tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64954215451808421632024-03-05T14:56:34.582-08:00Fiza Pathan's Terror and Horror BookshelfAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12775013816602830525noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495421545180842163.post-91677139019627832492013-03-09T10:50:00.000-08:002013-03-09T10:50:48.147-08:00#shortanalysis 'Carmilla' by Sheridan Le Fanu<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;">SHORT STORY</span>: Carmilla</div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;">AUTHOR</span>: Sheridan Le Fanu</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzdOWuEHY2YzIe-MzJTJiZUncxD1yGvLKaaMI4SG2MRk5kktNsBGobAHvKBwcaB0GqzY_2GsJuboYMYkJDEojxoyHbeHlDbHtrkbVxrcEwVNDhEmNY-gPvWiIbNMyW36dFREHNugA_hXQ/s1600/200px-LeFanu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPzdOWuEHY2YzIe-MzJTJiZUncxD1yGvLKaaMI4SG2MRk5kktNsBGobAHvKBwcaB0GqzY_2GsJuboYMYkJDEojxoyHbeHlDbHtrkbVxrcEwVNDhEmNY-gPvWiIbNMyW36dFREHNugA_hXQ/s1600/200px-LeFanu.jpg" /></a></div>
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This short story penned during the Victorian era by Sheridan Le Fanu is sort of a prelude to all other vampire based stories that are written after it, especially the novel ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker. The story uses many themes of vampirism which were new during the time when it was written which eventually makes the narrative a novel piece of literature at the time when it was published. Needless to say that ‘Carmilla’ is a Gothic horror story; the author has used many Gothic elements in his narrative like ancient castles, ruined chapels etc. The story itself is captivating & remarkable. The lucid descriptions in first person are quite conventional as well as the dialogues which are remarkable for a person living in the latter half of the 19<sup>th</sup> century. Sheridan Le Fanu surely has produced one of the legendary masterpieces of Vampire fiction. It seems a pity that many readers are unaware of this work of art by Le Fanu, the master of gothic horror.</div>
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The story is female centric where both of the main characters in the story are young ladies, one whose name is Laura who is narrating her experience in first person & the other whose name is Carmilla who happens to be a vampire.</div>
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The character of Carmilla itself is sort of a mystery & the author has used his literary powers to keep it that way. He reveals nothing about her which adds a lot to the suspense in the narrative. It is not to be misunderstood however that Carmilla has no personality at all…….she certainly does have one which intrigues & shocks the reader as well. She is a vampire who looks like she is only 20 years old. She is sensual like most vampires are but gets emotionally attached to only a few of her victims. She is diabolical but she does not seem so at all & can be a wonderful conversationalist. She indulges in harmless gossip but has certain eccentricities that shock the rustic people with whom she associates with…..in turn to plague them. As a historical character in this work of fiction, Carmilla the seductive vampire is actually the Countess of Karnstein whose real name is Mircalla. She was the victim of a vampire in her life & thus turned into one herself, endangering all who lived in the area. She speaks very little of herself to Laura who she grows emotionally attached to & the eager young girl Laura can simply only gain a few hints from Carmilla:</div>
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<i>‘What she did tell me amounted, in my unconscionable estimation—to nothing.</i></div>
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<i>It was all summed up in three very vague disclosures:</i></div>
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<i>First—her name was Carmilla.</i></div>
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<i>Second—her family was very ancient and noble.</i></div>
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<i>Third—her home lay in the direction of the west.</i></div>
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<i>She would not tell me the name of her family, nor their armorial bearings, nor the name of their estate, nor even that of the country they lived in.’</i></div>
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However towards the end of the text, we realize who Carmilla really is but it simply adds to the horror & mystery behind this strange woman created by Le Fanu. Indeed, the less we know of Carmilla, the more she seems to grow upon the mind of the reader.</div>
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Taking a cue from Le Fanu’s Irish descent, we can also suppose that Carmilla was some sort of a banshee (a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld) who not only heralded the death but also was the cause of the death of the members of her family as well as of the people she associated with. Le Fanu however took one step further & turned Carmilla into a horrid but graceful killer.</div>
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Being written during the Victorian age, it is obvious to the reader that the author has tried to curb the extent to which he describes Carmilla’s sensuality. However, all readers are well aware that vampires are definitely sensual creatures & seduce their victims to perfection. In this short story, there are many hidden undertones of Lesbian love which if brought out in the open would have greatly shocked the reader of its day. The author has taken precautions to dilute his vampire’s seductive nature to a great degree yet in some cases, the obvious train of thought that is wished to be produced by the author is quite visible:</div>
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<i>‘Sometimes after an hour of apathy, my strange and beautiful companion would take my hand and hold it with a fond pressure, renewed again and again; blushing softly, gazing in my face with languid and burning eyes, and breathing so fast that her dress rose and fell with the tumultuous respiration. It was like the ardour of a lover; it embarrassed me; it was hateful and yet over-powering; and with gloating eyes she drew me to her, and her hot lips travelled along my cheek in kisses; and she would whisper, almost in sobs, “You are mine, you shall be mine, you and I are one for ever.” Then she has thrown herself back in her chair, with her small hands over her eyes, leaving me trembling.’</i><i></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BkMmtNCxZoKNdI_fXpRg8qePo_BgFtAqTeIGdwYSUdYbnhTBGC0BMZI2wbUfVRXfDLCBzR8_QsCdN8JQ67_dqDS2BSLWhfaIm7JAmc5pzqeriI0b0DfodsHON7cX3F4wdrueFPQacWn7/s1600/640px-Carmilla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9BkMmtNCxZoKNdI_fXpRg8qePo_BgFtAqTeIGdwYSUdYbnhTBGC0BMZI2wbUfVRXfDLCBzR8_QsCdN8JQ67_dqDS2BSLWhfaIm7JAmc5pzqeriI0b0DfodsHON7cX3F4wdrueFPQacWn7/s400/640px-Carmilla.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.385; text-align: justify;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.385; text-align: justify;">Carmilla shows great affection towards the young & vulnerable Laura who finds her new friend’s embraces& </span><span style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.385; text-align: justify;">kisses rather disturbing. Laura is at once appalled & disgusted by Carmilla’s advances but at the same time, also feels the same sort of ecstasy that her companion feels. Le Fanu brings also to the focus the great fear on the part of many people of his day & age about homosexual relationships. Carmilla seems however only to plague female victims. She kills many in a few days’ time, but serenades the ones who she falls in love with like Laura:</span></div>
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<i>‘In these mysterious moods I did not like her. I experienced a strange tumultuous excitement that was pleasurable, ever and anon, mingled with a vague sense of fear and disgust.’</i></div>
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Although Laura tries to make some sense out her friend’s passionate actions, she ultimately is drained of most of her blood by Carmilla in the form of a giant black cat during the night. It is only with timely action by certain individuals in the story like General Spielsdorf, Laura’s father & Baron Vordenburg that Laura is saved from a fate worse than death.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZKt8qJ5VydRoCvzw9_qkCrAt9od6qFK13Q7wKPRcHBwHKHhQm4R-J4bfKtyh8-GxuurC0OlV1mxHyN7RXJ5VO_Vy-Ush_B4hRvNjiqT4aG3kJckGg29F0NqjNkJTT29vqOyx4AHIIcyS/s1600/250px-Fitzgerald,_funeral_from_Carmilla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZKt8qJ5VydRoCvzw9_qkCrAt9od6qFK13Q7wKPRcHBwHKHhQm4R-J4bfKtyh8-GxuurC0OlV1mxHyN7RXJ5VO_Vy-Ush_B4hRvNjiqT4aG3kJckGg29F0NqjNkJTT29vqOyx4AHIIcyS/s1600/250px-Fitzgerald,_funeral_from_Carmilla.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.385;">Although Carmilla’s remains are burned & thrown into the waters of a nearby flowing river, Laura even nine to ten years after her last meeting with Carmilla seems to still be haunted by her. This psychological aspect to the narrative adds a vague tinge of terror towards the end of the text.</span></div>
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For an ardent reader of the Gothic horror literature, Le Fanu’s story immediately brings to mind a lot of scenes & incidences from the classic horror novel ‘Dracula’. Many themes & ideas from ‘Carmilla’ seem to have influenced the writer of ‘Dracula’. For instance both works are set in first person intending the reader to come to a logical conclusion about events that follow in both narratives. In both the stories the main vampire is able to either transform into a gigantic hound (Dracula) or a gigantic black cat (Carmilla). Both stories end in the ultimate defeat of the vampire by persons who delve into folklore like Van Helsing (Dracula) & Baron Vordenburg (Carmilla). There are other many such instances to prove that the author of ‘Dracula’ was definitely influenced by Le Fanu’s work.</div>
