Carcosa is a fictional city in Ambrose Bierce 's short story " An Inhabitant of Carcosa " (1886). The ancient and mysterious city is barely described and is viewed only in hindsight (after its destruction) by a character who once lived there.
39-515: American writer Robert W. Chambers borrowed the name "Carcosa" for several of his short stories featured in the 1895 book The King in Yellow , inspiring generations of authors to similarly use Carcosa in their own works. The city was later used more extensively in Robert W. Chambers ' book of short stories published in 1895, titled The King in Yellow . Chambers had read Bierce's work and borrowed
78-647: A fuzz pedal called the Carcosa. The pedal featured two modes, named "Hali" and "Demhe". In the Mass Effect 3 video game, there is a planet named Carcosa. In the Elite Dangerous video game, there is an inhabited star system named Carcosa. In 2001, the Belgian black metal band Ancient Rites released the album Dim Carcosa . The title track's lyrics consist of excerpts from "Cassilda's Song". In
117-629: A college in Boston, where he studied medicine. Upon graduating, he and his wife, Eliza P. Allen (1793–1880), a direct descendant of Roger Williams , the founder of Providence, Rhode Island, were among the first settlers of Broadalbin, New York . His brother was the architect Walter Boughton Chambers . Chambers was first educated at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute , and then entered the Art Students' League at around
156-606: A copy of the original newspaper appearance of the novel Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Serviss which he wished to publish. Shroyer talked Hodgkins and Skeeters into going in on shares to form the publisher which issued the Serviss book in 1947. Dikty offered advice, and William L. Crawford of F.P.C.I. helped with production and distribution. Carcosa House announced one other book, Enter Ghost: A Study in Weird Fiction , by Sam Russell, but due to slow sales of
195-418: A corporate and bankruptcy lawyer, and Caroline Smith Boughton (1842–1913). His parents met when his mother was twelve years old and William P. was interning with her father, Joseph Boughton, a prominent corporate lawyer. Eventually the two formed the law firm of Chambers and Boughton which continued to prosper even after Joseph's death in 1861. Robert Chambers's great-grandfather, William Chambers (birth unknown),
234-418: A few additional names from his work, including Hali and Hastur . In Chambers' stories, and within the apocryphal play titled The King in Yellow , which is mentioned several times within them, the city of Carcosa is a mysterious, ancient, and possibly cursed place. The most precise description of its location is the shores of Lake Hali, either on another planet, or in another universe. For instance: Along
273-429: A group of wealthy Louisiana politicians and church leaders. The main characters, Rust Cohle and Marty Hart, storm the temple in the final episode of the season, where they confront a serial killer, who is the most active member of the cult. It is understood that the cult worships the "Yellow King", to whom an effigy is dedicated in the main chamber of 'Carcosa'. The series hints at a larger conspiracy that continues beyond
312-472: A lieutenant in the British Royal Navy , was married to Amelia Saunders (1765–1822), a great-granddaughter of Tobias Saunders of Westerly, Rhode Island. The couple moved from Westerly to Greenfield, Massachusetts , and then to Galway , New York, where their son, also named William Chambers (1798–1874), was born. The second William graduated from Union College at the age of 18, and then went to
351-403: A son, Robert Edward Stuart Chambers (1899–1955) (who sometimes used the name Robert Husted Chambers). Robert W. Chambers died on December 16, 1933, three days after undergoing intestinal surgery. H. P. Lovecraft said of Chambers in a letter to Clark Ashton Smith : Chambers is like Rupert Hughes and a few other fallen Titans – equipped with the right brains and education but wholly out of
390-511: Is a kingdom in the west. It was established upon principles of freedom and is populated by pirates, nomads, escaped slaves, and religious exiles. Robert W. Chambers Robert William Chambers (May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short stories titled The King in Yellow , published in 1895. Chambers was born in Brooklyn , New York, to William P. Chambers (1827–1911),
