Welcome back to Book Club!
Today we have The King in Yellow, a collection of short stories by Robert W. Chambers. This little hardcover doesn't have them all, and I didn't know that when I purchased it. Even so, it's a nice little book with four very unique stories. If you haven't heard of The King in Yellow, or Hastur, as he's known now in Lovecraft's mythos -- he's a cosmic deity dressed in tattered rags of yellow, frequently also depicted with a mask and bearing something known as "The Yellow Sign." He was not created by Lovecraft, he was actually created by a writer known as Ambrose Bierce, who just so happened to be a Union Civil War veteran. Robert W. Chambers came along afterward and borrowed terms from Bierce for his collection of short stories; the Great Old One we know as Hastur today is actually more of a creation of modern readers taking elements from Bierce, Chambers, and Lovecraft's works together, and finding the continuing line of reference between each of them.
Chambers' short story collection, in truth, has little to do with this figure itself -- but instead, the fictional play titled "The King in Yellow." Given that these stories are from 1895, they're written in older diction and at times were somewhat hard to follow. Not to mention the use of the unreliable narrator trope, which made it even harder. That being said, I find these stories fascinating.
The first one we have is called "The Repairer of Reputations," which was the hardest of the three stories to follow. It takes...
Do you hear something?
Nevermind. What was I talking about? Oh, yes. The King in Yellow.
I...
I like the last story, where I read the Kingdom in Yellow itself. The King? The King. The Kingdom. Hastur. The God of Shepherds. Shepherd's Front. C... C... Carcosa. Carcosa.
Do you hear that?