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Rapt in bold intense love scenes, Carmilla the female vampire seems to surpass her successors in evil & even in pathos. One simply at times finds Carmilla to be but a pathetic piece of fine feminine grace who is more a victim than her own blood drained young victims. Her sleep walking at nights & languid disposition adds to our thinking that Carmilla is but a sad woman in need of love.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12775013816602830525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495421545180842163.post-33254063590954719302013-03-09T07:11:00.001-08:002013-03-11T04:53:44.008-07:00#shortstory 'It was a dark, stormy, moonless night' by Fiza Pathan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; text-align: justify;">It was a dark, stormy,
moonless night. The man stepped out of the Church which </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; text-align: justify;">stood at the end of the
forest path. The Church stood behind the man …….dark </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; text-align: justify;">and silent; it was an old
Franciscan Church built in 1320 and deserted by the end of </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; text-align: justify;">World War One. The man walked
into the graveyard, his hands in his jean pockets. </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; text-align: justify;">The rain fell across the full
forest landscape drenching the ground as well as the </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; text-align: justify;">man’s cycle which was
standing within the graveyard. The man’s name was Jerome. </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; text-align: justify;">He had never seen a night
like this before. As he passed a few lonely tombstones he </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; text-align: justify;">neared his bike parked to an
old mossy gate. He was drenched from head to toe; the </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; text-align: justify;">night air was nippy and
darkness was working up his mind. He got upon his </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; text-align: justify;">cycle and rode out of the
graveyard. But, the moment he started to ride across the forest </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; text-align: justify;">path…….he had that unearthly
feeling that he was being followed. His trainers</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">pumped the cycle to a fast
pace. His breathing got heavier…..his body felt </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">tight and his wet clothes
were chilling his bones. Suddenly, he stopped and looked </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">up……there stood a pale
looking creature upon the old oak tree.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">“Who is that?” gasped Jerome,
terrified….but there was no answer and all of a sudden </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">the pale creature vanished
and……..his ears caught </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">the ascending sound
of a woman’s</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">wail. He gripped his bike…..a
chilling silence followed another ascending wail. </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">Jerome picked up courage and
got onto his bike and started to race himself out of the </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">forest. The wail grew wilder
and the sound started to ring in his ears like a gong. As </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">he rode out of the mossy
forest, he heaved a sigh of relief. He looked around, there up</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">ahead stood his mother’s bike
and his mother looking on at him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Jerome leapt for joy as he
pedalled towards his mother. “Where were you?” inquired his chubby mother
calmly. ‘Never mind’ retorted Jerome. ‘Let’s just get out of here’. And they
both rode down the highway. His mother
was an overweight middle aged woman, but could ride a cycle like a
professional. Jerome was still ill at ease; the sound of the woman’s wail was
still ringing in his ears. The rain suddenly ceased. Jerome’s mother sighed
with relief, “At last that is over.” “Yeah that’s for sure”, piped in Jerome
gleefully as if to say he had a new lease of life-when suddenly his ‘pager’ beeped. He brought his bike to a halt to take a look
at the message------he was horrified: “WHERE ARE YOU SON?” And the </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">message was from his Mother.
‘Then…..then who is ‘this’ with me’, thought the pale </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">looking Jerome, clutching his
bike handle. But his ‘mother’ sped on and suddenly a wail </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">leapt from her…….a morbid
stench of the dead filled the atmosphere. Jerome’s nostrils </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">were filled with the horrible
stench and a tear rolled down the scared man’s cheek. </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">‘No-no’, he moaned in pain,
getting on his bike and speeding off in the opposite </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">direction back to the forest.
His muscles were tense…..his whole chest heaved </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">heavily. But the wail did not
cease, as he drove faster the wail became shriller. Jerome </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">pedalled himself back to the
forest where he rode all the way to the church and dropping </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">his bike ducked into the
mossy structure.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">The wailing had stopped, and
Jerome was kneeling near the statue of the Holy Mother. </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">His breathing was heavier and
his manly structure was reduced to a trembling wreck.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">His </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">pale blue eyes darted around
the full church from the altar to the dusty chairs….no one, he </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">was safe …he was okay.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">But the incident was lingering and the empty
church was playing </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">tricks with his mind.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">The scuttle of a lizard or the rustle of
dried up leaves within the old </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">abandoned church was making
him apprehensive. ‘Who’s that?’ he would suddenly yell </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">clutching his throbbing
heart.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">‘What was that there’, he would cry
aloud thus </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">bringing a little life into
the old structure.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">His lips were
trembling and the dampness was </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">making him insane.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">He was reduced to a mere animal in a trap,
and all he wanted was to </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">get out of this mess, but
what could he do?</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">If he didn't stay here
well then – neither could </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">he go back on the highway,
where that – that </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">‘thing’ was.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">Jerome gripped his wet shirt </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">and moaned in pain.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Suddenly….there was another sound… clanking
sound. Jerome alerted himself like a </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">mole rat, he burst out of the
church and moved closer to his bike.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">The
clanking sound was </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">getting louder, and so was
the sound of his breathing. The rain started to fall again, sending chills up
and down his spine.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">Cupping his ears he strained
to hear the sound against the pouring rain. He heard it….it was coming from the
graveyard.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">He choked down the lump in
his throat and motioned himself towards the graveyard.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">Jerome was freezing but the weather was not
showing any mercy. His trainers trotted along the marble slab as he moved
ahead.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">Tears were rolling down his heavy
laden eyes profusely – tears of desolate terror.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">The agony that he felt at that moment was
unmentionable…he was for a moment nothing more than a bundle of nerves. He got
closer – closer to the sound…closer to the clanking noise… closer to his worst
nightmare.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">When he turned the corner…
Jerome was freaked right out of his wits.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">In front of him stood the
person who he thought was his mother… with an unholy expression on her white
face…clanking bones of a skeleton at a rhythmic pace. Her eyes were bloodshot and her arms and limbs
were covered with the mud of the forest.
Her smile was fiendish as well as her body language. A maleficent force was surrounding her and
that evil power was being felt by Jerome.
