Carcosa is a fictional city in
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...
's
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
"
An Inhabitant of Carcosa
"An Inhabitant of Carcosa" is a short story by American Civil War soldier, wit, and writer Ambrose Bierce. It was first published in the ''San Francisco Newsletter'' of December 25, 1886 and was later reprinted as part of Bierce's collections ''T ...
" (1886). The ancient and mysterious city is barely described and is viewed only in
hindsight
Hindsight bias, also known as the knew-it-all-along phenomenon or creeping determinism, is the common tendency for people to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were. People often believe that after an event ha ...
(after its destruction) by a character who once lived there.
American writer
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.
Life
Chambers was born in Brooklyn, New York, t ...
borrowed the name "Carcosa" for his stories, inspiring generations of authors to similarly use Carcosa in their own works.
''The King in Yellow''
The city was later used more extensively in
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.
Life
Chambers was born in Brooklyn, New York, t ...
' book of short horror stories published in 1895, titled ''
The King in Yellow''. Chambers had read Bierce's work and borrowed a few additional names from his work, including
Hali
Hali may refer to:
*Hali I of the Maldives (died 1268), Sultan of Maldives from 1266 to 1268
* Hali II of the Maldives (died 1288), Sultan of Maldives from 1278 to 1288
*a medieval Latinisation of Arabic Ali (also ''Haly'')
** Haly Abenragel, com ...
and
Hastur
Hastur (The Unspeakable One, The King in Yellow, Him Who Is Not to be Named, Assatur, Xastur, H'aaztre, or Kaiwan) is an entity of cosmic horror.
Hastur first appeared in Ambrose Bierce's short story "Haïta the Shepherd" (1893) as a benign go ...
.
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:
:
:—"Cassilda's Song" in ''The King in Yellow'' Act 1, Scene 2
Associated names
''Lake Hali'' 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
The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
stories of
H.P. Lovecraft and the authors who followed him.
The name Hali originated in Ambrose Bierce's "
An Inhabitant of Carcosa
"An Inhabitant of Carcosa" is a short story by American Civil War soldier, wit, and writer Ambrose Bierce. It was first published in the ''San Francisco Newsletter'' of December 25, 1886 and was later reprinted as part of Bierce's collections ''T ...
" (1886) in which Hali 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
Aldebaran (Arabic: “The Follower”, "الدبران") is the brightest star in the zodiac constellation of Taurus. It has the Bayer designation α Tauri, which is Latinized to Alpha Tauri and abbreviated Alpha Tau or α Tau. Aldebar ...
, likely as it is also associated with the mention of the Hyades star cluster, with which it shares space in 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 we do not know what or who exactly "Demhe" is.
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels, and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel ''The Mists of Avalon'' an ...
(and
Diana L. Paxson
Diana Lucile Paxson (born February 20, 1943) is an American author, primarily in the fields of Paganism and Heathenism. Her published works include fantasy and historical fiction novels, as well as numerous short stories. More recently she has ...
since Bradley's death) also used these names in her
Darkover
Darkover is the planet giving its name to the ''Darkover'' series of science fiction-fantasy novels and short stories by Marion Zimmer Bradley and others published since 1958. According to the novels, Darkover is the only habitable planet of se ...
series.
Other appearances
Written references
Later writers, including
H. P. Lovecraft and his many admirers, became great fans of Chambers' work and incorporated the name of Carcosa into their own stories, set in the Cthulhu Mythos. ''The King in Yellow'' and Carcosa have inspired many modern authors, including
Karl Edward Wagner
Karl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 14 October 1994) was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. He w ...
("The River of Night's Dreaming"),
Joseph S. Pulver
Joseph S. Pulver Sr. (July 5, 1955 – April 24, 2020) was an author and poet, much of whose work falls within the horror fiction, noir fiction / hardboiled, and dark fantasy genres. He lived in Germany, and died from COPD and other issues in a ...
("Carl Lee & Cassilda"),
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...
,
James Blish
James Benjamin Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his ''Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel ''A Case of Conscienc ...
,
Michael Cisco
Michael Cisco (born October 13, 1970) is an American writer, Deleuzian academic, and teacher currently living in New York City. He is best known for his first novel, ''The Divinity Student,'' winner of the International Horror Guild Award for B ...
