I loved the audio of your writing! It was hilarious to hear your rendition of the word “necronomicon.” It is funny that I could tell right away that you were reading from a text rather than pontificating. I can understand how the duplicitous “Mr.Right” of this story could be terrifying to a woman. When he calls from behind her and reveals his true villainous self, he intentionally calls her a “bitch” which might be the curse word deployed by a sexual predator, reinforcing the terror for a female reader. King also does an excellent job of anticipating the reader’s thoughts. As she reached for the keys above the closet, I literally connected it to Bluebeard’s tale and then King states it while it’s fresh in my mind (almost like the author “knows just what I need” ha!). In the end, had the man not killed Tony, would he be as revolting? I still think he would be. He was completely formless and chameleon, making his offering into exactly what she needs in the moment. Nothing is true about him. There was no true intimacy, so there was never the possibility of true love. It reminds me of several male psych majors in college who seemed to take courses to figure out the female psyche and form an image of the “perfect man.” Patrick Bateman types always are creepy though I’m sure they are intriguing for women. Something about perfection does not sit well with actual imperfect human beings that we are.
It’s so funny you bring up the Patrick Bateman character. Just yesterday I was talking to both Scoot and Shaina about him. It’s weird seeing it pop up somewhere else.
Cool, will that be on a podcast or just a private conversation? I think that character is somehow more terrifying than the quintessential creepy/loner guy. The loner represents a woman's fear of picking the wrong, low status man who is still violent. Patrick Bateman, however, seems to be the most attractive man a woman could hope for in looks, charisma, money, and career. Yet all of it is a mirage. There is no real Patrick Bateman as he openly admits, "There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory." That type of disembodied person is capable of great evil while the creepy guy still retains some of his (distorted) humanity and might restrain himself or be reasoned with.
Authored by the “Mad Arab” Abdul Alhazred and bound in human skin, the Necronomicon chronicles the pre human history of earth (and the outer cosmos). Tales of Cthulhu, The Elder Race, the Mi-go and much other dark and esoteric knowledge lie within its cursed pages… Lovecraft himself had to explain to corespondents and fellow authors that he had invented the thing from whole cloth. Over the years, many hard core fans of the Mythos have refused to believe H.P on this point. After all, he would say that, wouldn’t he?
Thank you Ian! This sounds so terrifying. Bound in human skin? I do enjoy the idea that people were convinced it was real. And who knows? Maybe it is...
Now that i think about it, the idea that the book itself was bound with human hide is an invention of the Evil Dead franchise. The legend grows with each generation and has added a great deal of texture to much of modern horror fiction.
I recall the book binding was completed posthumously. Mr. Allen did leave instructions in his last will and testament. A shot at everlasting fame, was his thinking. I imagine 19th century criminals were just full of weird notions!
I wonder where Lovecraft got it. Is he the originator of this idea? Or is it very old creepy stories that have been passed down? Or did someone really bind a book in human skin?
Lovecraft always claimed the name of the book came to him in a dream, though he said that moldy old tomes were always something of a staple in Gothic literature. There is a memoir of a man, James Allen (career criminal) in the Boston MA Athenaeum which is bound with that gentleman's skin. Dates from the 19th century. There are earlier examples, I believe.
Ian you've sent me down a rabbit hole...who bound this book!?!? Did he leave instructions in his will? The alternative is that he used his own skin and bound it himself...it can't be real!
Have you read August Derelith? Just curious as of to how you rank him compared to Lovecraft? Obviously he has to be ‘lesser’ since he just continued what Lovecraft began, but some of his stories feel like they do a better job at fleshing out the lore that Lovecraft only ever hinted at.
I've read a few of Derleth's short stories, none of his novel's. He certainly knew his craft, though nowadays he's perhaps better appreciated for his efforts as a publisher. Derleth more than anyone perhaps deserves credit for making Lovecraft's stories (and all things Cthulhu Mythos) available to post WWII generations. Arkham House even published Bradbury at one point.
I am reading King through your podcast, thank you! This is great.
The pov of writing for a womens magazine vs a mens feels like a uniquely horror challenge. I wonder how science fiction or other genres might write their stories differently if they knew it was being published in a mens magazine or a womens magazine?
Shaina, I disagree with your assessment about how Ed Hammner should be more powerful at the end. His power came from voodoo. When Beth broke the totem it destroyed his hold over her. There are other forms of magic that he had used in the past that are referenced when she discovers all of the stuff. I think it’s all considered sympathetic magic (don’t quote me on this because I’m probably wrong), but it all involves some personal item of the individual and then him invoking some spell to control the outcome. In fact, I think (again, probably wrong) that her name written in big red letters with a grease pencil on the ad for the nostalgia dance is part of the magic as well and the thing that enabled them to win.