He was nearly going to faint from fright, when a wail from the creature
in front of him stirred him up. Her
voice was ghastly and her behaviour was demonic. Jerome knew his end was near.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">The rain patted down the
earth and Jerome fell down upon the murky ground. His body </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">was soaked and his face was
yellow due to the loss of blood.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">He
clutched the mud of </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">the ground as he begged for
mercy, but other than an agonizing howl…he got nothing. </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">Jerome stopped trembling at
last, his heavy breathing ceased and his eyelids closed in </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">exhaustion.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">Before he fainted, Jerome only heard one last
sound…the sound of his </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;">bike…moving away.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif;"> </span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12775013816602830525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495421545180842163.post-91253735730811968682013-03-07T10:59:00.001-08:002013-03-07T11:09:05.437-08:00#Review 'The Hound' by H.P.Lovecraft<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;">SHORT STORY</span>: The Hound</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;">AUTHOR</span>: H.P.Lovecraft</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">This short horror story penned by H.P.Lovecraft, one of the best writers of the ‘fantastic’, is quite similar to the general writings of Edgar Allan Poe. The story is par excellence teaming suspense with a bit of an indirect moral which makes this story a fantastic read. The main theme however of this story is about man’s eternal search for truth & how this search often ends not to the expectation of the seeker.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Dabbling’s with ‘truth’ as we know often leads an inquirer to take up many different fields of study. The two main characters in this story too were in search of truth. They were as the text states:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">‘Wearied with a world where even the joys of romance & adventure soon grow stale.’</span></i><br />
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">They were definitely not of any normal disposition although they were young & full of life. Lovecraft often uses scholarly people as characters in his texts to bring out his thoughts. These characters often are recluses who devote themselves to their study away from the daily happenings of society. St. John & the narrator in this story are also in search of a new field of study to aid them in their quest for the truth. They try every known & possible intellectual movement but, all these fields of study fail to whet their appetite or its newness or novelty was soon exhausted by them, which led them to look for another & yet another field of theory & research. Ultimately, they somehow get interested in grave robbing which was sort of the ‘philosophy of the decadents’ which was in practice at the time when this short story was penned.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">They create a museum of all their grave robbing treasures which they keep away from prying eyes for obvious reasons. They jointly dwell together alone without servants in a great stone house near a barren & creepy looking moor. In that mansion of stone, they house all their repellent treasures like mummies, headstones snatched from old churches, skulls of all shapes, heads preserved in various stages of dissolution, grotesque statues, paintings, a portfolio made from tanned human skin containing as the author puts it :</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Bitstream Charter, Times, serif;"><span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; line-height: 19px;">‘Unknown & Unnameable drawings’</span></span></i><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Certainly by this description itself, the author of the macabre sets the tone for even more gruesome happenings using suspense filled sentences as tools to aid the reader along this path of terror.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">The two characters in this short story namely the author himself & his companion St. John then go out on a journey to Holland to dig up the grave of a certain ‘ghoul’ who had been lying in the grave itself for five centuries. The author’s use of the term ‘ghoul’ here gives us an idea of what to expect throughout the remainder of the story. A ghoul as we know is a monster associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh, often classified as undead which signifies ‘the vampire’……yet the title of the story is ‘the Hound’…..again an ardent fan & reader of horror fiction would be aware that the legendary vampire is also able to leave its eternal tomb & change into the form of certain animals, a huge hound being one among them.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">The author mentions in this story that the ghoul himself was a grave robber & also a person who had robbed something rather marvelous from an ancient sepulcher. The two characters while digging for the body find around the dead skeleton’s neck an amulet made of green jade which is the stone often used in China. The amulet consisted of the figure of a sphinx with canine features or a dog like appearance. The author & St. John take away this amulet from its grave but their lives after this undergoes a dramatic change.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">It is also well enough to note that this is the first story of H.P.Lovecraft where the mention is made of the fictional & forbidden book called ‘Necronomicon’ penned as Lovecraft put it, by the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred. It is in this book that the author & his companion come to know about the strange properties of the amulet which disturbs them quite a bit. Yet they continue to preserve the amulet & even light a scented candle infront of it.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">The story then goes on to tell us about how the author & his companion are haunted by the sound of the evil baying of an unusual hound, which they are unable to see. Unlike other vampire stories, Lovecraft has used the invisible to channelize our thoughts towards the most impossible, thus succeeding in getting the reader totally involved in the text. They at first enjoy the idea of being pursued by evil which gives us a morbid glimpse into their most peculiar psychological makeup. Later however, they are shaken into the belief that the amulet is the cause of all their woe. St. John ultimately becomes the first victim of this ‘hound’. According to the author’s description, St. John was literally torn to ribbons by a carnivorous animal. As the companion lay dying however, he signals the author finally to the actual cause of his sad ending:</span></div>
<div align="center" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">‘The amulet – that damned thing’</span></i><br />
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGA4LC65H1rLzcnjgiZbsYjlmjV8K39Yt-W1aWEXi0Um7TXkgVBKxxmo2P17c55y8arXBRRLrDTboHvcDoegOCJtfRIHskad-IN07iNBF2l0ZTtkVXEZs-6vajKXEcjFIYtjdPIg_JcDPt/s1600/Quanchi_amulet+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGA4LC65H1rLzcnjgiZbsYjlmjV8K39Yt-W1aWEXi0Um7TXkgVBKxxmo2P17c55y8arXBRRLrDTboHvcDoegOCJtfRIHskad-IN07iNBF2l0ZTtkVXEZs-6vajKXEcjFIYtjdPIg_JcDPt/s1600/Quanchi_amulet+(1).jpg" /></a></div>
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">The author tries at first to ignore the link between all the events from Holland uptill St. John’s death & tries to get away from the mansion. A circumstance in London however makes him realize that what was to become of his companion would be his ultimate doom as well. He tries in vain to save himself by returning the amulet back to its owner in Holland but to his misery, he is robbed of the amulet by thieves. When he returns to the grave however, he finds the amulet back with its owner who has been somehow nourished in the grave the way a vampire is nourished by drinking blood. The skeleton in the grave now has grown some flesh & is caked with blood. When it gave a deep sardonic bay like a hound, the author runs away from the wretched place like a madman.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">It is towards the end of the narrative that we realize that the story was a sort of suicide note of the author who wishes to end his life after the end of this tale. He at the end of the story seems to be plagued by the memory of all that had taken place which had affected him psychologically for the worse.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">The underlying ideology in this story is of course the never ending fight between good & evil & where must one finally draw the line. To get a little excitement in one’s life, most individuals some way or another delve into the tempting depths of evil just as the author & St. John did, but the climax finally made the reader realize which is the more safer path to choose.</span><br />
<div style="color: #333333;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNjs5k6pA-CF_C_Z-2Bkmil6IC05OyfBh-A0x43F77WAiFO3LhDg9ZoPFn5_4VRgLSZfz4hxx-rZIsXXv6Zikm7RCFhBe9YMGZC4LFuRGYepeea-RjkX5_o_HWd62zcxd0R2exHi_SGyk/s1600/h+p+lovecraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNjs5k6pA-CF_C_Z-2Bkmil6IC05OyfBh-A0x43F77WAiFO3LhDg9ZoPFn5_4VRgLSZfz4hxx-rZIsXXv6Zikm7RCFhBe9YMGZC4LFuRGYepeea-RjkX5_o_HWd62zcxd0R2exHi_SGyk/s1600/h+p+lovecraft.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://pathanfiza.blogspot.in/2013/02/review-road-to-madness-by-hplovecraft.html">http://pathanfiza.blogspot.in/2013/02/review-road-to-madness-by-hplovecraft.html</a></div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12775013816602830525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495421545180842163.post-27858548268016922852013-02-28T10:44:00.000-08:002013-02-28T10:44:35.643-08:00#Review The Monk of Horror by Anonymous<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>SHORT
