Paul Fricker Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 https://blasphemoustomes.com/2021/04/13/the-willows/ We’re back and we’re going on our summer holidays! What could be finer than drifting down the Danube, marvelling at all the willows crowding these sandy little islets? Well, maybe not being consumed or driven mad by the unseen cosmic forces lurking within them. But that’s just the kind of risk you take when you go camping. The Willows Following on from our recent discussion of cosmic horror, we thought it might be helpful to look at an example of the genre. Dating back to 1907, Algernon Blackwood’s “The Willows” is one of the earliest examples of cosmic horror. It was also a profound influence on the young HP Lovecraft, who later raved about it in Supernatural Horror in Literature. Unfortunately, as we explore in the episode, this admiration was not reciprocal. As usual, we dig into the story in detail, looking for inspiration for our Call of Cthulhu games. Also, as usual, we disagree about almost everything. Links Things we mention in this episode include: “The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood Cosmic horror Algernon Blackwood The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn John Silence Carnacki, the Ghost-Finder “The Wendigo” by Algernon Blackwood Arthur Machen “Supernatural Horror in Literature” by HP Lovecraft Occultism in Lovecraft Blackwood’s opinion of Lovecraft The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame WB Yeats Celtic fairy folklore Tolkien and trees Body horror Ghosts Folk horror Survival horror Dark Young Folie à deux Quixotism and panzaism Planet Gong Sound of My Voice “The Whisper in Darkness” by HP Lovecraft Fairyland Jasper Carrott The Blair Witch Project (1999) “The Dunwich Horror” by HP Lovecraft Trypophobia Surinam toad Yog-Sothoth “The Willows” on Horrorbabble News The Meat Trade on Ain’t Slayed Nobody Scott has been running World War Cthulhu: London for our good friends at Ain’t Slayed Nobody. His scenario, “The Meat Trade”, delves into the underworld of wartime London, in more ways than one. The first episode will go out on the Ain’t Slayed Nobody Patreon feed towards the end of April. The Blasphemous Tome Issue 7 Issue 7 of The Blasphemous Tome will be escaping into the wild before the end of June. It includes a brand new Call of Cthulhu scenario, licensed by Chaosium, written by our very own Matt Sanderson. Everyone backing us on Patreon will receive a copy. Please see our Patreon page for more details. If you would like to submit a short (up to 500 words) article or piece of black-and-white artwork, please contact us on social media or email us at submissions@blasphemoustomes.com 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius West Posted April 14, 2021 Share Posted April 14, 2021 It was great the way Blackwood makes something as innocuous as a dwarf willow tree become menacing in conjunction with other environmental factors. The way the two friends become increasingly alienated by the bizarre situation is good too. It is definitely a slow burn story, and having both read and listened to it, I would actually recommend listening to it as an audio book story. This is the recording I liked>>> The Willows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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