

Read it for free on Project Gutenberg and on Kindle!

Doctor Who Short Trips Vol. 1

Merry Christmas Eve! Big Finish's Short Trips is a series of short stories read mostly by Doctor Who actors. Each volume contains one story for each of the first eight Doctors.

Rise and Fall (2010) By: George Mann, Read by: William Russell
The First Doctor and Ian Chesterton land on an idyllic planet and view strange faces blinking in and out of existence. This is a nice little mood piece that gives not only a sense of the First Doctor's stories, but of science fiction during the sixties in general. New listeners should be fine with understanding this after just the first episode of the classic Doctor era. 7/10

A Stain of Red in the Sand (2010) By: David A McEwan, Read by: David Troughton
A woman lives in a run down building at the edge of a desert overseen by the strange insectoid caretakers. This is a strange alien world tale with a lot of bizarre and abstract ideas that aren't really explored. This short story is less of a story and more of a character witnessing the Doctor's actions without being involved. Really strange, but worth a listen. 6/10

A True Gentleman (2010) By: Jamie Hailstone, Read by: Katy Manning
A strange yet kindly visitor always rents a boy's father's cabin in the summer. One day the boy is walking home and he gets a flat tire. His father allows him to go with the strange man and he winds up in the middle of an interstellar conflict. This story is short, simple and to the point. Not the most original tale, but certainly enjoyable and fun. 7/10

Death-Dealer (2010) By: Damian Sawyer, Read by: Louise Jameson
Leela and the Fourth Doctor are in an alien marketplace and he is trying to teach her the concept of currency. Leela spots a knife and decides to purchase it when the Doctor gets distracted. Unfortunately she gets more than she bargains for. This is the best story in the collection. It manages to hit all the best Doctor Who notes while not stretching itself too thin. 8/10

The Deep (2010) By: Ally Kennen, Read by: Peter Davison
Nyssa has fixed the TARDIS' chameleon circuit and the Fifth Doctor decides to test it out. He decides to land where there couldn't possibly be a police box around to replicate: the middle of the ocean. This is a fun and peril filled tale that highlights the more pacifist Fifth Doctor and gives Nyssa a chance to shine. 7/10

The Wings of a Butterfly (2010) Written and Read by: Colin Baker
The Sixth Doctor is summoned by one of his old professors on Galifrey. The teacher wants to know why an advanced and peaceful civilization has wiped itself out. Both written and read by the Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, himself, this is a great Sixth Doctor tale. It is a bit wonky, but it delves into some of the more "timey wimey" stuff. 7.5/10

Police and Shreeves (2010) By: Adam Smith, Read by Sophie Aldred
A young shopkeeper has a secret. She is an alien known as a Shreeve who feeds on electricity. Unfortunately she's gotten herself mixed up with the wrong people and its up to the Seventh Doctor and Ace to help. A nice slice of life that feels like it jumped right out of the better parts of eighties Doctor Who. 7/10

Running Out of Time (2010) By: Dorothy Koomson, Read by India Fisher
A man knows when people are after him. He awakened years ago with no memories of his past. Now they've found him again, but this time a man has come to help him remember: the Eighth Doctor. Okay, I may be being a bit harsh on this one, but it has a weird mix of espionage, fantasy and science fiction that didn't quite come together. 5.5/10

This is not for Doctor Who newbies, but is an excellent listen for classic series fans. Each story provides a great taste of the first eight Doctors and even conatins a feel for their era.
Buy it here from Big Finish!

The Dunwich Horror and Others

Night 10
The Dunwich Horror and Others (1920-1935) By: H.P. Lovecraft

Another short story collection with over 13 tales by itself, though I can't recommend reading them all at once.

In the Vault (1925) 5/10
A slothful undertaker takes his time burying bodies. One day he gets trapped in a crypt and some of the dead are unhappy with his shortcuts.

This one had great potential to be a creepy tale, but the delivery was very confusing. It shifts between talking about the present and the past too much.

Pickman's Model (1926) 4.5/10
An artist creates terrifying and otherworldly images, but how does he think them up.

I think the big problem with this one was that he describes a lot of pictures, but without really being able to see them I think it loses the horror. Also, the ending was predictable.

The Rats in the Walls (1923) 7.5/10
A man reacquires his ancestral home and begins renovating it. He has heard of his family's black history, but feels he can move past that. However, there are still some old secrets hidden in his house.

This one was recommended by a friend and I thought it was pretty good. The build was excellent. slowly providing doubts and building a mythos about the estate and the family. I only wish the ending had been less abrupt.

The Outsider (1921) 8/10
A man is locked in a tower and cannot recall ever seeing the sun. He goes in search for it and encounters the outside. He soon learns why he was locked in the tower.

