The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers - Reading this Makes You Go Insane

        Strange is the night 

where black stars rise

And strange moons circle

through the skies,

But stranger still is

                           Lost Carcosa

      This haunting poem introduces The King in Yellow, a collection of weird tales, first published in 1895 by Robert W. Chambers. The first four short stories reference a forbidden play called the King in Yellow that, once read, drives its reader to insanity.  (Warning, spoilers ahead!)

    The first story perfectly sets the uncanny tone of the book by beginning in a New York in that takes place in an alternative 1920, imagined by Chambers in 1895.  After the USA and Germany ended a war over the Samoan Islands, the USA entered a new era of prosperity and beauty under a centralized government. "Everywhere good architecture was replacing bad, and even in New York, a sudden craving for decency had swept away a great portion of the existing horrors." The federal government subsidized theaters, academies of design, and appointed a Secretary of Fine Arts. Many in this alternative USA believed the Millennium had arrived "at least in the new world, which after all, is a world by itself." But, beneath this veneer of progress lurks a dark shadow.  Foreign born Jews were excluded "as a measure of self-preservation" and immigration was restricted. A new independent "Negro" state of Suanee   was organized outside of the USA. Government sponsored Lethal Chambers were built in each city for anyone to use for euthanasia because the government believed "that the community will be benefited by the removal of such people from their midst."

    The opening of the first Government Lethal Chamber in New York City is where our first story begins. The story, "Repairer of Reputations" centers on Hildred Castaigne, who was recently let out of an insane asylum after a bad accident. During his convalescence he found the play The King in Yellow, a forbidden book, because people went mad after reading it. After Hildred read the first act, felt he shouldn't continue and threw it in the fireplace. But in the fireplace the page opened to the second act and Hildred, after reading the first few lines, was entranced and saved the book, beginning his secret obsession.

    We follow Hildred Castaigne's elaborate political ambitions to be the King of America with his friend, the blackmailer Wilde.  Mr. Wilde, a strange looking man who keeps a wild cat that regularly tries to kill him, helps Hildred Castaigne pursue his goal. Together they wrote and passed around a manifesto and sent their followers "the Yellow Sign". Castaigne speaks of serving the King in Yellow who he believes will grant him his desire to rule and reign even the people's unborn thoughts. Will The King in Yellow let him down? 

    "The Repairer of Reputations" is the strongest story in the collection with its absurdity, mystery, and tragedy. It is interesting to be in an alternative 1920 with no cars or planes, and a sort of proto-fascist America. 

    The next three stories are about how the play The King in Yellow affects different readers. The second and third stories take place in 1890's Paris and the fourth also takes place in the alternate 1920 New York City described above. Each story is creepier than the last amd share images of the pallid mask, the yellow sign or Carcosa, where black stars hang in the heavens.

    The first four stories hint at deeper questions. Is this how an evil entity is slowly taking over the world? Or is it about love and death? Is it about syphilis? Is Chambers warning of the danger of evil ideas spreading through books and entertainment?

    The last six stories do not mention The King in Yellow but are Gothic romance tales that are equally creepy. Maybe the characters in the stories were also affected by The King in Yellow but we don't have proof that they read it. There are references and themes that weave the stories together like blurring the lines between life and death and of white faces and mysterious women.  

    A story in the last half of the book that stands out is "The Street of the First Shell" about the 1870 Siege of Paris by the Prussian Army. It has one of the most terrifying depictions of war that I have ever read. There are detailed accounts deaths, disease, and the destruction of the city of Paris. I felt like I was could easily picture it.  Another, "The Street of the Four Ends" has a "jump scare" horror ending that I loved. 

    Chambers' prose is beautiful, engaging, yet unnerving. His stories made me feel all sorts of emotions.  The characters are unforgettable and are surprisingly developed in a short time. I still think about this book weeks after I read it, enjoying reading discussions and watching YouTube videos about the book. Months later I am still finding new interpretations like how the alternate reality 1920 was all in Hildred Castaigne's mind or that Wilde, his friend, is an evil supernatural creature. 

    If you love H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, or the French decadents you must read The King in Yellow - a world which now trembles before the King in Yellow! So far, this is my favorite book of the year. 

    By the way - There is an 8-hour long YouTube video about the book that you can watch after you finish the book. The channel name is Flawed Peacock. Yes, the book is that good and no you won't agree with every interpretation. (That is what is fun about this book!)

    I had only been reading science fiction the past couple of years and decided to branch off into other genres. I am glad that I did though I am going a bit mad going through all of the layers of meaning of the book!