STORY</u>: The Monk of Horror<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>AUTHOR</u>:
Anonymous<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This
short story should not be confused with the famous Gothic horror novel ‘The
Monk’ written by M.G.Lewis. Infact, this is a different horror story written I
believe around the same time when Lewis’ book became popular.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This
short story has yet another name – ‘The Conclave of Corpses’. It is an
intriguing fact to note that the short story has two titles while the author
himself is unknown. However, considering the controversial nature of his work
of literature during his day & age, it may have ultimately been a rather
wise decision to let ones identity be as mysterious as the subject matter of
the creation. The story is written in a simple style but with a few hidden
messages which at first are not easy to analyse. Many Latin phrases are used
which is common to the present day Catholic Church teachings as well as the
Canon Law of the Catholic church, especially with regard to a monk’s way of
life. These laws & phrases also existed before the Renaissance as well as
the Reformation. The tone of the story is that of a warning which if not heeded
will ultimately lead to an unmentionable dreadful afterlife. It is a
horror story which reflects a sort of spiritual redefinition that began long
before the Renaissance (the story is set 300 years before the year 1798) &
by the quality of the sentences chosen by the author, is still taking place
even to this day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The
basic idea that one derives from the narrative is that one must do ones duty
with all ones heart & not oppress another person but to alleviate their
suffering. This is true holy obedience which according to the author stands as
a testament after our death…….whether we have done our duty on the basis of
truth & righteousness with all our heart, or we have adulterated our duties
like the way the corrupt milkman adulterates pure cow’s milk with water ? The
question asked by the author is, whether a religious or any person for that
matter should be obedient in doing good out of his own free will…….or will being
forced to do ones duty & to obey even if ones heart is not in sync with
ones actions be 'obedience?'.......are we good because we genuinely want to be
good or, do we hide our true feelings behind a thick curtain of false eyewash
of good actions?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The
protagonist in this story is a curious monk, who just like all of us wishes to
ascertain or deduce what happens to a human being after he or she dies. He
represents not only the common man but also a religious in search of truth. The
only way he can find out, being a monk, is by investigating the convent vaults
& its dead occupant monks in their coffins. The protagonist belongs to the
fictional convent of Kreutzberg suggesting a German atmosphere. He visits the
vaults with the sacristan very often. He knows the vaults well including the
faces of the dead monks in their coffins. One night he enters the vault at the
dead of night & is shocked to see that everything in the vault is altered.
There is an unearthly glow in the vault & all the dead corpses of the monks
seem a bit ‘alive’ & they sit erect in their coffins. The protagonist’s
attention however is taken up by three of the oldest corpses in the vault who
are seated at a sort of ‘coffin table’ & they are engrossed in a book which
has been kept open in front of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now,
the book here plays a very important role in helping us to understand what the
unknown author is trying to convey. If we lose this vital clue, the story seems
meaningless. The protagonist it seems does not get a really good look at the
book…….but from the title inscribed on the top of each page, he comes to know
the title of the book:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>‘Liber
Obedientiae’</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Obvious
to the reader, it is in Latin. The translation would either indicate ‘free
obedience’ or ‘book of obedience’. For those of us who are well aware of
certain Christian (& today Catholic preferably) rules & doctrines,
obedience holds a very prominent place in the life of every Christian
especially every Christian religious. In the case of the Christian religious,
it is imperative that he or she should adopt willingly the sacred vows of holy
chastity, holy poverty & HOLY OBEDIENCE; the person who adopts these vows
cannot have any intimate relationship with anyone, the person cannot possess
any private wealth or property & most importantly……such a person must be
obedient to the elders of the church & their wishes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The
above stated obedience however does not go as deep as ‘Liber Obedientiae’.
‘FREE OBEDIENCE’ means according to church Canon law to be an obedience which
one accepts with one’s whole heart & soul……NOT BY COMPULSION OR FOR SELF
GLORY OR TO OPPRESS ANOTHER BUT TO DO GOOD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Mentioning
that the oldest corpses were reading the book indicates that maybe they failed
to obey such a standard of moral living. Furthermore, the narrative conveys to
us that because of their behaviour in life (most probably against holy free
obedience) they were to have no peace in their afterlife:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>‘Hic non pax’
(Here is no peace)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">They
were also unaware of who they were. Their whole sense of being as a living soul
was taken away from them. They were with fear & apprehension simply
awaiting the Last Judgement, which for Christians indicates the re-appearance
of the Christ to administer justice to the righteous as well as on the wicked,
at the end of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The
horrific climax to the story comes in the form of graves from under the vault’s
ground simply yawning out skeletons. The oldest corpse with the book states
that those skeletons were their victims whom they persecuted. Now this was a
sort of a riddle which can be interpreted in many ways. After all, the author
did not seem to wait to explain to us the role of the multitudes of gory
skeletons literally coming out of the earth, except for writing that they were
victims of the monks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Technically
speaking, all these people were victims of the false & corrupt monks of
that age. However, people learn from their mistakes…………. & so does the
protagonist learn from the mistakes of his elders. He lives the rest of his
life as the narrative shows bringing true glory to the church & witnessing
to the truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Whoever
the anonymous author of this work may be, he surely taught an indirect moral
which can be accepted today, but perhaps in his day & age, it would not
have gone down well. May his work always continue to shine forth his true
personality, a seeker of truth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12775013816602830525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495421545180842163.post-90606291771090533842013-02-27T09:58:00.001-08:002013-02-27T10:01:46.200-08:00#shortanalysis The Ensouled Violin by Madame Blavatsky<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: black;"><u>SHORT STORY</u>:
The Ensouled Violin<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: black;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: start;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: black;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;"><u>AUTHOR</u></span>:
Madame Blavatsky</b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: start;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>This story by revered Madame Blavatsky is certainly a
masterpiece in all aspects be it philosophy, literature, history, psychology,
mysticism, religion & above all, music. It seems that this short story
stemmed from one of the Madame’s nightmares. There are many themes,
personalities & topics that consist of this masterpiece of literature which
does not in the least stagnate the horror story, but only accentuates it to a
crescendo, quite in keeping with the musical theme of the narrative. More than
anything else however, the main theme of this story is ‘passion’….passion that
makes a person either rise to the summits of the highest mountains of heaven,
or sink into the cauldron of hell itself. It is passion that makes Franz Stenio
the young violinist to rival with the great musician Paganini ; it is passion
for the beauty of the sound of the violin that makes Franz play to the
imaginary onlookers he terms as the very gods & goddesses of Greece ; it is
passion that makes Franz believe that he can rival the music of Orpheus’ lyre
(Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion
and myth) ; it is passion for fame & brilliance that makes Franz challenge
Paganini to a sort of violin duel ; it is the passion for mortal acclaim that
Franz in desperation uses the intestines of his beloved adopted father Samuel
Klaus to string up his violin BUT most of all, it is the passion for music
itself that leads Franz Stenio to his ultimate doom for as the story rightfully
shows, love always comes before perfection & adulation. Indeed it was
strangely the holy & righteous love of Samuel Klaus which lead to the
ultimate end of Franz Stenio, the main character of this story.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The story by Madame begins with the arrival of Franz &
his adopted father & teacher Samuel Klaus to the city of Paris. They start
living in humble quarters & Samuel tries to bring up the career of his
adopted son. Unknown to the devoted father of course is the past history &
psychology of his pupil. The pupil, Franz Stenio is of a disposition most rare.