429-600: Is a misty lake found near the city of Hastur. In the fictional play The King in Yellow (obliquely described by author Robert W. Chambers in the collection of short stories of the same title), the mysterious cities of Alar and Carcosa stand beside the lake. Like Carcosa, it is referenced in the Cthulhu Mythos stories of H.P. Lovecraft and the authors who followed him. The name Hali originated in Ambrose Bierce's " An Inhabitant of Carcosa " (1886) in which Hali
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#1732780440773468-495: Is mentioned in the song "Strange and Eternal" of the 2022 album Netherheaven by the American technical death metal band Revocation . Two different publishers have used the name Carcosa. Carcosa House was a science fiction specialty publishing firm formed in 1947 by Frederick B. Shroyer, a boyhood friend of T. E. Dikty , and two Los Angeles science fiction fans , Russell Hodgkins and Paul Skeeters. Shroyer had secured
507-548: Is the author of a quote which prefaces the story. The narrator of the story implies that the person named Hali is now dead (at least in the timeline of the story). Several other nearly undescribed places are alluded to in Chambers' writing, among them Hastur, Yhtill, and Aldebaran. "Aldebaran" may refer to the star Aldebaran , likely as it is also associated with the mention of the Hyades star cluster, with which it shares space in
546-1120: Is vivid and historically accurate." Critical studies of Chambers's horror and fantasy work include Lee Weinstein's essay in Supernatural Fiction Writers , Brian Stableford's essay in the St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers and a chapter in S. T. Joshi 's book The Evolution of the Weird Tale (2004). Chambers's novel The Tracer of Lost Persons was adapted into a long-running (1937–54) radio crime drama, Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons , by soap opera producers Frank and Anne Hummert . Chambers's The King in Yellow has inspired many modern authors, including Karl Edward Wagner , Joseph S. Pulver , Lin Carter , James Blish , Nic Pizzolatto , Michael Cisco , Stephen King , Ann K. Schwader , Robert M. Price , Galad Elflandsson and Charles Stross . Delta Green Too Many Requests If you report this error to
585-819: The American Civil War . Chambers also wrote Cardigan (1901), a historical novel for younger readers, set at the outbreak of the American Revolution . Chambers later turned to writing romantic fiction to earn a living. According to some estimates, Chambers had one of the most successful literary careers of his period, his later novels selling well and a handful achieving best-seller status. Chambers' romance novels often featured intimate relationships between "caddish" men and sexually willing women, resulting in some reviewers accusing Chambers' works of promoting immorality. Many of his works were also serialised in magazines. His novel The Man They Hanged
624-551: The Gobi Desert , destroyed when the Illuminati arrived on Earth via flying saucers from the planet Vulcan . In maps of the world of George R. R. Martin 's A Song of Ice and Fire , a city named Carcosa is labeled on the easternmost edge of the map along the coast of a large lake, near other magical cities such as Asshai. In The World of Ice and Fire , it is mentioned that a sorcerer lord lives there who claims to be
663-496: The 1991 EP Passage to Arcturo by Rotting Christ , the song "Inside The Eye of Algond" nominates the Mystical Carcosa as part of the singer's journey. The second song of the 2015 album Luminiferous by the American metal band High on Fire is named Carcosa. Swedish rapper Yung Lean 's third album Stranger features the closing track "Yellowman". Carcosa is mentioned in the song. In 2016, DigiTech released
702-719: The Banks of the River Seine"), Charles Stross (in the Laundry Files series), Anders Fager and S. M. Stirling (in the Emberverse series). Joseph S. Pulver has written nearly 30 tales and poems that are based on and/or include Carcosa, The King in Yellow, or other elements from Robert W. Chambers. Pulver also edited an anthology A Season in Carcosa of new tales based upon The King in Yellow, released by Miskatonic River Press in 2012. John Scott Tynes contributed to
741-696: The Carcosa mansion was built as the official residence of the Resident-General of the Federated Malay States for the first holder of that office, Sir Frank Swettenham . It was in use as a luxury hotel, the Carcosa Seri Negara , from 1989 to 2015 and has been abandoned since then. Swettenham took the name from The King in Yellow . In the Quebec-based geopolitical/live-action role-play game Bicolline , Carcosa
