- Yellow Mythos Fact #1: Probably the most commonly known factoid about the Yellow Mythos is the meaning of the color itself. The color yellow was associated with decadence, decay, and commercialism (especially faded glory, and I don't mean the jeans), during the time Robert W. Chambers wrote the famous story collection. In fact, True Detective's first season uses the color yellow or tinges the shot yellow whenever something unsavory, decadent, or a fall from expected grace happens. This type of fiction is an extension of the Romantic Literature movement, involving florid and dramatic emotional prose and themes, and is known as the Decadent Fiction movement. Other similar stories connected to the Decadent Fiction movement include the works of Oscar Wilde (including The Yellow Book) and the delightfully creepy and feminist The Yellow Wallpaper. This type of fiction reached its peak in the late 1800's, but had mostly died out by the 1910's.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #2: The Romans, who spoke Latin, did not distinguish between certain tints of the color yellow or the color white; the word pallos refers to them both. It is from this word we get "pallor", meaning a whitening of the skin due to blood rushing away from the skin (as with strong fear or going into shock and certain illnesses), and "pallid", meaning "whitened or off-white". And thus, the Pallid Mask could be white, off-white, or yellowish, depending on who you ask.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #3: The power of words is a common theme in the Extended Yellow Mythos. In theater, there's a curious superstition concerning a certain Shakespeare play, Macbeth. The name is believed to be cursed, and uttering it (even if you're performing the play itself) is considered to bring bad luck - people will injure themselves, the opening night will be a disaster, etc. Thus, you will hear theater folks refer to it as "The Scottish Play". The term "break a leg" comes from this similar superstition - wishing one good luck before going onstage is also considered unlucky. In some cultures, it is also believed true names have power - to speak someone's true name brings them under your control, or draws the attention of a diety (if they are one). It is possibly from these beliefs that whomever brought Hastur into the Mythos first, and into roleplaying games, decided that saying Hastur's name would summon him.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #4: The choir as we know it has ties to Greek theater culture and its plays, wherein a group of people would act as the narrator to the story therein, therefore knowing what would happen already. This practice is continued today in many theatrical productions. To "preach to the choir" is to tell your opinion to someone and try to convince them to agree when they already agree with you. The choir or narrator therefore serves the purpose of knowing what will happen before the audience and can play on dramatic irony. This is likely the purpose of the Stranger in the Pallid Mask character from the play - as your typical Greek choir or "in the know" character. In addition to this, a common statement about fiction is that there are only two stories - "Going on a Journey" and "A Stranger Comes to Town." I'll let you decide which of these the tale of the Last King best fits.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #5: The Yellow Sign is real... sort of. The Chinese character for "King" is the same as the character for "Yellow". This character also has the dual slang meaning of "lewd, perverse, or decadent". At least one King in Yellow adaptation, a graphic novel version of Chambers' works, has drawn on this. It is possible Chambers himself also drew on this knowledge to create his Yellow Sign, but it is not confirmed as he never drew the symbol itself out. He has, however, in his stories commented that the symbol itself looks vaguely Oriental (which could, given the time period, mean Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, or another such eastern culture's language). No word on if seeing the Chinese character for "Yellow" drives you insane or causes a sort of mind control to take hold, though.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #6: Chambers really apparently liked to make puns out of his characters' names. In The Repairer of Reputations, there is a blacksmith-type character with the last name Hawberk, which comes from "hauberk", a kind of light armor. In The Desdemoiselle d'Ys, the titular character's full name is "Jeanne d'Ys" - or "jaundice", hence referring to her Carcosan overtones. In the same story, the name Hastur is also given to a falconer.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #7: The name Carcosa probably came from the name of the real Medieval French city Carcassonne, considered a crowning jewel of commerce. The game Carcassonne is similarly based on this city, and a recent Kickstarter campaign is creating a variant of it called Carcosa, where the aim is to summon either the city or the King in Yellow first. Time is indeed a flat circle.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #8: The line "Songs that the Hyades shall sing" in Cassilda's Song refers to the Hyades star cluster in the constellation Taurus. Most Yellow Mythos stories make reference to the star Aldebaran (from Arabic for "the follower"), or the "fiery eye of the bull", also in the Taurus constellation. To find Aldebaran and the Hyades star cluster (Aldebaran's not actually in the Hyades), find Orion's Belt. Tracing from the leftmost star to the right, and following until you see an orangish-yellowish star, you will find Aldebaran. The Pleiades or "seven sisters" star cluster is close by. The Hyades star cluster (if the night's clear and dark enough) will also be somewhat nearby and further down. In many sources it is believed that whatever planet or place Carcosa is on, it orbits Aldebaran. The connection to Taurus is not without basis in another interesting connection. The name Hastur comes from Haita, a name referenced in Ambrose Bierce's Haita the Shepherd where this being appears as a benevolent god of shepherds. And, in case you were wondering, yes, Camilla is a real name, but Cassilda is not.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #9: There was a belief during the Middle Ages that French or English royalty could cure a disease called “king’s evil,” otherwise known as “scrofula,” with a single touch. Today, we know that scrofula (a swelling of the glands) is actually just a symptom of tuberculosis and that a touch would do nothing to help. Imagine if the King in Yellow could cause this illness with a touch, or worse!