He was brought up the narrative shows as a typical Styrian of those days
(alluding to the years before 1828) surrounded with superstitious lore
concerning ghouls, vampires etc. as well as being a dabbler in ceremonial
magic, sorcery, occult arts & alchemy. The student however has little to do
with these practices, his time, energy & soul being totally devoted to
music, especially his violin.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">The ‘violin’ itself to me seems like a real life
character in this story. There have been many demonic stories & legends
concerning the violin in general which are also mentioned in the story. Madame
has mentioned rightly, the legend of the famous Tartini & his famous
‘Sonate du Diable’ which according to folklore was actually played on the
violin by the devil himself to Tartini while the latter was asleep. The
composition till date as Madame mentions remains a most unusual one which
people consider to be the consequence of Tartini’s bargain with the devil.
Paganini who is also a main character in this short story of horror is also
mentioned to have strung his violin with the intestines of a very dear friend
who loved him very much, thus his playing drove people into a sort of musical
ecstasy or frenzy. Black magic plays a very important role here in this
narrative indicating how through the black arts, human organs are used as
powerful magical agents.</span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAsSuslLPLT-fP9KoON6n3VMfM369cA8LfVXtg70Xv3nGjsF19b4Uc0Ls7_pjJXAoeZdQc2Tcoh_HEjhfywH9EFB-A0Jq_TiLcpAtfwuTxxMqFThJ36BD-diW8Gl0pGeFgJfByLEumcHbA/s1600/Tartini's+Dream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAsSuslLPLT-fP9KoON6n3VMfM369cA8LfVXtg70Xv3nGjsF19b4Uc0Ls7_pjJXAoeZdQc2Tcoh_HEjhfywH9EFB-A0Jq_TiLcpAtfwuTxxMqFThJ36BD-diW8Gl0pGeFgJfByLEumcHbA/s320/Tartini's+Dream.jpg" width="320" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Franz Stenio however is unawares of this aspect of the
black art & continues to play his violin. When his money runs short, he returns
to his mother who is a firm Christian & is appalled with the knowledge that
her son does not go to church. She unfortunately as the story goes dies in bed
of a chill while trying to supplicate heaven to bring back her son to the
church. After this, Franz lives a Bohemian lifestyle only playing to the Greek
gods until his tutor finds him. This tutor is none other than Samuel Klaus who
beseeches his pupil to give up his current state of life & become his son.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>It is at this point of time something very important
takes place. For a long period of time, Franz was not really interested in
worldly glory for his playing………it is Samuel Klaus his teacher who reawakened
in his pupil this desire which ultimately leads to his doom, just the way the
love for fame & glory without humility always leads to one’s doom.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Note that though during Franz’s three month lifestyle
after his mother’s death he spent his life like a bohemian, he was genuinely
happy. He infact as the narrative states was leading a life full of bliss……until
the greed of fame entered into his mind. The evil of greed therefore is
highlighted in this most extraordinary story.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The story goes on to show how adopted father &
adopted son travel through several German cities & earned praise but when
they reached Paris, they were hindered in their course of work by a musician of
unparalleled excellence, Niccolo Paganini.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPaED4w3Rlj7_dBCe4wCWyo6Ab4Ibi4dZwoBTRl2waTdPmD6trtN5vjNecNwu2CdJ53SxtDjd9Ujodnk4DonkdB4UsGpbkeRRwvqLu0Rp95RB7j070ZoCXmwKJuEA-enVuMMd8hm2Mgoh/s1600/409px-Nicolo_Paganini_by_Richard_James_Lane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: black;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPaED4w3Rlj7_dBCe4wCWyo6Ab4Ibi4dZwoBTRl2waTdPmD6trtN5vjNecNwu2CdJ53SxtDjd9Ujodnk4DonkdB4UsGpbkeRRwvqLu0Rp95RB7j070ZoCXmwKJuEA-enVuMMd8hm2Mgoh/s320/409px-Nicolo_Paganini_by_Richard_James_Lane.jpg" width="218" /></b></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>The arrival of this rival sets the tone of despair in the
hearts & minds of Samuel & Franz who were the worshippers of fame. They
realize for themselves at a concert after pawning their watches to buy tickets
that it was true…….Paganini was a much better player than Franz Stenio.
However, Samuel Klaus makes his fatal mistake by stating that Paganini’s talent
was not of this world & that he had made a pact with the devil to play so
well. Furthermore, Samuel also informed Franz of the theory of human intestines
being used as strings for Paganini’s violin. Possibly, the tutor was only trying
to make Franz feel better & not to let his wounded pride fester indicating
to him indirectly that at least Franz was not a devil worshipper. However,
instead of making Franz feel better……..it literally drove Franz insane. A
sinister look immediately came upon his face as it does on someone who is
desperate. Franz immediately declares to his adopted father that to gain human
adulation, he too would be willing to sell himself, body & soul to the evil
one.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Here, Madame shows us how the craving for human glory can
derange a person’s mind & indirectly recalls to our mind how only humility
& simple day to day living can only make us true free citizens away from
devilish & evil bondage.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Franz immediately goes into a sort of brain fever &
is cared for by his loving tutor Samuel Klaus. During this time, Franz starts
to rave aloud, indicating that he would only become a great musician if he
managed to string his violin with the intestines of his beloved tutor for human
intestines was not all that was important as legend goes…….it is important also
that those intestines should have belonged to someone who had loved the
violinist with an unselfish & holy love. We do however realize that Franz
does not want to kill Samuel that’s why he feels like a prisoner. In the narrative,
Franz describes himself as Prometheus (the Titan god of forethought and crafty
counsel who was entrusted with the task of moulding mankind out of clay) whose
arms & legs are bound with the four strings of the violin…made of
intestines. All this & much more is heard by Samuel which brings out two
other aspects of this story that surpasses pride, self-glory & fame……these
are love & sacrifice.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Samuel Klaus being the person he was devoted as a mother
to his adopted son & self-sacrificing as a Christian martyr….kills himself
for the sake of Franz, so that the young man could use his intestines to string
his violin. It is Samuel’s holy & perfect love for Franz that makes him do
this. I quote here from the narrative itself which forms part of the last letter
which Samuel hands over to Franz:<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: black;"><i>“Take your instrument with you & dog the steps of him
(Paganini) who filled our lives with bitterness & despair…………then only wilt
thou hear with what a magic power the full notes of unselfish love will issue
forth from thy violin. Perchance, with a last caressing touch of its chords,
thou wilt remember that they once formed a portion of thine old teacher.”</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<i><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></i></div>
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</div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Madame shows here how unselfish true love can be &
one cannot ignore the choke in ones throat after reading the above immortal
line. Yet, fooling with the devil is not wise & this leads to the untimely
& horrific death of Franz.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Indeed Franz strings his instrument with the intestines of his beloved
teacher & even challenges Paganini to a violin duel. However, before the
duel, Franz grows restless & queer. The devil seems to be acting up &
tries to force Franz in the voice of his teacher FROM THE VIOLIN BOX to
unstring the intestines. Franz refuses to do so forgetting the legend of
Tartini who apparently according to his teacher died one fine Sabbath night,
strangled by his familiar demon who had taught him how to endow his violin with
a human voice (Tartini died on February 26, 1770 after a long illness it is
officially recorded).</b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>During the duel, it is true….Franz seems to be out
beating Paganini but at the last moment….from the sounding board of the violin
comes out squeaking, jarring tones which ruins the whole performance &
makes Franz a laughing stock. To add to this….a voice is actually heard from
the sounding board saying:<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: black;"><i>“Art thou satisfied, Franz, my boy?......Have not
Gloriously kept my promise, eh?”</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<i><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></i></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt;">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Whether it is really the sarcastic voice of Samuel’s
spirit or a devil, no one would know for immediately Franz is killed on stage
after being surrounded by a grey mist.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.25pt; text-align: start;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: black;">This
story is full of meaning & has a lot of moral depth. It shows us how one
simply can lose oneself in one’s own ambition. It also shows us how great
literature can really be written. I salute Madame.</b></span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12775013816602830525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495421545180842163.post-12851944188358953512013-02-23T23:09:00.001-08:002013-02-24T07:46:55.653-08:00#Review Mama Gone by Jane Yolen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span lang="EN">SHORT STORY</span></u><span lang="EN">: Mama Gone</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span lang="EN">AUTHOR:</span></u><span lang="EN"> Jane Yolen </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN">This short story according
to me can stand as a testimonial that, not all vampire stories are the same.