It's the shouting and screaming of the lost souls of Carcosa. A deathly, twilit city of yellow and black where the dark recesses of the mind lengthen like shadows as the two black suns, bright light stars, pass quietly overhead. It's--
Kh'lath dro'ctelho ni nawar gozhokah'll meiargwath'o marghkai
K̷h̵'̴l̴a̵t̵h̷ ̷d̵r̶o̷'̶c̶t̶e̶l̷h̶o̷ ̶n̸i̸ ̶n̴a̸w̴a̴r̷ ̵g̸o̴z̶h̴o̶k̵a̴h̵'̶l̶l̶ ̷m̶e̷i̵a̷r̶g̸w̸a̴t̶h̴'̵o̷ ̶m̶a̸r̸g̷h̶k̶a̸i̸
K̸͠ͅh̸͑͜'̴̔͜l̴͚͆à̴̜ṫ̵͓h̶͓͛ ̸̹̉d̴̙̿r̷̯̓ọ̸͗'̷͔̃ĉ̴̺ţ̶͂e̵̩̐l̷̳͊h̵͎͒o̵͖͗ ̶̟̀n̶̪͊i̸͙͆ ̶̞͛n̵̛͉a̴̮̒w̷̜͊ḁ̴̛r̶͉͘ ̴̙͌g̴͓̒ò̸͜z̷̭̉h̸̩͝ò̸̲k̶̻͝a̴̠̍ḥ̶̌'̷͕̈́l̵̽͜ľ̸͕ ̸̙̽m̸̡̏ë̸͖́i̶͐͜a̶̠͑r̶͎̈g̸̺̑w̶̙̄ă̴̭t̶̼͐h̶̲͝'̸͖͆ō̷̭ ̶̫̊m̵̩̾à̵͜r̵̮̉g̷̮̔h̶̦̃k̸̪̀ä̵͔́i̴̡̾
K̸̛̝̭̐h̸̨̤̙̎̀'̵̨̈͠l̴͖̪̖̿̑ȃ̸̝̬̩t̷̘̙͊͗h̶̜͎̃ ̶̺̊͜d̶̢̼̻͒͝ȑ̷͈͚̓͛õ̵̢̦͗͜'̵̮̈̔͠c̸͉̹͋̚t̶͈͈̝͑ȩ̸̲͙̅ļ̴̞̎h̸͖͓̻̿͊õ̸̗̘̂ ̸̮̲̈́n̷̫̣̄î̸̖͋ ̵͍̪͐n̴̰̝̈a̶͍͗w̵̧̞̰̋̅a̷̯̞͛̽͝r̵͈͗ ̵̲͚͛̓̚g̷̞͎̼͋ô̸̟̺ͅz̶̰̜͈͑̈́͝h̷̡̋̎o̴̘̰̎͋k̶͙̓a̵̛̦̣͛̆h̵̬̫̏͊̆'̷͓̈̅l̸̡̗͊̓͂l̴̛͉̠̉ ̵̬̈́͆͆m̴͈̭̻̿̇e̴̜̲̎i̴̠̣͐a̵̼̻̋͛͝ȑ̷̭̤͇̂g̸̣̮̼͘͠w̷̫̙̜͐a̴͙͋t̷̥̊h̷͇͐'̴̟̣́͜ó̸͙̫ ̸̝̬̻̈́̌̿m̸͇̋a̶̦̫͐̔͑r̸͖̮̂̽g̷͍̿̏͠h̶͙̯͈͂k̶͇͔̏͜a̴̻̱̋͜i̵̺͊͆͝
K̵̥̗̥̘̥̤͒̾̏̈́͠h̸̡̟͎̩͇̘͇̓'̴͇͍͉̙̓̓̈́͂l̸̢̘̤̗̥̈́͒͜ͅã̸͕̟̩̮́̓̃t̸̩͈̞͔̹́̈́h̵̞̣̘̋̆̈̈́͝ ̸͙̼̗̖̮͋̿̇̾̒̇͠ͅd̸̡̓̊͊̇̎͝r̴̛̜͈͑̏̄̐ơ̵͔̥̝͍͕̅̒͆̐̈́͜'̸̖̤̮͖̟̱̺̌͛̆͠͠c̷̝̯̑̉̾͛̕t̵̰̹͙͜͝ě̵̥͉̊l̷̤̗͉̠̈̀͒̚͘h̸̨͇̹̯̄̈́͝͠o̵̙̲̰͙͔̼͒̈́̃̕͠ ̶̧̝̫̞͔̍̒̔͠n̸̖̆̀̾̍͆̽͘i̵̘̗̝͂̽̏ͅ ̸̦̳͚͓̲͈̓̓͑̐̄̕n̷̨͉͎̿͐̒͂̂̀a̷̟͎̮̩̟̋̈́͊̽̚w̸̱̪̣͉͙̾̾̂̂͑͆͜a̵̼̱̱̪̲̣͊̓ŕ̸͉̝̦̬͎͝͠ ̷̯̪̝̪̺̊̌͐̏͋̓͒ͅg̶̡̜̪̤̬͓̳͒͝ö̵̭̺͎̞̮̪̫́͊̓͂̌z̷̤͍̓̄̈́̓̔͝h̶͇̯͔͈̰̻̬̀̍͆͗̊̈͝ǫ̸̡̮̤͚̓͌̎͜k̶̨̗̯̣̦͈̀̾͑͛̓̍͠a̴̡̡͙̖̦͑̈́͘ͅẖ̸̰̬̗̫̩̀͑̐̇͠'̴͕̬̥̼͈͊́͋̒̌͝l̶̮̈́̂l̵̯͍̟͇̽ ̴̢̹̤̯̦̊͗̀̆̃͘̚m̷̩̓̍̆̚͘e̸̘̟̣͕̠͒̍́͑̉̄͠i̵̛̮̥̠͈͊a̶͔̗̪̲͊̓͒̒̚͜ŗ̷̦̳̊͂͑̾g̸͓͔̞͙͔̬̘͒͊w̵̤͙̭̟͒a̸͉͔̞͒̐͋̋ţ̵̛͉̺̓̂̏͐̈̚ḧ̴͚͗̈͗͋͘'̷̢̙͕͖͊̅̾̀͂͒̐ơ̸̹̄̀̈́̏͊͝ ̵̡̛͕̬̳̜̝̈́̄͌͆́́m̶͖̥̘̘͕̪̈́̌̈̿́́̚ͅa̸̪̺̼͇͔̝͒̓r̵̪̄͐̈͛̔̇g̵͕͗ȟ̴̢̛͙͇̥̿͑̃ḱ̶̢̨̿̀̉̚̕a̴̧̙̗̟̻̩̒̔̌͠i̶̡̢̱̼̼̐̓͊̒̒͜
KH'LATH DRO'CTELHO NI NAWAR GOZHOKAH'LL MEIARGWATH'O MARGHKAI!!
KH'LATH DRO'CTELHO NI NAWAR GOZHOKAH'LL MEIARGWATH'O MARGHKAI!!
KH'LATH DRO'CTELHO NI NAWAR GOZHOKAH'LL MEIARGWATH'O MARGHKAI!!