("He Will Be There"),
Ann K. Schwader
Ann K. Schwader is an American poet and writer of short fiction based in Westminster, Colorado. Schwader is a grand master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, a multiple winner of the Rhysling Awards,Rau, Christina M. (September 2 ...
,
Robert M. Price
Robert McNair Price (born July 7, 1954) is an American New Testament scholar. His most notable stance is arguing in favor of the Christ myth theorythe claim that a historical Jesus did not exist. Price is the author of a number of books on bi ...
,
Galad Elflandsson
Galad Elflandsson (born 1951) is a Canadian fantasy writer.
Literary career
In the 1980s, Elflandsson was a member of a group of fantasy writers who met at the House of Speculative Fiction bookstore in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, which he also mana ...
,
Simon Strantzas
Simon Strantzas (born 1972) is a weird fiction author from Toronto, Canada. He has written five story collections and been nominated for a British Fantasy Award in 2009. He has also edited three anthologies including ''Aickman's Heirs'' which won ...
("Beyond the Banks of the River Seine"),
Charles Stross
Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 18 October 1964) is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine '' ...
(in the Laundry Files series),
Anders Fager
Anders Fager Johansson (born 1964) is a Swedish game designer and horror writer.
Career
Born in Stockholm, eighteen year old Fager joined '' Äventyrspel'' in 1982 to travel around the country demonstrating Sweden's first role-playing game, '' ...
and
S. M. Stirling
Stephen Michael Stirling (born September 30, 1953) is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author who was born in France. Stirling is well known for his The Domination, Draka series of alternate history (fiction), alternate history no ...
(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
John Scott Tynes (born 1971) is an American writer best known for his work on role-playing games such as ''Unknown Armies'', ''Delta Green'', ''Puppetland'', and for his company, Tynes Cowan Corporation. Under its imprint, Pagan Publishing, Tyne ...
contributed to 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
''Delta Green'' is a contemporary era setting for the ''Call of Cthulhu'' role-playing game created by Adam Scott Glancy, Dennis Detwiller, and John Scott Tynes, a.k.a. the Delta Green Partnership, of the Seattle gaming house Pagan Publishin ...
''.
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
Robert Joseph Shea (February 14, 1933 – March 10, 1994) was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy ''Illuminatus!'' It became a cult success and was later turned ...
and
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...
's ''
The Illuminatus! Trilogy
''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.''Illuminatus!'' was written between 1969 and 1971, but not published until 1975 according to Robert Anto ...
,'' Carcosa is connected with an ancient civilization in the
Gobi Desert
The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world.
Geography
The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast an ...
, destroyed when the
Illuminati
The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...
arrived on Earth via
flying saucer
A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...
s from the planet
Vulcan
Vulcan may refer to:
Mythology
* Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...
.
In maps of the world of
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
's ''
A Song of Ice and Fire
''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...
,'' 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
''The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones'' is a companion book for George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' fantasy series. Written by Martin, Elio M. García Jr. and Linda Antonsson, it was publi ...
'', it is mentioned that a sorcerer lord lives there who claims to be the sixty-ninth Yellow Emperor, from a dynasty fallen for a thousand years.
In the short story "Dinner in Carcosa," Western Canadian author Allan Williams re-imagines Carcosa as an abandoned Alberta prairie town with still-active insurance policies held by an ominous firm called "Hastur & Associates." The story revolves around a chance encounter between a young insurance adjuster and the Ambrosovich family.
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
Anders Fager Johansson (born 1964) is a Swedish game designer and horror writer.
Career
Born in Stockholm, eighteen year old Fager joined '' Äventyrspel'' in 1982 to travel around the country demonstrating Sweden's first role-playing game, '' ...
's "Miss Witt's Great Work of Art" features a Stockholm-based coterie known as "The Carcosa Foundation" that worships Hastur.
In
David Drake
David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the military science fiction genre.
Biography
Drake graduated Phi ...
's
Lord of the Isles
The Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles
( gd, Triath nan Eilean or ) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title w ...
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
Stephen Michael Stirling (born September 30, 1953) is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author who was born in France. Stirling is well known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and his later time travel/alternate his ...
's
Emberverse
The Emberverse series—or Change World—is a series of post-apocalyptic alternate history novels written by S. M. Stirling.
The novels depict the events following a mysterious—yet sudden—worldwide event called "The Change" that occurs at ...
