Lovecraft writes his own ‘Necronomicon Blurb’ and… ‘That Tale’ by Edgar Allan Poe
You won’t see me ‘Trick or Treating’ this Halloween. My daughters are past that now and to be honest… If I want sweets and/or chocolate these days, I just go out and buy them; Halloween or not ;o)
There are a couple of things that I do like to (try and) do over Halloween though and when I do, you’ll see it right here. That’s right, I’m talking ‘watching scary movies’ and ‘reading scary books’. And yep, I do that over the rest of the year but, you know…
Anyway… It hasn’t been a bad week for reading, over here, but the week is almost done and so am I ;o) Just a couple of short stories for you today, one of them ‘really short’…
‘The History of the Necronomicon’ – H.P. Lovecraft
Page Count: 2 Pages
Seriously… I thought I was getting a four page tale, at least that’s what the contents page told me, but one of those pages was the title and the other was the blank page that came before the next story. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that but… Here we are.
Anyway… ‘The History of the Necronomicon’ does what it says, in the title, and in a welcome surprise for this tired reader, Lovecraft’s dry delivery is the ideal vehicle for this summary of the Necronomicon’s mysterious history. With just a little background on the Necronomicon’s author (the mad poet Abdul Alhazred) and a closing paragraph that confirms the books notorious reputation, Lovecraft draws a tantalizing line between ‘established fact’ and hints of cosmic horror lurking in the background. ‘The History of the Necronomicon’ may read like a Wikipedia entry, at the same time, but is all the better for it.
‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ – Edgar Allan Poe (From ‘Tales of Mystery and Terror’)
Page Count: 28 Pages
I can’t remember a lot of things, these days, but I definitely couldn’t remember the last time I read ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’. My ‘Inner Librarian’ suspects that it may have been in my first year of high school, but his memory isn’t great either… Either way, last night felt like the right time for a long overdue re-read and…
‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ was as nervy and tense as I (vaguely) remember it being on my last read. Whether our nameless hero is caught in the Inquisition's trap or just trying to find his way round in the darkness of his cell; Poe really held my attention and drew out the tension until the final sentences. And for a tale that’s only 28 pages long, Poe is just brilliant at throwing us a curve-ball at particularly opportune moments, giving his plot a shot in the arm at just the right points.
When Poe is focused on his plot, ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ is superb. It was a bit of a shame then that this took a few pages too many to happen… Poe has an attack of ‘florid prose’ right at the start and takes far too long to describe how our hero copes with the delivery of the Inquisition’s judgment. To be fair, it’s beautifully done but for me, was a bit of a slog at the wrong time. Stick with it though, ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ is worth it.
There are a couple of things that I do like to (try and) do over Halloween though and when I do, you’ll see it right here. That’s right, I’m talking ‘watching scary movies’ and ‘reading scary books’. And yep, I do that over the rest of the year but, you know…
Anyway… It hasn’t been a bad week for reading, over here, but the week is almost done and so am I ;o) Just a couple of short stories for you today, one of them ‘really short’…
‘The History of the Necronomicon’ – H.P. Lovecraft
Page Count: 2 Pages
Seriously… I thought I was getting a four page tale, at least that’s what the contents page told me, but one of those pages was the title and the other was the blank page that came before the next story. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that but… Here we are.
Anyway… ‘The History of the Necronomicon’ does what it says, in the title, and in a welcome surprise for this tired reader, Lovecraft’s dry delivery is the ideal vehicle for this summary of the Necronomicon’s mysterious history. With just a little background on the Necronomicon’s author (the mad poet Abdul Alhazred) and a closing paragraph that confirms the books notorious reputation, Lovecraft draws a tantalizing line between ‘established fact’ and hints of cosmic horror lurking in the background. ‘The History of the Necronomicon’ may read like a Wikipedia entry, at the same time, but is all the better for it.
‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ – Edgar Allan Poe (From ‘Tales of Mystery and Terror’)
Page Count: 28 Pages
I can’t remember a lot of things, these days, but I definitely couldn’t remember the last time I read ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’. My ‘Inner Librarian’ suspects that it may have been in my first year of high school, but his memory isn’t great either… Either way, last night felt like the right time for a long overdue re-read and…
‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ was as nervy and tense as I (vaguely) remember it being on my last read. Whether our nameless hero is caught in the Inquisition's trap or just trying to find his way round in the darkness of his cell; Poe really held my attention and drew out the tension until the final sentences. And for a tale that’s only 28 pages long, Poe is just brilliant at throwing us a curve-ball at particularly opportune moments, giving his plot a shot in the arm at just the right points.
When Poe is focused on his plot, ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ is superb. It was a bit of a shame then that this took a few pages too many to happen… Poe has an attack of ‘florid prose’ right at the start and takes far too long to describe how our hero copes with the delivery of the Inquisition’s judgment. To be fair, it’s beautifully done but for me, was a bit of a slog at the wrong time. Stick with it though, ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ is worth it.
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