But, I do know (and so would everyone else alive and watching TV during the 70’s) that breaking the totem doll would destroy his voodoo hold over her. Voodoo was a thing in the 70’s and you saw it over and over again. So, it would have been common knowledge back then.
Also, airports did used to have white courtesy phones and they would page people to pick them up exactly as depicted. Airports still do this but they no longer have the white courtesy phone. Now, they ask you to go to a specific counter to get the message or to use their phone.
John, this is great insight! I think I attributed some innate power (i.e. psychic abilities) like Alice suspected, to Ed Hamner. I assumed (wrongly I think) that he himself had some power. But on second thought, I think you're right! Because his power was in magic, and a sympathetic magic at that, it would make sense for her to destroy the objects, and for his grip over her to be totally lost.
Let me get this courtesy phone thing straight in my millennial brain...I can just...call an airport and ask for Dave Smith. And they'll page Dave Smith? What about Seymour Butts?
A case can be made around the idea that his power is innate. I think that the specific way he trapped Beth was by voodoo, but the stuff he was doing for and to his parents when he was a little kid may very well have been because of some innate power.
His mother had a growing revulsion to him. Was this because of something she sensed about his very makeup or because she'd stumbled across occult books and accoutrement in his room... as an eight year old? That doesn't seem plausible. So, it is quite possible that the answer is both.
Regarding the courtesy phone thing, I think they only ever do it if there's some type of emergency, but ya know, maybe you should try the Seymour Butts thing. I'm sure the TSA will think it's hilarious.
You know what though, Beth finds the poker chip with that strange six sided shape drawn on it. I took that as an allusion to the fact that he did some type of magic to make his dad win. Your point about his knowledge of the occult as a young boy stands though...
Yeah, this could just be one of those things you have to accept and not think about too much. Like her college roommate hiring a private investigator who was probably charging the equivalent (in today's money) of a couple hundred dollars per day to follow Hammner around. It could happen, sure, but it's not very likely.
I’ve never read this story, but I was so hooked by your summary! I’ve been hearing in podcasts and reading in articles a lot recently about the fear that comes with modern relationships, particularly for those using online dating. It really is so true that red flags are meant to be caught by a family or community, not by an individual person trying to navigate all the complexities of a new relationship alone.
I loved the audio of your writing! It was hilarious to hear your rendition of the word “necronomicon.” It is funny that I could tell right away that you were reading from a text rather than pontificating. I can understand how the duplicitous “Mr.Right” of this story could be terrifying to a woman. When he calls from behind her and reveals his true villainous self, he intentionally calls her a “bitch” which might be the curse word deployed by a sexual predator, reinforcing the terror for a female reader. King also does an excellent job of anticipating the reader’s thoughts. As she reached for the keys above the closet, I literally connected it to Bluebeard’s tale and then King states it while it’s fresh in my mind (almost like the author “knows just what I need” ha!). In the end, had the man not killed Tony, would he be as revolting? I still think he would be. He was completely formless and chameleon, making his offering into exactly what she needs in the moment. Nothing is true about him. There was no true intimacy, so there was never the possibility of true love. It reminds me of several male psych majors in college who seemed to take courses to figure out the female psyche and form an image of the “perfect man.” Patrick Bateman types always are creepy though I’m sure they are intriguing for women. Something about perfection does not sit well with actual imperfect human beings that we are.
It’s so funny you bring up the Patrick Bateman character. Just yesterday I was talking to both Scoot and Shaina about him. It’s weird seeing it pop up somewhere else.
Cool, will that be on a podcast or just a private conversation? I think that character is somehow more terrifying than the quintessential creepy/loner guy. The loner represents a woman's fear of picking the wrong, low status man who is still violent. Patrick Bateman, however, seems to be the most attractive man a woman could hope for in looks, charisma, money, and career. Yet all of it is a mirage. There is no real Patrick Bateman as he openly admits, "There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory." That type of disembodied person is capable of great evil while the creepy guy still retains some of his (distorted) humanity and might restrain himself or be reasoned with.
No podcast or anything like that. This was just us talking to one another.
Authored by the “Mad Arab” Abdul Alhazred and bound in human skin, the Necronomicon chronicles the pre human history of earth (and the outer cosmos). Tales of Cthulhu, The Elder Race, the Mi-go and much other dark and esoteric knowledge lie within its cursed pages… Lovecraft himself had to explain to corespondents and fellow authors that he had invented the thing from whole cloth. Over the years, many hard core fans of the Mythos have refused to believe H.P on this point. After all, he would say that, wouldn’t he?
Thank you Ian! This sounds so terrifying. Bound in human skin? I do enjoy the idea that people were convinced it was real. And who knows? Maybe it is...
Now that i think about it, the idea that the book itself was bound with human hide is an invention of the Evil Dead franchise. The legend grows with each generation and has added a great deal of texture to much of modern horror fiction.