This story by Jane Yolen has brought out emotions & feelings that are
beyond the life in the grave or the life of the walking dead. The story has
infact spoken about the everlasting relationship between a mother & a child……..as
well as the everlasting tale of the vampire. The narrative tries to ask the
reader of vampire fiction a question, whether a mother who has changed into a
vampire can forget about everything? Including her children? The author also
tries to question the idea of whether being a vampire is more powerful than being
a loving mother. In the end however, it is certainly proven that a mother’s
feelings for her children always triumphs in the end.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN">Emotions are a main
ingredient in this story, each & every character in this story emotes.
However, the emotions that are prevailing in the story are not that of hate,
fear, horror, terror etc. that one would normally associate with vampire
stories. Infact the emotions expressed in the narrative are that of grief,
pity, sorrow & of course love. In the story on the death of ‘mama’ the
mother of the narrator, the only emotions that are expressed are the emotions
of grief & sorrow typical & normal of anyone who loses their wife or
their mother……..however, these emotions were expressed even though it was known
that the woman who died was from a family lineage of vampires. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN">After the mother dies during
child birth, the second child Bubba cries out his emotions in his simple babble
‘Mama Gone’ while the husband is in the depths of sorrow on seeing the blood
stained bed.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN">Although the husband of the
woman is advised to take the necessary precautions in the grave by cutting off
the woman’s hands & feet & filling her mouth with garlic, the husband
flatly refuses. However, superstition turns to reality when the woman leaves
her grave & tries to get into her own home first to prey upon her own
family. She is however prevented from doing so by the narrator who has already
smeared the window panes with garlic & who holds up a Christian cross
infront of her mother. The woman later kills an infant in the crib after which
the husband realizes his mistake.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN">The narrator of the story
was the eldest of the mother’s children called Mandy Jane. She seems also to be
not only more in control of her emotions than her father but also is the only
person who has complete faith & trust in the love her mother had for her.
It is she who risks the night to remind her vampire mother about all the good
times they have had as a family. Mandy Jane’s recalling of old memories aloud
to the mother makes the mother remember the goodness in her that cleanses away the
stigma of the walking dead.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN">This story reeks not with
the stench of blood but with the fragrance of love which as Jane Yolen has put
it, has conquered even the impenetrable barrier of the vampire. One cannot help
but get a choke in ones throat when the poor Mandy Jane tries to sing a lullaby
to her vampire mother while she lies face down on her grave of red clay so that
the vampire may not arise & terrorize the surrounding area. The love of
Mandy Jane overpowered her fear of the evil forces present in her undead
mother. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN">Many references to the Bible
are made in the narrative speaking about what the ‘Good Book’ feels about
death. One important line which the father narrates to Mandy Jane from the
Bible after he realizes that he needs to drive a stake into his undead wife is a
quotation from Ecclesiastes 9:5 : ‘<i>For
the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything’. </i>However,
this is not the complete line of Ecclesiastes 9:5, the full quotation is:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span lang="EN">‘For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything,
neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten'</span></i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN">This line was proven by
Mandy Jane to be false as in the end, she made her mother REMEMBER LOVE &
therefore saved her mother from eternal damnation just the way, the love of the
Messiah Jesus Christ saves all the living & the ‘dead’ who believe in him.
In the bargain, Jane Yolen gives the reader a moral to comprehend in her
narrative ‘Mama Gone’.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN">In the last part of the
short story, the mother who is now free from her slavery to blood tells her
daughter that she is ‘here & gone’ which can be interpreted as that she has
now come to her senses but will soon leave her child & this world &
enter her heavenly realm. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN">Jane Yolen with this Vampire
story in a simple narrative style has brought out a wonderful moral.</span></span></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12775013816602830525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495421545180842163.post-28586940167225105882013-02-23T11:55:00.002-08:002013-02-23T12:09:16.926-08:00#Review The Horror At Chilton Castle by Joseph Payne Brennan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The author of this short story has really understood the
meaning & the technique of how to create a really terrifying story. What is
marvellous about the author is that, he comes straight to the point without
using any unwanted descriptions, psychological rigmarole theories or anything
that distracts the reader from the main core of the story. That is why Joseph
Payne Brennan is successful in creating a horrifying story which can be marked
of as a real classic.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Anticipation & fear of the unknown are the main
ingredients of his plot which is accentuated with fine narration. In this
story, one can actually try to delve into the mind of a person so evil…..that
she made a pact with the devil, just so that she may not die. The story does
not therefore only terrify the reader but also makes the reader contemplate indirectly
about what exactly separates one from being evil & good……& exactly how
evil can a human being really become if given an opportunity to do so ?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The title of the short story is apt, for it is only ‘horror’
that a person encounters inside the worn down walls of Chilton castle. This
horror is however far from a usual ‘scare’ as one might put it to a lay man.
Infact, it is a horror right from the abyss of all evil & hate…….we
sometimes refer to it as hell while certain psychologists refer to it as……the
human mind.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The story begins with the author himself out on a leisurely
vacation in Europe concentrating on his studies on his family’s genealogy. His
father’s roots are well accounted for whereas his mother’s show a few gaps. He
decides then to go suddenly north towards the vicinity of the Chilton Castle.
He states at the beginning of the narrative itself that he is a sort of ‘distant
relative’ of the Chilton’s. The frightful part of the story is when I noticed
that the author’s middle name (Payne) coincides with the Earls of Chilton castle
as well, making me wonder for a minute whether I was reading a story or a real
persons account of what happened to him at a place called ‘Chilton Castle’. While
the author resides at the inn of the Red Goose, he meets the actual factor of
Chilton castle who looks 70 years of age & who is restless. This factor
apparently states that a week ago the 12<sup>th</sup> Earl of Chilton Castle
was laid to rest & that night was the night for the 13<sup>th</sup> Earl to
take his father’s place…..& to begin with, the young man had to be shown a
secret room in the depths of the castle. The factor implores the author to
accompany him with the 13th weak & wan Earl to the secret room as the
author was the only somewhat ‘near’ relation in the vicinity & the act had
to be carried out on that dreadful night itself.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The atmosphere during the whole narrative plays a great role
in what happens at Chilton castle. The incessant rain, the lightening &
thunder adds to the restlessness of all three men namely the factor William
Cowath, the 13<sup>th</sup> Earl Frederick & the author himself. However,
as it is noted in the short story, no one is left without blemish after they
observe what lies within the secret room in Chilton Castle. All three men dive
in deeper & deeper into the bowels of the castle until they come across a
rather modern brick wall which is immediately broken down by the factor to
reveal……….the room that had such a terrible impact on the weak & frail 13<sup>th</sup>
Earl that he lost his mind that very night. The nerve of the factor was shaken
on seeing what was in the room while the author himself the very next day
literally runs away from the castle & Europe to get back to America. All
three men were shaken by what they saw…..but what indeed did they see ???</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The author himself before he meets the factor was
contemplating in the inn of the Red Goose about what exactly was contained in
the secret room of the Chilton’s. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the
basis of his research, he narrows down the following possibilities:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>In the room there exists the skeletal remains of
the Gowers who were left to starve to death by the Chilton’s & who in desperation
resorted finally to cannibalism</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>The medieval torture tools were present in that
secret room with the last of their victims’ bodies still attached to them in a
grotesque fashion</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>A female ancestor of the Chilton’s, a Lady Susan
Glanville who was supposedly a witch & was saved from the stake had
something to do with the secret room.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The author keeps us in the dark
till the very end…..when however the truth is known, it seems most horrible
& absolutely demonic in every term of the word which makes the story a
wonderful piece of literature. The author has remarkably enchanted us with the
truth & yet has frightened us to the extreme. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The short story is a fantastic work of art
which must be read with due reverence to its creator. I shall not divulge the
ending for obvious reasons</span>.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12775013816602830525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495421545180842163.post-249105688913922532013-02-22T11:24:00.001-08:002013-02-22T11:28:21.039-08:00#review The Vampire of Kaldenstein by Frederick Cowles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Being an ardent reader of books in the horror genre, I was very pleased on coming across this incredible short story written by Cowles. The author according to me has surpassed himself in this absolutely grotesque story of the unearthly Count Of Kaldenstein who as the title amply suggests is a vampire who continues living by feasting on the blood of innocent victims. Many of my fellow readers on reading this enchanting story would presume it to be a sort of a similar recounting of the classic novel ‘Dracula’ penned by Bram Stoker specially the first part of the narrative where Johnathan Harker visits Count Dracula’s castle inspite of the many warnings he had encountered by the locals. To such readers I would like to clarify that this masterpiece has no connection whatsoever to the Gothic story of ‘Dracula’. The story of Cowles is an ingenious work of art which creates a very horrific atmosphere that any reader of the fantastic would be thrilled by. His storyline is different as well as the way he presents his protagonist. One cannot deny Cowles the credit of being a very extraordinary writer of terror.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The story is divided into four parts very systematically & very professionally by the author. The protagonist who is on a walking tour across Germany in the year 1933 as the story goes, loses his way somewhat & manages to find himself in a very rural & primitive looking village called Kaldenstein.The people there are simple but friendly & the innkeeper there offers him food & boarding. The descriptions used by the author are not tiresome but infact enhance the whole effect of the story upon the reader’s mind. Many times in the story, the descriptions are the tools with which the author is able to create a scene of horror which mystifies us & also scandalises us. This is seen very well when the protagonist observes castle Kaldenstein blocking the full moon across a starless sky indicating an image of foreboding. The author also masterfully portrays how in a simple village setting….there lays an evil most powerful & ancient. In the story this is clearly shown when the villagers in the inn refuse to speak about the undead Count of Kaldenstein & also when the innkeeper himself bolts his door shut before he informs the author about the number of years the count had been residing alone in the castle (300 years). The descriptions enliven the narrative & creates in the reader a fear which only a great story-teller can do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The characters are portrayed very well in the narrative, even though it is a short story. The characters are brought alive with the use of a minimal amount of introductory statements which are sufficient to inform us about the character’s traits & to go on with the story. Be it the head strong protagonist, the devilish Count Of Kaldenstein, the mysterious & half blind servant of castle Kaldenstein or even the thin Christian priest who ultimately saves the protagonist from a very gruesome death……all the characters are wholesome & very well described. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Scepticism is portrayed very well in the protagonist. His scepticism however turns to defiance when he challenges the warnings of the locals as well as of the priest & visits the castle of Kaldenstein twice, once in the morning where he returns safely & the second time at night to meet the Count …..where he does not emerge until he is saved by the priest & the innkeeper. Scepticism is degraded in the narrative whereas a belief in the unknown is questioned leaving the reader at the end of the story in a questioning frame of mind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.385;">The character of the Count of Kaldenstein himself is definitely different to that of Bram Stoker’s ‘Count Dracula’. Unlike ‘Count Dracula’ the Count of Kaldenstein is uncivil & is not in control of his basic instincts. This is portrayed very well when the Count licks up the pool of blood dripping out from the protagonist’s cut hand. He also delves in Black magic which has made him immune to death altogether according to the Kaldenstein priest. Otherwise, The Count Of Kaldenstein possess similar characteristics of regular vampires. He is quite unusually pale with sharp pointed teeth & also is extremely strong. His strength is observed when he lifts the protagonist off his bed from the waist as if the protagonist was just a mere child.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 1.385;">The most gruesome part of the short story however, is when the helpless protagonist is placed upon the dining table ready to be feasted upon by three vampires, two who were technically supposed to be dead while one was technically immune to death. The idea of each of them feasting upon the blood of the victim first from throat then the breast & then the neck is revolting yet, the author has managed to make the story very much the stuff of high-brow classic literature which prompts the reader of the fantastic to go on towards the climax. The protagonist however is saved by the priest & the innkeeper who forces the Count Of Kaldenstein to open his castle door with the aid of the Catholic Blessed Sacrament.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The story ends with a mystery & a feeling of wonder at the reality of it all. On another note, the atmosphere created by the author is tantalizing & yet, highly peaceful just like the remote village where the story takes place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">All in all, a must read for all horror genre readers especially those who prefer their vampires devilishly evil.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12775013816602830525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495421545180842163.post-70918176428849995582013-02-21T10:30:00.000-08:002013-03-07T11:10:47.461-08:00#Review The Road To Madness by H.P.Lovecraft<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I must admit that this was the first time I actually came across the author H. P. Lovecraft. This book I found at the Strand Bookstall in town after it fell on my head as I was rummaging through a bookshelf containing some other great books on philosophy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was taken aback when I read on the back cover of the book that Lovecraft had inspired many of my own favourite authors of the macabre like Anne Rice, Stephen King & Clive Barker. As I poured over the stories at night UNDER my study table with the table lamp on, I was transported to a realm quite different from my own understanding of terror & fantasy. Lovecraft’s ideas were not only macabre but also quite morbid & blood chilling. True that his works are steeped in grand descriptions which normally puts a casual reader of, but a true lover of literature & horror will certainly realize after reading Lovecraft’s works like ‘At The Mountains Of Madness’, ‘Reanimator’, ‘Imprisoned With The Pharaohs’ etc that, the descriptions are all meaningful to completely realize the actual horror behind it all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As Barbara Hambly stated, H.P. Lovecraft struggles to bring out his ideas to the reader….it is his idea that is powerful & extraordinary. His pseudo – Poe short stories take on another turn as they get more original & more bizzare as the years go by. Lovecraft’s characters too keep on undergoing transformations & at times reappear in other stories. He in the bargain creates a niche for himself in the horror & fantasy genre which no one can rob.