Drabblecast 291 – The Lurking Fear

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

Feature: The Lurking Fear by H.P. Lovecraft
No drabble for this episode.
Genres: Horror



Tuesday, August 6th, 2013
There was thunder in the air on the night I went to the deserted mansion atop Tempest Mountain to find the lurking fear. I was not alone, for foolhardiness was not then mixed with that love of the grotesque and the terrible which has made my career a series of quests for strange horrors in literature and in life. With me were two faithful and muscular men for whom I had sent when the time came; men long associated with me in my ghastly explorations because of their peculiar fitness.

Episode Art: Gabo Vitollo
Poem: The Fungi from Yuggoth   by H.P. Lovecraft

Twabble: “ They say, "Write about what you know." So she heeded the advice, and had an excellent career writing rejection notices. ” by Tom Baker

[Polecat]

I mentioned last year during HPL Month that I was looking for a nice clean copy of the Necronomicon; the response has been, to say the least, disappointing. Has no one got a copy to spare?
IMHO it is impossible to comment sanely on any of Lovecraft's works, so I will drivel inanely...
It struck me that if one were to swap the first letters of the title it would then read "The furking lear", which is a delightful concept.
Whilst listening to the narration, I was suddenly paralyzed by the terrifying and depraved realization that H.P. (Lovecraft, not the Sauce) had inflicted upon the world a neologeous and insidious literary device hitherto unknown to mankind, how happy we were before this knowledge polluted our innocent brains, that of Alliterrhoe.

With apologies

The Polecat

[strawman]

how happy we were before this knowledge polluted our innocent brains, that of Alliterrhoe.

Would this be the promiscuous use of alliteration?

Hmm. Gerard Manley Hopkins predated HPL, writing this purple poetry in 1877

"I caught this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy!"

HPL simply emulated Hopkins et al to evoke the dark side. But I grant your point about how that pollutes our innocent brains. I for one am much less innocent than I was when HPL first started allitering.

[Polecat]

Would this be the promiscuous use of alliteration?

More an uncontrolled flow, requiring a more or less continuous intake of adjectives to avoid the danger of delogofication.

Interesting that you should mention Gerard Manley Hopkins, I was thinking of him only the other day - why is he called "Manley"? I can understand such soubriquets when applied to, say, the likes of Eddie Cleanhead Vinson or Eddie Lockjaw Davis, they doubtless did have, respectively, a clean head and a locked jaw ( I do not believe rumours I have heard that Mr. Davis suffered from tetanus, that would not be in keeping with his stature as a saxophonist and blocker of the microphone at Mintons Playhouse). But to refer to this verbose rhymesmith as "Manley"??? my brain reels, and I am tempted to suggest that in future we refer to him as Gerard Effete Hopkins, although I mean him no disrespect; I'm sure he tried his best and probably the Jesuits are behind it. Also, why is "Manley" misspelled? there is no E in manly. Possibly, given Mr. Hopkins literary proclivities, it is a device, much like the title of McKinley Morganfield's "Manish Boy Blues", which employs a similar bastardisation of the english language.

As it happens, I caught yesterdays morning minion, after a very pleasant pursuit 'cross plateresque puffs of clotted cloud and azure. He mistook me for Maurice Chevallier.

More apologies,

The Polecat

[Beth Peters]

A little long getting to where it was going for my tastes but I had never heard this story and overall enjoyed it. Am I weird for actually enjoying a lot of that purple prose? Especially at the end when he was describing the evil bloated trees and such, drinking blood and corpses from the earth.

Fungi...always love me some o' that fungi.

[Varda]

Nice, long episode and a great kick off for HPL Month! I'm a bit sad that the Fungi of Yuggoth is done now. I've enjoyed hearing a little bit more with each HPL story.

As for the story itself, not much to say except it's classic Lovecraft and was very enjoyably produced. Really liked how the story's constructed mystery-fashion, with many of the clues available up front, but needing to be put together in a logical context by the protagonist. You always know with Lovecraft that it's going to end with something horrific and insanity-inducing, but I always like trying to guess just what, exactly, it'll be. I sure didn't call the demonic monkey-moles.

[tbaker2500]

This was good. I really enjoyed it. I was quite surprised when the cosmic horror turned out to be human in origin. Having heard Lovecraft only here, I've not experienced this. I was also surprised at the gruesomeness of the attacks. It had good impact. Killed so quick he didn't know he was dead.

The narration and music are beyond comment. Take that whichever way you want.

[El Barto]

As I listened to this story I kept wondering to myself what the world would become if there came to pass an apocalypse that was followed by the discovery of this particular Lovecraft story? And if it were thought to be the diary of a real person who described real horrors that preceded the apocalypse? I can picture the world in which this story is the survivors' bible and all beliefs and rituals flow accordingly.

As for the content of this story, I'm not much of a horror fan in part because I find it relatively formulaic, and I was pessimistic as this story started with what seemed to be a similar trope -- a reasonable guy investigating reports by hill people of supernatural creatures.

As the story progressed my expectations for an interesting resolution waned, though I loved Norm's narration and the awesomeness of Lovecraft's prose.

Then, right at the point I was ready to give up on an Earthly resolution, Lovecraft stabbed me in the back with his shocking reveal, and I loved it.

[El Barto]

P.S. Polecat and others - you may be able to find nice clean copies of the Necronomicon at Amazon.com. They have many versions and lots of options for buying used copies direct from the families of previous owners found dead from fright in their sitting room chairs.

[Scattercat]

I am just here to say that this is my very favorite Lovecraft story. Nowhere else outside of Coyote, Wile E., Esquire, regarding a shadow at his feet growing rapidly and mysteriously larger has ever been equaled this hilarious level of dawning realization.

[larusse777]

What music was used in the part where the "Brain-blasting shadow" is first seen?

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

Do you mean this part? At about 29:47?
DC 291 eerie music snippet.mp3 (Link may be disabled in a week or so, depending...)

Try tweeting Norm to ask about it.

[larusse777]

Exactly I don't have a twitter account, maybe I'll go on Facebook.