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
Lawrence Watt-Evans (born 1954) is one of the pseudonyms of American science fiction and fantasy author Lawrence Watt Evans (another pseudonym, used primarily for science fiction, is Nathan Archer).
Biography
Born in Arlington, Massachusetts, as ...
' The Lords of Dûs series, a character known as the Forgotten King, who dresses in yellow rags, reveals that he was exiled from Carcosa.
In writer
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
's ''
Neonomicon
''Neonomicon'' is a four-issue comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Jacen Burrows, published by American company Avatar Press in 2010. The story is a sequel to Moore's previous story ''Alan Moore's The Courtyard'' a ...
'', drawn by artist
Jacen Burrowes, the character Johnny Carcosa is the key to a mystical Lovecraftian universe.
Television
In the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
original series ''
True Detective
''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...
'', '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 a group of wealthy Louisiana politicians and church leaders. The main characters,
Rust Cohle
Rustin Spencer "Rust" Cohle is a fictional character portrayed by Matthew McConaughey in the first season of the HBO's anthology television series ''True Detective''. He works as a homicide detective for the Louisiana State Police (LSP) alongsid ...
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 the show, which is in line with
Lovecraftian horror
Lovecraftian horror, sometimes used interchangeably with "cosmic horror", is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is named a ...
, as is a vision experienced by one character that underscores Lovecraftian themes like
cosmic indifference.
In Part 3 of the
Netflix original series
Netflix is an American global Internet streaming-on-demand media provider that has distributed a number of original streaming television shows, including original series, specials, miniseries, and documentaries and films. Netflix's original pro ...
''
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
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 Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, :wikt:σάτυρος, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, :wikt:Σειληνός, σειληνός ), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears ...
, 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
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
an older deity identified as
The Green Man. Themes of madness, death, and resurrection parallel the works of Robert W. Chambers et al.
Other references
In the 1991 EP ''
Passage to Arcturo
''Passage to Arcturo'' is the first Extended play, EP by Greek extreme metal band Rotting Christ, released in 1991. It was originally an MLP-pressing only: first edition in gatefold cover; second edition with normal cover. The EP was re-released ...
'' by
Rotting Christ
Rotting Christ is a Greek black metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene. They are also responsible for creati ...
, 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
High on Fire is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1999. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, also plays guitar for doom metal band Sleep. High on Fire won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Metal Per ...
is named Carcosa.
Swedish rapper
Yung Lean Yung may refer to:
* Yung (surname), Chinese surname
* Yung Joc, (born Jasiel Robinson in 1983), an American rapper
* Yung Wun, (born James Carlton Anderson in 1982), an American rapper
* Yung Berg, (born Christian Ward in 1985), an American rapper
...
's third album
''Stranger'' features the closing track "Yellowman". Carcosa is mentioned in the song.
In 2016,
DigiTech released a
fuzz pedal
An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.
Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in el ...
called the Carcosa. The pedal featured two modes, named "Hali" and "Demhe."
''Maria'', a film by
King Abalos, takes place in a mysterious mountain called Carcosa.
In the ''
Mass Effect 3
''Mass Effect 3'' is an action role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. The third major entry in the ''Mass Effect'' series and the final installment of the original trilogy, it was released in March 2012 fo ...
'' universe, there is a planet named Carcosa.
In 2001, the Belgian black metal band
Ancient Rites
Ancient Rites is a Belgian black metal band formed in 1988. Initially, the lineup consisted of guitar players Johan and Phillip, drummer Stefan, and Gunther Theys on bass and vocals.Rivadavia, Eduardo " Ancient Rites Biography, ''AllMusic'', M ...
released the album ''
Dim Carcosa''. The title track's lyrics consist of excerpts from "Cassilda's Song".
In 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
Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) is a game company based in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, card, and dice games. As of 2014, it is a subsidiary of Asmodée Éditions.
History
Fantasy Flight Publish ...
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''.
The 2019 EP ''On the Shores of Hali'' by Cassilda and Carcosa makes numerous references to Chamber's version of Carcosa.
In the indie game ''
World of Horror
''World of Horror'', also known by its Japanese title , is a role-playing video game with a 1-bit pixel art style, inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft and Junji Ito. The game was created by Polish developer Paweł Koźmiński, and published ...
'' there is an item called the Karukosa Mask.
"The King In Yellow" an experimental film by Cole Frederick portrays the creation of Carcosa.