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He is excellent as I have observed in first person accounts of the story, making the reader grip the book tightly in a cold sweat as he administers the opiate of fear into our system….almost like his warped character Herbert West does by administering a special powder into the veins of dead bodies or organs to bring them to life in the ‘Reanimator’(this was better than Frankenstein). Most of Lovecraft’s protagonists I have observed are men (its always men !!!) who are :</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1] Well educated</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2] Intelligent</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3] Believe in the dark forces & works of very sinister personalities (eg., the constant repition of the book Necronomicon by the Arab Abdul Alhazred who was a genius par excellance)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4] Have this constant habit of getting into trouble inspite of their intelligence</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">No doubt that at times his stories have a certain amount of Racism present in it, never the less, Lovecraft still pens his stories with a masterstroke of a true wizard of the terrible. Most of his main characters as I have stated before are common scholars or scientists except for ‘Imprisoned With The Pharoahs’ where the poor person imprisoned is the world famous escape artist (got to love him) Harry Houdini. </span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">My personal favourites in this book were ;</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">1) The Transition Of Juan Romero</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">2) The Temple</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">3) The Terrible Old Man</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">4) Reanimator (lots of gross descriptions & lots of blood….too good !)</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">5) Imprisoned With The Pharaohs (I love Houdini)</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">6) The Horror At Red Hook (out of this world !) &</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">7) In The Walls Of Eryx (he co -authored this with Kenneth Sterling)</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Lovecraft refers a lot to Edgar Allen Poe in most of his early works especially in ‘The Shunned House’ where it looks like he really was enamoured by the original creator of the macabre. </span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">All in all…….a thumbs up for Lovecraft & his ‘madness’. Now I am going to check out all the movies that have been based on this stories. Indeed, many movies have found their genesis in the works of this master of ghastly descriptions. </span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">I shall post some more information & links after I finish my research.</span></strong></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 33px;"><b>http://pathanfiza.blogspot.in/2013/03/review-hound-by-hplovecraft.html</b></span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12775013816602830525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495421545180842163.post-19814720673703957312013-02-20T10:45:00.000-08:002013-02-21T10:34:11.143-08:00#Review Dracula By Bram Stoker<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have got a very close bonding with Bram Stoker’s book Dracula because….it was the first book that I ever read, on my own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.385;">I was at that time in the 3rd grade. I was at school during the summer vacations because mother (who was a teacher in the same school) had got a lot of paper work to do with the other teachers & she could not leave me at home all alone. Without any children around to play with, I was bored stiff & somehow in desperation to find some company, dragged my tiny chubby feet up to our library. I did not find anyone there but the librarian….but I found somebody that would lure me into the paradise of literature forever….stumbling over the long & high shelves…..I found Dracula.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">” What's this all about ?” I asked the librarian.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Why child its a horror book”, she answered with a start.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“May I borrow this one ?” I timidly asked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“As you wish, don’t blame me if it scares you”, she stated quite matter of factually as she stamped the card I gave her (my mothers) & carrying the fat book to my chest went into an empty classroom to read….& the librarian was right, the book did scare me, it scared me right out of my wits…..but I liked it. I devoured an unabridged classic at the age of seven for over five hours…FINISHING it…UNDERSTANDING every part of it & then returned it to the librarian that very same day before mother was to take me home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Scared you ?” asked the librarian in a sarcastic tone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“Yes indeed, the evil was very bad but the good was very good”, said I meekly with a twinkle in my raven black eyes, for I knew at once that hence forward, I had new friends better than the ones I used to play hide & seek with…..they were books…mountains of them…millions of them…..but who brought me to them…..Dracula, & I had entered out of my own free will.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well, that was my little history with the monster & seducer Dracula, now to the literary part of the whole matter. Dracula it is said when it was published did not give any profits to his creator who we all know as Bram Stoker but from the onset of cinema & television, the vampire who stalks the innocent for their life saving blood became an instant success bring the classic out into the limelight. Each movie or drama based on Dracula colour him in different ways but my concern is with the vampire…or the undead creature that Bram Stoker tried to put forward in his novel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The real Dracula as Stoker put it was once a royal figure of great intrigue during the middle ages known for his intellect & soldier blood but who lived or survived after his supposed ‘death’ as a vampire who is more spirit & blood than really human. We all are well aware that Bram Stoker in his research for a real life character to play the role of his vampire took the personage of the infamous Vlad Dracula who was a great warrior but had some rather nasty habits of impaling people & dining where he could see this happening. There was a lot of speculation as to his death (whether he really died or did not). Facts are that when his casket was removed from the earth & checked, well…..he wasn’t there. This was it for Stoker, now his vampire would be this very same impaler king who returned to drink the red blood of the human race…Stoker even recorded the history of this king in his novel & gave his vampire that king’s very own name – DRACULA.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thus now backed by historical evidence, Dracula started to unleash his spell of evil on all & sundry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But coming to the theme of Stoker, it is evident that in his time (the Victorian Period) a vampire was still considered as a thing of evil & something which was ugly & ghastly. Stoker’s Dracula however is a learned & very dignified count who lives in a castle & dresses rather well. Although he has all the physical features of a vampire (hair on palms, no reflection, pale skin, canine teeth etc) he can yet pass of as a regular human being to an ignorant person. He is also a master seducer of women which was exaggerated to a great extent by modern film makers. But, Stoker was Victorian & for him, Dracula was evil incarnate someone who was damned by God (unlike the modern day teenage vampire’s who somehow have warped the idea of vampirism completely) even though he looked very human to the eye. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stoker was clear cut in his analysis of his own vampire, Dracula was different but he was still evil maybe more evil than the vampire’s of his predecessors (Varney & Carmilla to name a few). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While Dracula is evil incarnate…the person who is all good & wanting the death of Dracula is Dr.Van Helsing a medical man who like Dracula is also learned…but has deep faith in the living & especially God. It is he who realizes the presence of a vampire in the tragic case of Lucy & he is shrewd enough to know when he should shift from the objective world to the world of superstition. He attributes this to his experience & age. He saw what the others could not see (except poor Mr. Harker who almost got killed in Dracula’s castle) & knew what science was not willing to believe. Undoubtedly the true hero of the story is Dr. Van Helsing, but since humans are more fascinated with evil…we all regard Dracula as the real hero of this story although after the draining of Lucy’s blood, her really does not appear that much in the narrative.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The narrative itself is unique written in the form of journals, ship logs, diaries etc not only of one person but many individuals put together. All events fall into place & this style of telling a story has affected most of my writings. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some of the folklore behind the origin of vampires is made accurately by the writer however, some parts are exaggerated. It is scary ,no doubt about that & it also shocks. Catholic customs & traditions are intricately used against the vampires & with a mad house in the story, the novel exceeds itself in generating a new (at that time) kind of horror which was & is still imitated by many authors today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.385;">The best part of the story is the mystery itself & how Biblical terms can be changed to mean something absolutely horrid (the blood is the life). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This was about the 20th time I was reading Dracula, & yet I felt a shiver rum up my spine but now I have got an extra amount of literary backing not to be shocked out of my wits. Dracula introduced me to literature & the beauty of books….I thank the count a thousand times today for doing at least one good turn…in his all so cruel life.</span></div>
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