THE YELLOW SIGN by Robert W. Chambers Free Digital Download
Robert William Chambers (May
26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American artist and writer.
The King in Yellow never fully describes the shape and purpose of the Yellow Sign. Nonetheless, “The Repairer of Reputations”, one of the stories in the collection, suggests that anyone who possesses, even by accident, a copy of the sign is susceptible to some form of insidious mind control, or possession, by the King in Yellow or one of his heirs. The stories also suggest that the original creator of the sign was not human and possibly came from a strange alternate dimension that contains an ominous and ancient city known as Carcosa.
H. P. Lovecraft and many of his imitators were great admirers of Chambers’ book and incorporated many of his characters and symbols into their own works. In the latter-day Cthulhu Mythos, developed by August Derleth and other Lovecraft imitators, the Yellow Sign is the sign of Hastur and is used by members of his cult to identify one another. In addition, according to many of these works one of Hastur’s avatars is known as the King in Yellow.
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January 29, 2011 at 2:05 pm
An 1890′s review by Edward Ellis: “The author to a genius without a living equal so far as I am aware in his peculiar field. It is a masterpiece. I have read many portions several times captivated by the unapproachable tints of the painting. None but a genius of the highest order oooM do such work.”
The NY Commercial Advertiser of the 1890′s: “The short prose tale should be a synthesis; it was the art of Edgar Poe, it is the art of Mr Chambers. His is beyond Question a glorious heritage. I fancy the book will create a sensation. The most notable contribution to literature which has come from a American publisher for many years …”