780-683: The Isles series, Carcosa is the name of the ancient capital of the old kingdom, which collapsed a thousand years before the events of the series. In S.M. Stirling 's Emberverse series, Carcosa is the name of a South Pacific city inhabited by evil people led by the Yellow Raja and the Pallid Mask. In Lawrence Watt-Evans ' The Lords of Dûs series, a character known as the Forgotten King, who dresses in yellow rags, reveals that he
819-515: The Quarter , written in 1887 in Munich . His most famous, and perhaps most meritorious, effort is The King in Yellow , a collection of Art Nouveau short stories published in 1895. This included several famous weird short stories that are connected by the theme of a fictitious drama of the same title, which drives those who read it insane. E. F. Bleiler described The King in Yellow as one of
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#1732780440773858-469: The Serviss book, it was never published. Carcosa was a specialty publishing firm formed by David Drake , Karl Edward Wagner , and Jim Groce, who were concerned that Arkham House would cease publication after the death of its founder, August Derleth . Carcosa was founded in North Carolina in 1973 and put out four collections of pulp horror stories, all edited by Wagner. Their first book
897-638: The Unknown and Police!!! , about a zoologist who encounters monsters. Chambers's main work of historical fiction was a series of novels set during the Franco-Prussian War . These novels were The Red Republic (1895, centring on the Paris Commune ), Lorraine (1898), Ashes of Empire (1898) and Maids of Paradise (1903). Chambers wrote Special Messenger (1909), Ailsa Paige (1910) and Whistling Cat (1932), novels set during
936-615: The age of twenty, where the artist Charles Dana Gibson was a fellow student. Chambers studied in Paris at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian from 1886 to 1893, and his work was displayed at the Salon as early as 1889. On his return to New York, he succeeded in selling his illustrations to Life , Truth , and Vogue magazines. Then, for reasons unclear, he devoted his time to writing, producing his first novel, In
975-567: The early 2000s, a Mysterious Package Company experience called The King in Yellow was introduced, heavily inspired by story and title. Later, a sequel experience entitled Carcosa: Rise of the Cult was created, obviously connected to this shared universe and connected to the original The King in Yellow. In 2017, Fantasy Flight Games released an expansion for Arkham Horror: The Card Game titled "The Path to Carcosa" in which players investigate occurrences based on The King in Yellow . Carcosa
1014-577: The habit of using them. Despite Chambers's effective later abandonment of the weird supernatural tale, these early works are all that remained in print through most of the twentieth century, thanks to Lovecraft's inclusion of them in the critical study " Supernatural Horror in Literature ". Frederic Taber Cooper commented: So much of Mr Chambers's work exasperates, because we feel that he might so easily have made it better." In an overview of Chambers' historical fiction , Wendy Bousfield stated that
1053-417: The historical novel Cardigan was "Chambers' most highly praised historical novel" during his lifetime. Bousfield also argued that much of Chambers' historical fiction was marred by poorly written characters and "insensitive humor at the expense of ethnic types". Bousfield also wrote that "Chambers' trivializing of human relationships is regrettable, since his recreation of period details of dress and daily life
1092-426: The most important works of American supernatural fiction. It was also strongly admired by H. P. Lovecraft and his circle. Chambers returned to the weird genre in his later short story collections The Maker of Moons , The Mystery of Choice and The Tree of Heaven , but none earned him as much success as The King in Yellow . Some of Chambers's work contains elements of science fiction , such as In Search of
1131-600: The mythology of Chambers' Carcosa in a series of novellas, "Broadalbin", "Ambrose", and "Sosostris", and essays in issue #1 of The Unspeakable Oath and in Delta Green . In Paul Edwin Zimmer's Dark Border series, Carcosa is a city where humans mingle with their nearly immortal allies, the Hastur. In Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson 's The Illuminatus! Trilogy , Carcosa is connected with an ancient civilization in
