Robert W. Chambers Article by Matt Cowan

Robert W. Chambers was born Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1865. He became a successful artist, selling works to several magazines and publications of the time. He later turned his attention to writing, publishing his first novel (In the Quarter) in 1887. Chambers wrote in multiple genres, but his biggest success was his weird fiction collected in “The King in Yellow” (1895). The majority of the works included in this collection revolved around a play that is brilliant and yet insanity provoking in anyone who reads it. In some cases it seems to bring supernatural entities after those who read it. He included the fictional realm of Carcosa in “The King in Yellow”, which was an invention of author Ambrose Breice. H.P. Lovecraft would return the favor later by including elements such as The Yellow Sign in some of his tales. Robert Chambers died in his home on December 16, 1933.

1.“The Repairer of Reputations” (1895) – This story seems to take place in a parallel earth timeline where suicides have been made legal. The government has even erected large facilities to help people carry out such desires. The main character has been recently released from a mental hospital, supposedly cured, but as the reader will begin to suspect, this may not be the case. The protagonist read “The King in Yellow” at one point and became obsessed with it. This is a well crafted tale that gives you glimpse into the inner workings of a potentially unbalanced mind and how he perceives the world around him in contrast to how those he interacts with see the same things.

2.“The Mask” (1895) – Two friends become involved in a sort of friendly love triangle. Both of the men love the same woman, but after she makes her choice, they all remain friends and continue to hang out together. The man she chooses to stay with is a sculpture who has discovered a liquid that turns anything he places in it to a petrified quasi-marble statue. The two men are of differing opinions as to weather this is a good thing or not. The story is largely about the protagonist dealing with being forced to remain merely a friend to the woman he loves and repressing his true feelings. The strange liquid concoction obviously becomes important as the story goes on. The play “The King in Yellow” is read by the main character and the woman at one point, and both are left very disturbed by it.

3.“In The Court of the Dragon” (1895) – A man sitting in a church during the service is surprised by the bizarre playing of the organ, but no one around him seems to notice. When he looks back, the organist gives him a horrible hate-filled glare while leaving the loft. The narrator sees the man again coming from a direction of which he did not expect. With the hateful looks setting him ill at ease the man decides to leave the church and head home to house but finds himself pursued by the hateful organist, whom he begins to think may be something other than human.

4.“The Yellow Sign” (1895) - This is a wonderfully creepy tale that revolves around a painter who is falling in love with his younger model Tessie. He begins to become distracted by an odd watchman who patrols the churchyard near his house. When the watchman looks up and meets the artist’s gaze, the artist is repelled and finds the man reminds him of a “coffin worm”. When he tries to return to his painting, he finds he has somehow ruined the image of Tessie he was painting. Her image’s arm begins to take on an unhealthy look that spreads to the rest of her the more he tries to fix it. When the model returns for another session, she tells the artist of a dream she had where she saw a man driving by with a coffin in tow, and she is sure that he was in it. She also believes the hideous watchman to be the driver. Both begin to have similar dreams, and friends of theirs have a frightening encounter with the watchmen. When passing the churchyard one evening, the watchman asks the artist if he has found the Yellow Sign yet. Later Tessie finds a copy of the evil play, “The King in Yellow” and reads it despite the artists attempts to stop her. Afterwards things become much worse for the couple.

5."The Demoiselle d'Ys” (1895) – A man becomes lost in a wilderness setting and lies down to fall asleep. He is awakened by the pouncing of a falcon grabbing its prey. He then meets a beautiful woman who is a falconer. She tells him it could take him centuries to find his way back home but that he can stay with her for the night if he wishes. He agrees and ends up staying longer as the two fall in love. He is surprised, however, by the very outdated clothing he is given and other strange things that make it seem he may not be where or when he thinks he is.

6."Passeur" (1897) – A man’s desire to reunite with his love, who died a year ago, hears her voice calling to him from across the sea during snowy winter’s night.

7.“The Bridal Pair” (1902) - A man seeks out a woman he has seen many times in different places during his travels. He loves her although he does not know her name and has never spoken to her. When he finally meets her face to face, he finds she has died three years previous and that she also loves him. They both desire to remain together, and she tells him what he must do for it to happen.