I recall the book binding was completed posthumously. Mr. Allen did leave instructions in his last will and testament. A shot at everlasting fame, was his thinking. I imagine 19th century criminals were just full of weird notions!
I wonder where Lovecraft got it. Is he the originator of this idea? Or is it very old creepy stories that have been passed down? Or did someone really bind a book in human skin?
Lovecraft always claimed the name of the book came to him in a dream, though he said that moldy old tomes were always something of a staple in Gothic literature. There is a memoir of a man, James Allen (career criminal) in the Boston MA Athenaeum which is bound with that gentleman's skin. Dates from the 19th century. There are earlier examples, I believe.
Ian you've sent me down a rabbit hole...who bound this book!?!? Did he leave instructions in his will? The alternative is that he used his own skin and bound it himself...it can't be real!
I’ve always thought the initial idea for the book was inspired by the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
There actually have been real books that were bound in human skin.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_bound_in_human_skin
Have you read August Derelith? Just curious as of to how you rank him compared to Lovecraft? Obviously he has to be ‘lesser’ since he just continued what Lovecraft began, but some of his stories feel like they do a better job at fleshing out the lore that Lovecraft only ever hinted at.
I've read a few of Derleth's short stories, none of his novel's. He certainly knew his craft, though nowadays he's perhaps better appreciated for his efforts as a publisher. Derleth more than anyone perhaps deserves credit for making Lovecraft's stories (and all things Cthulhu Mythos) available to post WWII generations. Arkham House even published Bradbury at one point.
Totally agree about Arkham House publishing. More than anything that's his real legacy.
I am reading King through your podcast, thank you! This is great.
The pov of writing for a womens magazine vs a mens feels like a uniquely horror challenge. I wonder how science fiction or other genres might write their stories differently if they knew it was being published in a mens magazine or a womens magazine?
What a great question! I want to dig in now and see if I can find some sci-fi writers who did this.
Shaina, I disagree with your assessment about how Ed Hammner should be more powerful at the end. His power came from voodoo. When Beth broke the totem it destroyed his hold over her. There are other forms of magic that he had used in the past that are referenced when she discovers all of the stuff. I think it’s all considered sympathetic magic (don’t quote me on this because I’m probably wrong), but it all involves some personal item of the individual and then him invoking some spell to control the outcome. In fact, I think (again, probably wrong) that her name written in big red letters with a grease pencil on the ad for the nostalgia dance is part of the magic as well and the thing that enabled them to win.
But, I do know (and so would everyone else alive and watching TV during the 70’s) that breaking the totem doll would destroy his voodoo hold over her. Voodoo was a thing in the 70’s and you saw it over and over again. So, it would have been common knowledge back then.
Also, airports did used to have white courtesy phones and they would page people to pick them up exactly as depicted. Airports still do this but they no longer have the white courtesy phone. Now, they ask you to go to a specific counter to get the message or to use their phone.
John, this is great insight! I think I attributed some innate power (i.e. psychic abilities) like Alice suspected, to Ed Hamner. I assumed (wrongly I think) that he himself had some power. But on second thought, I think you're right! Because his power was in magic, and a sympathetic magic at that, it would make sense for her to destroy the objects, and for his grip over her to be totally lost.
Let me get this courtesy phone thing straight in my millennial brain...I can just...call an airport and ask for Dave Smith. And they'll page Dave Smith? What about Seymour Butts?
A case can be made around the idea that his power is innate. I think that the specific way he trapped Beth was by voodoo, but the stuff he was doing for and to his parents when he was a little kid may very well have been because of some innate power.
His mother had a growing revulsion to him. Was this because of something she sensed about his very makeup or because she'd stumbled across occult books and accoutrement in his room... as an eight year old? That doesn't seem plausible. So, it is quite possible that the answer is both.
Regarding the courtesy phone thing, I think they only ever do it if there's some type of emergency, but ya know, maybe you should try the Seymour Butts thing. I'm sure the TSA will think it's hilarious.
You know what though, Beth finds the poker chip with that strange six sided shape drawn on it. I took that as an allusion to the fact that he did some type of magic to make his dad win. Your point about his knowledge of the occult as a young boy stands though...
Yeah, this could just be one of those things you have to accept and not think about too much. Like her college roommate hiring a private investigator who was probably charging the equivalent (in today's money) of a couple hundred dollars per day to follow Hammner around. It could happen, sure, but it's not very likely.
He's also still probably stronger than she is, being a man and all. No supernatural powers required.
I’ve never read this story, but I was so hooked by your summary! I’ve been hearing in podcasts and reading in articles a lot recently about the fear that comes with modern relationships, particularly for those using online dating. It really is so true that red flags are meant to be caught by a family or community, not by an individual person trying to navigate all the complexities of a new relationship alone.