K̵̨̹̋̈̄͒͘Ḩ̶̹͖̟̠̬̹̃̈́̚̕͝'̸̢̝͓̘̯͍͌̾́̔̈́͑̃Ļ̵́A̵̱͂̋̊͋́̂͋T̴͙͇̽́͛͆͆̎H̴̭̅̓̉̓͝ ̴̳͓͈͖̟͋̑̋͐Ḑ̶̥̮̺̬̎̐̄̌̊Ř̸̼͎̭̬̤̞Ŏ̶̢̘̺̙ͅ'̶̡̲͕͈̙̄̾͂͋̈́C̸̹̜̞̥̪̼̓̅̈́̌̔͜͝T̷̜̜͖͚͔̏E̸͔͋́̅̚͘Ḽ̸̻̭́̌̐̊̒̌Ḧ̸̦̞́Ǫ̶̧̧̱̟̺̹̎͆̑̊̓ ̴̥̙̩̭͠N̶̢̳̝̬͗͌͋͑̍͝Ị̸̛̯̥̖͌͗̽̐͝ ̷̝̥͉̪̱̭͛͊̓̈̍͌͝N̷̢̪̟͒́Ȧ̸͚̖̠͙͎͛̅͗͛̈W̷̥͈̞͑́̈́̇͐͝A̴̞̦͎͉̙̤̋̇̽̚̚R̴͓̟͖͔͔̹̹̋͆̂́̏́̐ ̵̛̜͎̥̻̠̘̳̎͑̏̈́͝G̵̳̲̖͙͗͂̇̄͂͜ͅͅỎ̶̢̯̤̦͓̥͙̓͝Z̶͓͓͖̓̀͛̑̄͋Ḧ̶̯́̅Ọ̷̙͕̺̪̒̆͑͂K̶̨̛̛̭͎̼̃̑̃͘A̴̘̾H̵̢̨̛̙̹̭̩͉'̴̛͕̀̓̈̏̎̕L̷͕̪̿̌͋̓L̴̤̟̖͙̂͊̆̿̚ ̶̪̣̳͐̀M̷̢͙̱̦̯̊E̶̢̡̤̱̰͎̥̎̑̍̓̂̈Ḭ̸̹͒̕Á̴̢̟̰̥̾͑̽R̴̘͇̊̽͛G̸̢̳͓̤̐͑̈́̊Ẇ̷̫͔͍̿́́̍͐͠Ä̶̛̼̙͈́̋Ṱ̶͖̣͇̬̩̭̓́͛̎̕H̸̤̗̼̬̟͗̉̈̉̐͝'̶̹̙̲̫̄͗͐̄͋̓̂O̶͙̥͉͖͌̌͂̇͗̔ ̶͇̔͆̓M̵̳̱̬͈̖͙̺͑̀́̀͝Ȃ̸͇̿̾R̸̘̰͙͎̤̠̘͋̋̐G̴̘͙̕Ḧ̶̡͍̱͉̪̣́̾̐̂̀͝K̷̢̟͕̰̥͒̈̅̇̇͑Ą̵̦̃̇̃͗͘I̷͓͎̭̜̭̝̐̆̊̂̆̒!̴̣̆̐!̵̰̜̌̏
K̸̢̢̮̱̯̘̳͕̟̩̯̟͇̙̖̲̬͓͙͕̟̙͍̰͈̟͉̠͗͛͂̈́͗̃͆͗̎͑́̇̈́̄͋͌̈̔̄̄͘͠͝H̴̢̧̘͙͖̟͙̀͌̋̉̑̉͆͑̑̐̀̈̀̈́͆̈́͂̃͋̒̒̃'̶̧̧̢̲̩̝̪̥̮̹͉̣̫͇̠͇͓͙̙͍̱̤̜͈̜͔͕͋̂̇̉̈́̓̿̍͌͛̇̈́͜͜L̸̨̨͍̲̮̮͈̝̩̹͚̲̈́̅̇̓̂̌̄́̈́̉͑̉̾͊̐̍̊̄́̍̅́̋̕͝͝Ä̷̧̢̛̛̩͚͓͙̭̮̠̟̱͖̹̺͎̝̫͖̖͙͕́̑͌̌̄̄̃̄̀͋̔̂͒̅̊͜͜͝ͅT̴̮̩̐̇͑̓͒̋͐̓̏̌̓̎̌͑̓̊̓̀͗̈̄̽̄͒͆̉͘̚͠͝H̷̖̺͖̺̖̠̭͈͉͈͙͇̹̙͍̝̠̯̯̳̳͓̀̾͛̎͌̀̎̈́̈̑́̑̎̒̄̌͛̈́̒̑̑̄̾̉̏͆̚͜͝͝ͅ ̶̡̢͉͔̳̹̠͇̳̭̜̼̹̫̝̈́̑̈́͜D̵̡̤̬͙͕̟͔͆͛̀̃̿͋̅̔̈͑̇̉̎͌̿̾̇̈͂̚R̵̨̨̧̡̢̢̛̛̛͇̼͉̗̺͙͕̬̭͖̗̩̖̗͉̙̈́́́̽̐̐͌̈́̽́̽̒͛̾̃̓͠O̷͇̲͙͇̲̱̫̝͍͂̐̈̓͆̇̌̉̀̋̃̀̒̓͑͑̅̇̈́̽̂̓̆͗̚̕'̷̢̡̧̢̧̰͔̻͍̰̦̼̫̺̗̠̀̉̋͑̎̌͋̀͐̔͐̈̊̈́́̀̐́̀̑͝C̵̡̨̢̡̫̟̮̼̱̗̦̘̻̺͚͔̗̈́̉T̸̜̱͇̼͈̠͇͍̻͂̒̒͊̉E̵̢̧̢̢͇̱̥͈̹̻̩͇̫͙̗̘̞̟͕͚̠̭̦͖͂̅͜ͅĹ̵̩̱̮̜͇̲̺͛͐̀̈́̏͗͛̉̽̐̽̐͊̌̌̃͊͊͊̚̕͜Ḩ̸̜̠̬̜͎̰̹̥̼̯̺̹̑̏̓͂͗̈̌͒͆͛̇͌̑̃͒̂̚͝Ò̶̧̬͔͎͙̪̬͚̮͙̳̬̥̻̣͈̳͚̪́̉̑̓̇ͅ ̴̱̰̲̪̫̻͇̮̹̀͑̀̽̃̐͂͛͛͂̀̀͛̕͜͝Ņ̴̗͎̖̝͙̖̬̞̪͉͉̬̝̦̥̠̜̫̘̗̤̪̓̈̏̅̌̿̒̊̚͜͠Ǐ̴̢̡̨͖̩̜͇̦̙͎̭̞̩̺̙̲͎͎̖̠̫͓̭͎̠̩͜ ̴̛͇̯̟͎͇̹̼̯͈̖̱̜̺̖͉͓͕̙̞͈̖̳̌̑͆̌̅̀͜͝Ñ̶̤̰̯̭̜̦̀̑̅̓̇͌̒̌̎̅͊́̚͘͠͝A̵̛̛̝̹̬̯̗͉͐̓̋̓̀̊̒̅̈̒̀͋̈̐̉̾̔̾̚͝W̷̡͖̱͇̜̬͖̙͉͖̤̣̟͓̱̦̤̙̖͖͙̩̋͆͋̈́̓͑̔̆̔͋̈́̎͗̄̌̏̈́͠ͅÂ̷̡̢̛͈̯̲̮̖̗̮̰͙̰͓̣̹̎̑̈́̂̈́̍̃́̈́̋͂̈́̈̈́͘̚͠ͅŖ̷̨̤̣̠̙̱͓̲͇̞̘͇̩̲̩͈̭̻̦̰̠͎̞̦̓̆̉̔̈́̒͛̌͐͆͜ ̶̡̨̳̗̩͕̘̭̪͕̫͇͔̺̹̞̱̯̣̖̩̤̃͗͂͋̑̕͜͜Ǵ̸̡̨͎̫̗̹͇͕̥͙̺͈̬̲͉̫͔̭̗̃̎̊̉͌̔̀͊̄̕̚͠͝Ö̸̧̡̨̨̞̬͇͎̼̞̜͈̳̣̲̯̤͍̝́͌̽͜ͅZ̴̞̩̬̜̬̺̳͖͖͖̓̋̈́̐̃̓̾̂̉̎͆̊̀̅͊̈̈́̑́͋̊͒̈̇̂̽̚͘̕͝H̷̨͎̻̘̗̝̘͍͙̱̘̯̼̠͍͓̗͓̻̘͔̦͍̻͛̈̉͊͊̃̀̒͐͆̈͜O̷̧̡̧̲͇̬̘̺̞̹͙̰̝̹̱̟̳͙̬̩̻̦͈͇̗̊͂̃̃̅̎́̽͋̆̇͘̚͜K̶̡̧̨̨̛̟̘͙̰̯̙̱̱̖̺͙͖̞͓̹̮̈́̈̉̅͌̏̀̏́̀̊́̄̍̾́̉̎͊̽̑͜͝͝͠A̵̛̪̭̯̦͙̣̲̲͛́̑̐͆̌̇͛̃̃̎̄̂̕͠͝ͅH̶̢̧̢̺̟͓̬͇̻̞̱͙̼͎̮̗̟̖̝̣̙̩͈̳͚̹̮̘̞̿̑̐̒̌̽͌̋̐̉͌́̈́͒͒͊̏̔̊̌̄̿́̆͛͜͠͠'̴̺͎̗͍͍̹̫͚̗͙͋̑̓̿̃͋̄͛̄̑̃̇̆͌̎̃̅́͊̂̓͂͘͠͝͝ͅͅL̶̡̨͇̠̟̜̩̫̥̼̟̳̭̮̰̞͓̮͙͎͍͉̱̫̫͓̈́͋͐͂̾͆͌͗̂̐̏̃̎̉̄̅́̚͜ͅL̵̡̡̬̻̲̰̓͂̓̄͌̓̊̅̀̿̀̎̑̔̉̽͗͂́̚̕͝͝ ̶̢̢̛̯͓̰͓̞̯̣͔̳̠͔͇̲̠͚̙̱̪͍̯̬̪̏̋̓̑́̓̓̈́͒̉̈́̒̌́̎̽̕͘͘͝͠͝͝͝͝Ḿ̶̡̧͉̭̙̙̝̞͈̭̞̱͎͕̙̮̦̫̠̇̈́̔͐͂̂́̑̇̅̂̚̚͝Ë̸̢̛̖͈̫̙͙̰̞̣̈́̓̀̉̈́͊͗̔͛̽͋̀̈́͋̐̈́̌̆̃̈́̽͛͑̚I̶̗̤̤̹̳͊̀̋̋͒̄͋́̕À̴̧̱̪̥̅͋̒̔̇̀͝R̵̡̢̲̗̳͎̲̜͚̝̼͎͈̞̭̬̳̠͔̰̦͑͗̿̍̃̐͜͜͠G̸̢̧̛̞̯̠̠̹̝̱̯̜̥̮̞̪̣͓͈̺̳͙̼̙̼͍̻͍̍̏̿̿͊͋̒͊̽͜͜͠ͅW̷̧̡̨͙̜̝̩̩͔̳̭̯̫͍̮̪͇̟͚̺̥̩̽̆́̽̃̊͂̽̌̽̇ͅA̷̡̯̜̐͌͛́̇̈́͋́̅̈́̊̌̈͊̕T̸̡̢̧̡̲̥͇̮̙̼̗͎̪̣̮̰̜̤͓̞̻̣́̊̒̅̽͗͐̏̉̍̿͊̐̓̏̕̕̚͘͘̕͠͠H̶̢̢̙̠͉̞͙͕͈̻̗͖̟̖̣̼͔̞͎͑̌̔͐͌̈̈́̒̈́̔̎͛͊̓̿̅̆̈́̏̅̕͘͠͝'̷̛̘͚̙̑̇͊͂̐̃͋̎̍́̈́̿͒̾̂͌̋̏͒́̌̈́͂͐̐̈́͘͘͝Ò̸̯̮̩͓̰͓̘͕͓͙̥̰͙̥̲̯͖̱͖̭̗̳͊̌̅̓͘͜͜͝ ̶̢̨̞̼̤̭̞͔̘̲̙̮̲̻̦͉͓͕̼͕͎̰͕͙̟̌̾̈̌́͐̊̇͒̊́͝M̸̢̡̛͉̱͈̬͗̑̆̂̔͋̄̿͋͆̍̿̀̓̓͋̏̔͛̉̓͘͝͝͠Å̸̝̔̓̐͗Ŗ̵̛̻̯͔̜̭̣̫̩͉̲̹̼̪̖̠̺̥͋̈́̂͒̃̊̔͐͂̈́͒͠Ģ̶̛̙̗̯̠͖̪̯̯̦̖̺̺̗̋̌̑͌͐͗̋̉̒͐̎̇̽̌̓͐͋͗̈́͊͆̈́̌̋̕̕̚͝ͅḨ̴̘͇͖̬̯̹͎̻̩̬̫̦̼̖̪̍͗̐͌̽̍͗̎̎ͅK̷̛͈͙͈̟̰͉̘̠͎̦̲̬͕̟̙̎̐̉̋͛̽́́̾̑̉̈͝Å̴̡̡̮͕̜̙̟̼͖̘̖̯̻̞̟̗͍̪͇̪̭̼͇̗̠̊̏I̸̧̹͚̪̘͖̅̉͋̋͒̌̑̈́̓̇̇̓̓͊͊́́̂̎̑͆͘̕͝͝!̵̧̢̻̱͓̝͎̮̖͉̭̊͐̈̆̽̓̇̽̈́̍́͛̕͠!̶̛̭̼͔̭̩̼̮̟͎͙̫̹̯̟̣̩̂̌̿͊̎̎̔̍̍̋̑̐̂̇̄̊̏̔̓͑͌͋͒̔͘͘͠
Gods of Infinity watch Ki and Consume it All
The King in Yellow watches.