1170-660: The names "Hali" and "Lake of Hali" in her Darkover series. Later writers, including H. P. Lovecraft and his many admirers, became admirers of Chambers' work and incorporated the names used by Chambers into their own stories, set in the Cthulhu Mythos. The King in Yellow and Carcosa have inspired many modern authors, including Karl Edward Wagner ("The River of Night's Dreaming"), Joseph S. Pulver ("Carl Lee & Cassilda"), Lin Carter , James Blish , Michael Cisco ("He Will Be There"), Ann K. Schwader , Robert M. Price , Galad Elflandsson , Simon Strantzas ("Beyond
1209-410: The night sky. The Yellow Sign, described as a symbol, not of any human script, is supposed to originate from the same place as Carcosa. One other name associated is "Demhe" and its "cloudy depths" − this has never been explained either by Chambers or any famous pastiche-writer and so it is not known what exactly "Demhe" is. Marion Zimmer Bradley (and Diana L. Paxson since Bradley's death) also used
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1248-654: The shore the cloud waves break, The twin suns sink behind the lake, The shadows lengthen In Carcosa. Strange is the night where black stars rise, And strange moons circle through the skies, But stranger still is Lost Carcosa. Songs that the Hyades shall sing, Where flap the tatters of the King, Must die unheard in Dim Carcosa. Song of my soul, my voice is dead, Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed Shall dry and die in Lost Carcosa. Lake Hali
1287-476: The show, which is in line with Lovecraftian horror , as is a vision experienced by one character that underscores Lovecraftian themes like cosmic indifference . In Part 3 of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina , the barker of the traveling amusement park and carnival is named Carcosa, and the carnival in turn named, presumably, after him. Throughout the season of the show, it becomes apparent that
1326-464: The sixty-ninth Yellow Emperor, from a dynasty fallen for a thousand years. In the satirical novel Kamus of Kadizhar: The Black Hole of Carcosa by John Shirley (St. Martin's Press, 1988), Carcosa is the name of a planet whose weird black hole physics figures in the story. Swedish writer Anders Fager 's "Miss Witt's Great Work of Art" features a Stockholm-based coterie known as "The Carcosa Foundation" that worships Hastur. In David Drake 's Lord of
1365-438: The workers at the carnival are all mythological beings of old, with Carcosa himself being the god Pan , his true form being that of a satyr , in the show understood to be the god of madness . The arc of the season revolves partially around the attempts of the carnival workers to resurrect an older deity identified as The Green Man . Themes of madness, death, and resurrection parallel the works of Robert W. Chambers et al. In
1404-473: Was a huge omnibus volume of the best non-series weird fiction by Manly Wade Wellman. It was enhanced by a group of chilling illustrations by noted fantasy artist Lee Brown Coye . Their other three volumes were also giant omnibus collections (of work by Hugh B. Cave , E. Hoffman Price , and again by Manly Wade Wellman ). A fifth collection was planned, Death Stalks the Night , by Hugh B. Cave ; Lee Brown Coye
1443-821: Was about Captain Kidd , and argued that Kidd was not a pirate but had been made a scapegoat by the British government. During World War I, Chambers wrote war adventure novels and war stories, some of which showed a strong return to his old weird style, such as "Marooned" in Barbarians (1917). After 1924 he devoted himself solely to writing historical fiction. Chambers for several years made Broadalbin , New York, his summer home. Some of his novels touch upon colonial life in Broadalbin and Johnstown . On July 12, 1898, he married Elsa (Elsie) Vaughn Moller (1872–1939). They had
1482-460: Was exiled from Carcosa. In writer Alan Moore 's Neonomicon , drawn by artist Jacen Burrowes , the character Johnny Carcosa is the key to a mystical Lovecraftian universe. In the HBO original series True Detective , 'Carcosa' is presented as a man-made temple. Located in the backwoods of Louisiana, the temple serves as a place of ritualistic sexual abuse of children and child murder organized by
1521-451: Was working on illustrating it when he suffered a crippling stroke in 1977 and eventually died, causing Carcosa to abandon the project. The book was eventually published by Fedogan & Bremer . Carcosa also had plans to issue volumes by Leigh Brackett , H. Warner Munn , and Jack Williamson ; however, none of the projected volumes appeared. The Carcosa colophon depicts the silhouette of a towered city in front of three moons. In 1896–7,
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