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Post by wireman on Aug 18, 2021 12:43:45 GMT
Today we will discuss: The Electric Executioner by HP Lovecraft
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Post by edwardjohn on Aug 18, 2021 19:22:23 GMT
I've heard a lot of people say that Lovecraft stories aren't suited to film/tv adaptions. I think that this tale is a perfect counter to that; this would make for an excellent made for television film, or even an independent horror theatrical film. I found the setting, not solely the train - but also Mexico, to be a welcome change from the usual New England-esque Lovecraft tales. And the horror reveal at the end, as always with weird writers, is great. I loved the science fiction elements as well; science fiction has always been present in Lovecraft's work, but it seems more evident in this tale. Also, the prose is excellent. A fantastic story, as per usual from America's finest.
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Post by wireman on Aug 18, 2021 20:58:49 GMT
I enjoyed this one. This did lean more to the sci-fi side of horror. Also, this seemed like a more mainstream type of story for HP. I liked this early description of where the narrator thought he was chasing Feldon to:
"though Jackson's telegram suggested the wild slopes of the Sierra Malinche, that tall myth surrounded peak with the corpse-shaped silhouette..."
and this description of the insane man:
"one can cow a sane man by covering him with a pistol but an insane man's complete indifference to consequences gives him a strength and menace quite superhuman for the time being."
I thought the entire train trip with the insane man was very tense. This would have made a good Twilight Zone episode.
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Post by edwardjohn on Aug 18, 2021 21:04:20 GMT
I enjoyed this one. This did lean more to the sci-fi side of horror. Also, this seemed like a more mainstream type of story for HP. I liked this early description of where the narrator thought he was chasing Feldon to:
"though Jackson's telegram suggested the wild slopes of the Sierra Malinche, that tall myth surrounded peak with the corpse-shaped silhouette..."
and this description of the insane man:
"one can cow a sane man by covering him with a pistol but an insane man's complete indifference to consequences gives him a strength and menace quite superhuman for the time being."
I thought the entire train trip with the insane man was very tense. This would have made a good Twilight Zone episode.
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Post by spideyman on Aug 18, 2021 22:11:05 GMT
SCIENCE FICTION REVIEWS
This is a story which he made with Adolphe de Castro and was published in Weird Tales in 1930. And by made it means that Adolphe de Castro wrote the story and the H. P. Lovecraft rewrote it in an attempt to make it into a story that is actually worth reading.
Agree with you both that this would have been a good Twilight Zone episode.
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Post by wireman on Aug 19, 2021 13:27:19 GMT
Ed suggested picking a SK short story collection to do every other week and I'm good with that but I'd like to wait a couple of weeks or so before we start that because of Billy Summers. My copy hasn't arrived yet but should be here soon (Cemetery Dance) and I don't want to be reading Billy Summers while I'm reading a different SK book.
We've got a couple of weeks to decide which book we want to do. We've done Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Everything's Eventual and Four Past Midnight. Are there any I'm forgetting?
Any suggestions for next week? Some on my radar are: The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker, The Monkey's Paw by WW Jacobs, The Invisible Man by HG Wells (novella)
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Post by spideyman on Aug 19, 2021 13:44:23 GMT
Ed suggested picking a SK short story collection to do every other week and I'm good with that but I'd like to wait a couple of weeks or so before we start that because of Billy Summers. My copy hasn't arrived yet but should be here soon (Cemetery Dance) and I don't want to be reading Billy Summers while I'm reading a different SK book.
We've got a couple of weeks to decide which book we want to do. We've done Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Everything's Eventual and Four Past Midnight. Are there any I'm forgetting?
Any suggestions for next week? Some on my radar are: The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker, The Monkey's Paw by WW Jacobs, The Invisible Man by HG Wells (novella)
The Body Snatcher by Stevenson sounds good. Will go along with whatever is chosen.
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Post by wolf on Aug 19, 2021 17:02:21 GMT
Hey guys,
...um....I found a spot that has Graham Greene's shortstory "The Destructors".
I've never read it before.
Here is the link, if anyone is ever interested:
www.shortstoryproject.com/stories/the-destructors/
You guys check it out and see if it's okay.
I don't as much about these things as y'all do. 🙂
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Post by wireman on Aug 20, 2021 12:36:48 GMT
Hey guys,
...um....I found a spot that has Graham Greene's shortstory "The Destructors".
I've never read it before.
Here is the link, if anyone is ever interested:
www.shortstoryproject.com/stories/the-destructors/
You guys check it out and see if it's okay.
I don't as much about these things as y'all do. 🙂 That sounds interesting. We will do that one in two weeks after The Body Snatcher.
Discussion for Wednesday: The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson (aka Bobby Lou )
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Post by neesy on Aug 22, 2021 18:20:07 GMT
Just finished this - late again - sorry! It was an interesting story; not sure if anyone would be able to adapt it to a Twilight Zone story (maybe).
Actually - make that 'probably' as with special effects it seems that anything can be shown in a movie now.
The writing is so different from today's styles. When I heard the expression 'cow' as in to intimidate someone, it reminded me of my Mom - she used that word. I also wonder what a 'greaser' is (or was)
Hope you enjoy the Billy Summers story wireman
I'm looking forward to reading the Body Snatcher  for next week
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for next week