Music
Carcosa is a deathcore band from Vancouver that boasts musician
Andrew Baena, who's been running a popular metal-oriented YouTube channel for nearly a decade, and vocalist
Johnny Ciardullo, who plays guitar in the other, more popular Vancouver deathcore band
AngelMaker.
Publishers using the name Carcosa
Two different publishers have used the name Carcosa.
Carcosa House
Carcosa House was a
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
specialty
publishing
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
firm formed in 1947 by Frederick B. Shroyer, a boyhood friend of
T. E. Dikty
Thaddeus Maxim Eugene (Ted) Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American editor who also played a role as one of the earliest science fiction anthologists, and as a publisher.
Early career
In 1947, Dikty joined Shasta Publis ...
, and two
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
science fiction fans
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...
, Russell Hodgkins and Paul Skeeters. Shroyer had secured a copy of the original newspaper appearance of the novel ''
Edison's Conquest of Mars
''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' is an 1898 science fiction novel by American astronomer and writer Garrett P. Serviss. It was written as a sequel to ''Fighters from Mars'', an unauthorized and heavily altered version of H. G. Wells's 1897 story '' ...
'' by
Garrett P. Serviss
Garrett Putnam Serviss (March 24, 1851 – May 25, 1929) was an American astronomer, popularizer of astronomy, and early science fiction writer. Serviss was born in Sharon Springs, New York and majored in science at Cornell University. He t ...
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
William Levi Crawford (September 10, 1911 – January 25, 1984) was an American publisher and editor.
Career
During the autumn of 1933, Crawford, a West Coast science fiction fan, proposed to start a non-paying weird fiction magazine, ''Unusu ...
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 the Serviss book, it was never published.
Works published by Carcosa House
* ''
Edison's Conquest of Mars
''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' is an 1898 science fiction novel by American astronomer and writer Garrett P. Serviss. It was written as a sequel to ''Fighters from Mars'', an unauthorized and heavily altered version of H. G. Wells's 1897 story '' ...
'', by
Garrett P. Serviss
Garrett Putnam Serviss (March 24, 1851 – May 25, 1929) was an American astronomer, popularizer of astronomy, and early science fiction writer. Serviss was born in Sharon Springs, New York and majored in science at Cornell University. He t ...
(1947)
Carcosa
Carcosa was a specialty
publishing
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
firm formed by
David Drake
David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the military science fiction genre.
Biography
Drake graduated Phi ...
,
Karl Edward Wagner
Karl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 14 October 1994) was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. He w ...
, and Jim Groce, who were concerned that
Arkham House
Arkham House is an American publishing house specializing in weird fiction. It was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish hardcover collections of H. P. Lovecraft's best works, which had pr ...
would cease publication after the death of its founder,
August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the ...
. Carcosa was founded in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
in 1973 and put out four collections of
pulp
Pulp may refer to:
* Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit
Engineering
* Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture
* Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper
* Molded pulp, a packaging material
* ...
horror stories, all edited by Wagner. Their first book 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 artists
Lee Brown Coye
Lee Brown Coye (July 24, 1907 – September 5, 1981) was an American artist.
Coye is probably best remembered for his black-and-white illustrations for pulp magazines and horror fiction, but he produced a variety of works in other media.
Biogra ...
. Their other three volumes were also giant omnibus collections (of work by
Hugh B. Cave,
E. Hoffman Price
Edgar Hoffmann Price (July 3, 1898 – June 18, 1988) was an American literature, American writer of popular fiction (he was a self-titled "fictioneer") for the pulp magazine marketplace."Price, E. Hoffmann" in Lee Server, Server Lee. ''Encyclop ...
, and again by
Manly Wade Wellman
Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as ''Astounding Stories'', ''Startling Stories'', ''Unknown'' and ''Strange Stories'', Wellman is ...
). A fifth collection was planned, ''
Death Stalks the Night
''Death Stalks the Night'' is a collection of Fantasy fiction, fantasy, Horror fiction, horror, and Mystery fiction, mystery short stories by American writer Hugh B. Cave. It was originally to have been the fifth volume published by Carcosa, the N ...
,'' by
Hugh B. Cave;
Lee Brown Coye
Lee Brown Coye (July 24, 1907 – September 5, 1981) was an American artist.
Coye is probably best remembered for his black-and-white illustrations for pulp magazines and horror fiction, but he produced a variety of works in other media.