The Outsider is a cool reversal of the typical person encounters what is beyond. The ending may be predictable, but it is one of Lovecraft's most interesting tales.

The Colour out of Space (1927) 6/10
A meteorite lands in a farm and slowly infects the surrounding countryside even the family who live there.

This one was creepy, but I thought it took to long to build to its climax and then dwelt too long on the horrors that occurred.

The Music of Erich Zann (1921) 7/10
A man arrives at a new town and takes a cheap apartment. He hears some strange yet beautiful misc coming from an apartment nearby. He goes up and meets a strange little man and asks him to continue playing. The man plays on, but it isn't the same music as before.

This one could have fallen into the trap of Pickman's Model with us not being able to hear the music. However, it actually worked quite effectively in making me really want to hear this maddening music from the man upstairs.

The Haunter of the Dark (1935) 7/10
A writer moves into a new house and notices the beautiful skyline of the city and in it a mysteriously enticing church. He decides he must find it.

This one has a nice journey and exploration story. The main problem with this is that the ending once again gets a bit long.

The Picture in the House (1920) 7/10
A man seeks shelter from a storm in a seemingly abandoned hut and encounters a rare book. After looking through it a strange old man comes down from the second floor. He points out a picture that fascinates him.

This one is actually too short. The man's fascination is really disturbing and full of some great and gruesome imagery. When Lovecraft steps away from his expansive mythos, he creates some really effective true horror.

The Call of Cthulhu (1926) 7.5/10
It features an anthropologist trying to piece together information on a newly discovered cult and slowly coming to realize that their god may actually exist. 

One of the longer tales and perhaps the most famous. Excellent tale in three parts piquing the horror and leaving the reader with an ominous ending.

The Dunwich Horror (1928) 6/10
This details the history of the area and of the Whateley family in Dunwich and of the Dunwich Horror, which causes everyone to avoid the rustic town. It details the preparations of Wilbur Whateley to raise an elder god.

This one is really long and that hurts the rising tension the most. The best part about it is that it fleshes out H.P. Lovecraft's universe. We get to see how people view the insane events with reverence and horrors.

Cool Air (1926) 6/10
A man moves into a new apartment and meets the mad scientist upstairs. Through several conversations he learns the doctor is obsessed with staying cold. One day his refrigeration unit dies and we learn the true reason for his obsession.

The story is enjoyable until the abrupt ending. With a little more of the doctor's fit at the end, this one could have been on of the best.

The Whisperer in Darkness (1930) 5/10
A man becomes embroiled in a controversy over the existence of extraterrestrials. He corresponds with the man and gains a respect for him. He learns of mysterious assaults on the man's property and is soon drawn to the farm to try and collect some proof.

This one was definitely too long. The suspense built in chapters 2-4 is long dead by the time we get to the house in chapters 7-8. This is a good one if you like the universe HP Lovecraft built as it expands it into space with the introduction of the Mi-go.

The Terrible Old Man (1920) 4/10
Some men decide to steal from a crazy old man. Bad idea.

This one was too short and, aside from some creepy hobbies, offers little in the way of horror. We don't even really get a description of what happened.

The Thing on the Doorstep (1933) 7/10
A man marries the strange girl from another country. He begins having more and more issues with their marriage and soon has random times when he disappears. 

The ending was a little predictable, but the end got me. It was about the right length for one of Lovecraft's longer stories, but could of used some editing in the middle section. This would have been more compelling if we'd gotten to see some of the details of Asenath and Edward's relationship.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth (1931) 7.5/10
Sections I and II relate Robert Olmstead's reasons and journey to Innsmouth. Section III gets a bit more interesting with a description of the city's history, though told through the town drunk named Zadok Allen's annoying accent. The fourth chapter becomes much better with a description of his harrowing escape from Innsmouth. The final section details a curious nagging idea in the Robert's mind and has a really creepy twist ending. This one had a slow start that might have been fascinating had I not read 14 other Lovecraft stories prior to this.

The Shadow Out of Time (1935) 5/10
A man went insane for five years and lost his family and career.Once cured, he tries to find out why his life went so bad and learns a terrifying truth about his experience.

This is an outline for an alien race more than a story. It has some interesting science fiction concepts mixed together, but it doesn't scare. It can be creepy, but a lot of the information just kept being repeated with better descriptions. Especially at the end of a long string of Lovecraft, it is just redundant.

Overall
The problem with Lovecraft is that his writing his very similar and he tends to explore three emotions: fear, paranoia, and doubt. While he often does this effectively, it can get a bit old after sixteen stories. He's best read one or two at a time over a long period. 
his best stories are those that step out of his comfort zone: stranger goes to weird place and is driven insane. He is still worth reading. You can find all his stories free on various websites. I chose these because they are all from the same published collection. So read them here.
7/10

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary

Night 7
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904)
By: M.R. James

A collection of supernatural short stories.

"Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book" 3/10
A gentleman goes to an old abbey and notices a book that he'd like to get. In the back are pictures of a hideous hairy creature. He hears strange sounds and his host doesn't like him to be alone. He buys the book and heads out to face the unknown dangers.

This might be a little harsh, but I don't think anything happened in this story. The end is anticlimactic. The story is written vaguely. It is badly dated since I can't imagine many people frequently head out to old abbeys to buy books these days. Skip this dull tale.

"Lost Hearts" 7/10
A boy, Stephen, goes to stay with his uncle and is warmly welcomed by him. The landlady tells him of a gypsy girl and an Italian boy who stayed there before, but ran off. He has a strange dream in the night of a frail corpse being in the upstairs bath..

This tale had a great build. Most people can relate to a child having to spend at least some time with a distant relative. The description in this story is much better and brings the town of Lincolnshire and the old house to life. There are more than just a few vague creepy events and it is more real and relatable. The end is both interesting and chilling.

"The Mezzotint" 5/10
A scholar acquires an old print of a house that seems to change over time. Soon a creature appears crawling toward the house.

A mezzotint is an early style of printing. M.R. James has a thing with old men acquiring strange old pictures. This story was better than the first, but not great. There is a cool creepy story about watching this picture do strange things. The problem is that the end is boring. Nothing happens.

"The Ash-tree" 7.5/10
A man reports a local woman for witchcraft because she has been cutting pieces off an ash tree near his house. Whenever he has tried to confront her, she has vanished and all he sees is a white rabbit fleeing from the scene. The witch disappears before being burnt, and, later, he is found blackened and shriveled in his room.

The ash-tree is the kind of of witch story that causes one to ruminate on its subject. It makes some interesting suppositions about the witch trials and doesn't really focus on them. We have a series of mysterious events and then a surprisingly creepy twisted ending.

"Number 13" 6/10
A man arrives in Denmark and stays at one of the older hotels in room 14. He notices that room 13 is absent, but later that night he almost enters a room 13. He also notices his room is smaller and has less windows. During the day the room isn't there. Then he hears a voice start singing.

This story had an excellent build with suspenseful and interesting scary moments. The problem is that we get sections of the narrator talking about the religious text and then they become part of a dud of an ending. This ends much the same as "Scrap Book" and "Messotint" do.

"Count Magnus" 6/10
An Englishman comes to Denmark to study the ancient Norse families. He encounters some gruesome paintings in the home of the family he's staying in, especially one of Count Magnus. While reading in the library he comes across an unfinished note by the Count describing how to obtain immortality. He begins to question if the Count is still alive.

This one is a little predictable, but pretty good. A nice build-up with some suspense and shifty characters. He shies away from the ending again which is disappointing.

"'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" 7/10
An old professor heads to a lonely cottage near a golf resort and some ruins. On a walk he decides to check out the ruins and finds a whistle. He returns to his room and blows it once. Nothing happens. When he blows it a second time, a massive and forceful wind whips up. After closing it he has a waking dream about a figure being chased by a large white form. When he awakens the next morning he finds the spare bed in his room has been slept in.

Not quite as good as "Lost Hearts" or "Ash-tree," but interesting and creepy in its own way. We actually get to know the professor pretty well and we get some nice descriptions of the beach. The thing he summons is a creepy, but it could have done more than it does. Not bad though.

"The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" 5/10
 A man is researching Abbot Thomas in an abbey and begins to notice the same three unrelated biblical figures (Job Patriarcha, Johannes Evangelista, and Zacharias Propheta) appearing around in various things. This leads him on a treasure hunt, but what is the treasure and should it be found?

This tale is more of a proto-Lovecraftian treasure hunt mystery than a ghost story. Ninety percent of it is unraveling the mysterious code in the abbey. I might have enjoyed this more if I understood more about biblical figures. This tale is disturbing, but I don't think it makes it to scary. It would be a Lovecraft tale with a little more obsession and if the story had actually explained more about its ending.

Overall
I actually put this one on here in hope of some ghosts. I suppose there was one in whistle, but it really had variety: monsters, warlocks, witches, giant spiders, curses, ghosts, demons (?) and possibly a vampire. This is another short set that has some lacking stories, but a few good ones. I think this has enough interesting stuff in it that I'd recommend it to someone looking for some good old fashioned creepy stories.
7/10 (Yeah, I don't care about math)

Free at Project Gutenberg and on Kindle of course!