- Yellow Mythos Fact #10: Carcosa is said to have twin suns. In reality, binary star systems do exist and are actually fairly unusual. Carcosa is also described as having multiple moons, and this is so common amongst planets as to be pointless to name all planets with multiple moons.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #11: There exists a connection between Hastur and Nyarlathotep in the Cthulhu Mythos proper by way of a reference in H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle stories. There is a character described as a priest of some sort hidden in a high tower with a silken yellow mask, known as the High Priest Not to Be Described. It is not well understood if this is Nyarlathotep, Hastur in a Dreamlands form, neither, or both, and there is some controversy between Lovecraft fans because of it. The common belief is that Nyarly is aping Hastur's getup, but some have whispered that perhaps Hastur is another form of Nyarlathotep entirely. Lovecraft also directly name-checked Hastur and the Yellow Sign in The Whisperer in Darkness.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #12: Carcosa really does exist... in Malaysia. It is a luxury hotel named Carcosa Seri Negara and it is formed of two colonial mansions - Carcosa and Seri Negara. Seri negara is Malaysian for "beautiful country", an apt name since the location of the hotel is absolutely gorgeous. It's located in Kuala Lumpur, and does indeed include a nearby lake. It was also formerly known as "King's House" for the fact that it was once home to an actual king, and its logo looks suspiciously like it could be the Yellow Sign. Here is its Wikipedia Page.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #13: The color yellow is opposite that of purple/violet on the color wheel. When mixed, they produce what is known as a chromatic grey. Yellow and purple both have ties to royalty, but purple is more considered regal in the West while yellow is considered regal in the East. Thus, yellow is purple's opposite, and to have a Western king dress in yellow therefore is like an inversion of all a king should stand for. This inversion is also mentioned at the end of In the Court of the Dragon wherein the sky of Carcosa is described as being white or yellowish (pallid) with black stars. The black stars also crop up in Cassilda's Song, an inversion of the normal white stars on black sky. Thus, a theme of inversion is established, making Carcosa itself an inverse or topsy-turvy land.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #14: The Lake Effect is the term in the Midwestern United States (and probably elsewhere) for strong storms becoming stronger as they move over the Great Lakes. As a result, the storm can be very intense. This goes for rain, hail, thunderstorms, and blizzards. Since Carcosa is situated near a massive lake, it probably has a Lake Effect weather pattern too. This means that, when it rains in Carcosa (probably does not snow much because having twin suns means lots of warmth and heat), the storms are very severe. Carcosa may even be battered by extremely strong winds and thunderstorms at times. Tornadoes are not as likely because there is not enough time for the storm to "peter out" over the inland bulk of Carcosa.
- Yellow Mythos Fact #15: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God" is a phrase from the Bible (I do not recall which verse/psalm numbers off the top of my head, but it is from Hebrews). The King in Yellow utters it to the protagonist of In The Court of the Dragon at the end of that story. The phrase is very much associated with the Yellow Mythos as a result, but it's not the only religious connection in the Yellow Mythos. Some authors connect Hastur to the concept of Satan (another inversion theme!), and Chambers drew the King with angelic wings and many commonly follow suit with that in their own art. In the Court of the Dragon has the protagonist in church because he has been reading the play and seeks spiritual help with his madness. It... does not go well, at all. A king, as a figurehead, was also believed to derive his power to rule from God. In addition, biblical angels are very eldritch and creepy, and many Judeochristian sects believe that taking the Lord's name in vain is blasphemous and a curse on you. This could also be where the concept of not saying Hastur's name aloud comes from, along with his symbol being dangerous to see and the idea of the king needing a mask or hiding his face to prevent the awful truth from being seen by those "unworthy". Interestingly, the Expanded Cthulhu Mythos deity Y'golonac also shares this trait, in both that his name can't be spoken or even thought of/read without possibly summoning the being - and he could also be described as a deity associated with perversion and decadence.
Psst. Hey kid, wanna learn about Decadent Literature, The King in Yellow, and the story collection that helped launch Lovecraft's own writing and weird fiction as a genre? I knew you would, if only because you're interested in The King in Yellow and things Hasturian and weird. I promise I'll get back to the Thousand Masks Saga soon, but for now I want to share some interesting Yellow Mythos facts and trivia - bits and bobs about all things Chambersian and Hasturian that I have accrued. Allow me to show you them:
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About The Blog
Welcome to Musings 2.0, my personal blog here on WordFlow! Here, you can find out what I'm doing now and where I'm going next, as well as get my thoughts on the Cthulhu Mythos, assorted sundry writing topics, and various scientific topics. Archives
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