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Post by wireman on Feb 16, 2022 13:09:37 GMT
Today, we will discuss Skeleton Lake by Algernon Blackwood
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Post by edwardjohn on Feb 16, 2022 16:18:11 GMT
Its good to make a return to the weekly stories. I like this Blackwood tale quite a bit. I take it that Rushton and his fellow traveller came across some supernatural being, and that it murdered the aforementioned fellow traveller (the Swede, I believe), leading Rushton to create a farcical story to explain away the supernatural being?
Its a very Lovecraftian tale (although Blackwood predates and inspired H.P.). You've got the refusal of then modern society to accept the existence of something that can't be explained by logic (very much a by-product of the decline of Christianity), demonstrated by Rushton's ramblings. A lot of Lovecraft tales were railing against rationalism in many ways (which is quite ironic considering how much of a rationalist Lovecraft himself was, although he always maintained that his tales were pure entertainment), and I get a lot of that from this and other Blackwood tales; the ordinary refuse to accept what's happening, even when its before them.
Would recommend.
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Post by wireman on Feb 16, 2022 18:30:16 GMT
The way Blackwood sets the scene by describing how mountains and lakes get their names by a person's act or a fact about the region as our characters camp by Skeleton Lake is quite good and it tells us this is a supernatural story.
EdwardJohn mentions the refusal of then modern society to accept the existence of something that can't be explained by logic and that is shown as Rushton's mates don't want anything to do with this story. Rushton is lying and they know it but know one wants to know the truth.
Blackwood's brilliant descriptions, atmosphere and scene setting give us a ghost story and very detailed story of human nature packed into just a few pages.
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Post by wolf on Feb 16, 2022 23:31:00 GMT
Its good to make a return to the weekly stories. I like this Blackwood tale quite a bit. I take it that Rushton and his fellow traveller came across some supernatural being, and that it murdered the aforementioned fellow traveller (the Swede, I believe), leading Rushton to create a farcical story to explain away the supernatural being?
Its a very Lovecraftian tale (although Blackwood predates and inspired H.P.). You've got the refusal of then modern society to accept the existence of something that can't be explained by logic (very much a by-product of the decline of Christianity), demonstrated by Rushton's ramblings. A lot of Lovecraft tales were railing against rationalism in many ways (which is quite ironic considering how much of a rationalist Lovecraft himself was, although he always maintained that his tales were pure entertainment), and I get a lot of that from this and other Blackwood tales; the ordinary refuse to accept what's happening, even when its before them.
Would recommend. The way Blackwood sets the scene by describing how mountains and lakes get their names by a person's act or a fact about the region as our characters camp by Skeleton Lake is quite good and it tells us this is a supernatural story.
EdwardJohn mentions the refusal of then modern society to accept the existence of something that can't be explained by logic and that is shown as Rushton's mates don't want anything to do with this story. Rushton is lying and they know it but know one wants to know the truth.
Blackwood's brilliant descriptions, atmosphere and scene setting give us a ghost story and very detailed story of human nature packed into just a few pages.
Though MOST refuse to have an open mind and see/admit that the two can (and do) co-exist...quite comfortably in some ways, and not so comfortably in some other ways.
(Even the Theory of Evolution and The Creation story can be compatible and co-exist quite well, if looked at from all the angles. 🙂)
Don't believe in ghosts and 'other things'? And vow to never believe in them?...you will when you meet one or more of them...or some might decide to go the way poor Stan Uris chose to. 💔
Better to keep the middle way and have an open mind, Ikarus....not too high, not too low, not too black or white...perfection is in the gray balance betwixt the two. 🙂
Okay...I'll be quiet and a good wolf now,
and go back to the Cantina and do what I'm best at. 
😊🎶  |
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Post by edwardjohn on Feb 17, 2022 0:01:04 GMT
The way Blackwood sets the scene by describing how mountains and lakes get their names by a person's act or a fact about the region as our characters camp by Skeleton Lake is quite good and it tells us this is a supernatural story.
EdwardJohn mentions the refusal of then modern society to accept the existence of something that can't be explained by logic and that is shown as Rushton's mates don't want anything to do with this story. Rushton is lying and they know it but know one wants to know the truth.
Blackwood's brilliant descriptions, atmosphere and scene setting give us a ghost story and very detailed story of human nature packed into just a few pages.
There's a lot of that stuff with Blackwood. |
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Post by spideyman on Feb 17, 2022 15:03:39 GMT
Good points @wireman,edwardjohn,wolf. Always enjoy a good Blackwood story.
I liked the way he sets up the story by stating things within the woods are named after someone or something. The "skeleton" gives way to something mysterious or supernatural in nature.
A gothic touch: “Something moved secretly between his words, a shadow veiling the stars, destroying the peace of our little camp, and touching us all personally with an undefinable sense of horror and distrust.”
An enjoyable read.
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Post by wireman on Feb 18, 2022 17:47:06 GMT
The discussion for next Wednesday is Chickamauga by Ambrose Bierce
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