Biogra ...
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
Fedogan & Bremer is a weird fiction specialty publishing house founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1985 by Philip Rahman and Dennis Weiler. The name comes from the nicknames of the two founders when they were in college.
The first Fedogan and ...
. Carcosa also had plans to issue volumes by
Leigh Brackett
Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 18, 1978) was an American science fiction writer known as "the Queen of Space Opera." She was also a screenwriter, known for ''The Big Sleep'' (1946), '' Rio Bravo'' (1959), and '' The Long Goo ...
,
H. Warner Munn
Harold Warner Munn (November 5, 1903 – January 10, 1981) was an American writer of fantasy, horror and poetry,Don Herron, "Munn, H(arold) Warner", in Jack Sullivan, ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural'' (New York, Viking ...
, and
Jack Williamson
John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American list of science fiction authors, science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of t ...
; however, none of the projected volumes appeared. The Carcosa
colophon depicts the
silhouette
A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...
of a towered city in front of three moons.
Awards
* 1976,
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...
, Special Award - Non-Professional to
Karl Edward Wagner
Karl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 14 October 1994) was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. He w ...
,
David Drake
David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the military science fiction genre.
Biography
Drake graduated Phi ...
& Jim Groce for Carcosa.
Works published by Carcosa
* ''
Worse Things Waiting
''Worse Things Waiting'' is a collection of fantasy and horror short stories by author Manly Wade Wellman, with illustrations by Lee Brown Coye. It was released in 1973 by Carcosa in an edition of 2,867 copies, of which 536 pre-ordered copies wer ...
'', by
Manly Wade Wellman
Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as ''Astounding Stories'', ''Startling Stories'', ''Unknown'' and ''Strange Stories'', Wellman is ...
(1973)
* ''
Far Lands, Other Days'', by
E. Hoffmann Price
Edgar Hoffmann Price (July 3, 1898 – June 18, 1988) was an American writer of popular fiction (he was a self-titled "fictioneer") for the pulp magazine marketplace."Price, E. Hoffmann" in Server Lee. ''Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers''. ...
(1975)
* ''
Murgunstrumm and Others'', by
Hugh B. Cave (1977)
* ''
Lonely Vigils'', by
Manly Wade Wellman
Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as ''Astounding Stories'', ''Startling Stories'', ''Unknown'' and ''Strange Stories'', Wellman is ...
(1981)
Places called Carcosa
In 1896–7, the Carcosa mansion was built as the official residence of the Resident-General of the
Federated Malay States
)Under God's Protection
, capital = Kuala Lumpur1
, religion = Islam
, legislature = Federal Legislative Council
, type_house1 = State level
, common_languages =
, title_leader = Monarch
, leader1 ...
for the first holder of that office,
Sir Frank Swettenham
Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham (28 March 1850 – 11 June 1946) was a British colonial administrator who became the first Resident general of the Federated Malay States, which brought the Malay states of Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pa ...
. It was in use as a luxury hotel, the
Carcosa Seri Negara
The Carcosa Seri Negara is a residence located on two adjacent hills inside the Perdana Botanical Gardens, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Originally built as the official residence and guest house of the British High Commissioner in Malaya, it is now o ...
, 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 is a kingdom in the west. It was established upon principles of freedom and is populated by pirates, gypsies, escaped slaves, and religious exiles.
Notes
References
*
*
Further reading
* ''Rehearsals for Oblivion: Act 1—Tales of
The King in Yellow'', edited by Peter A. Worthy, Elder Signs Press 2007
* ''Strange Aeons 3'' (an issue dedicated to
The King in Yellow), edited by Rick Tillman and K.L. Young, Autumn 2010
* ''The Hastur Cycle'', edited by
Robert M. Price
Robert McNair Price (born July 7, 1954) is an American New Testament scholar. His most notable stance is arguing in favor of the Christ myth theorythe claim that a historical Jesus did not exist. Price is the author of a number of books on bi ...
, Chaosium 1993
* ''The Yellow Sign and Other Stories'', edited by S.T. Joshi, Chaosium 2004
External links
*
*
{{Robert W. Chambers
Cthulhu Mythos locations
Fictional populated places
Book publishing companies based in North Carolina
Fantasy book publishers
Horror book publishing companies
Small press publishing companies
Publishing companies established in 1947
Publishing companies established in 1973
1973 establishments in North Carolina