m (Work in progress) |
m (Work in progress) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | '' |
+ | ''For the 1953 collection of stories and essays by Zealia Bishop [[The Curse of Yig (book)]]'' |
{{Infobox story |
{{Infobox story |
||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
==Background== |
==Background== |
||
| − | Bishop supplied the story idea and some notes, paying Lovecraft to flesh it out in 1928. It could be said the tale was "ghost-written"; however, others class it as a "collaboration". Bishop then sold the story under her own name to ''[[Weird Tales]]'' magazine. It was published first in the November 1929 issue ( |
+ | Bishop supplied the story idea and some notes, paying Lovecraft to flesh it out in 1928. It could be said the tale was "ghost-written"; however, others class it as a "collaboration". Bishop then sold the story under her own name to ''[[Weird Tales]]'' magazine. It was published first in the November 1929 issue (Volume 14, Number 5) on pages 625-36. |
It was the first of three tales Lovecraft wrote for Bishop, the others being "[[The Mound]]" and "[[Medusa's Coil]]". |
It was the first of three tales Lovecraft wrote for Bishop, the others being "[[The Mound]]" and "[[Medusa's Coil]]". |
||
| Line 26: | Line 26: | ||
The husband and wife go through rituals to keep Yig away, but in the end it fails and in fear the woman kills her own husband in the dark, thinking he is Yig. She is taken to an asylum, and dies there... But not before giving birth to a half-snake creature. |
The husband and wife go through rituals to keep Yig away, but in the end it fails and in fear the woman kills her own husband in the dark, thinking he is Yig. She is taken to an asylum, and dies there... But not before giving birth to a half-snake creature. |
||
| + | |||
| + | ==Plot Summary== |
||
| + | While researching snake lore in 1925 the Narrator finds that while most of the residents of Oklahoma are unwilling to talk there is a rumor that Dr McNeill is keeping a terrible relic Guthrie Asylum. |
||
| + | |||
| + | He was well recieved by the aging doctor who revealed that the relic was in fact a live victim of the curse of Yig. After being taken to see it in the basement the horrified narrator was gently led back to the doctor's plush office to hear the full story from the afternoon till late at night. After explaining the local customs surrounding Yig the Doctor moves on to the story of Walker and Audrey Davies. |
||
| + | |||
| + | In the spring of 1889 public land was opened in Oklahoma and the Davises left Franklin County, Arkansas to settle north of the Wichita River with all of their worldly possessions and Wolf (an ancient dog) in a covered wagon pulled by 2 mules. |
||
==Characters== |
==Characters== |
||
| Line 32: | Line 39: | ||
*Dr McNeill - The old, well read director of the Guthrie Asylum. |
*Dr McNeill - The old, well read director of the Guthrie Asylum. |
||
*Major Moore - One of the settlers who pointed the Narrator towards Dr McNeill. |
*Major Moore - One of the settlers who pointed the Narrator towards Dr McNeill. |
||
| − | *The Thing - The only surviving |
+ | *The Thing - The only surviving "child" of Audrey Davies, held in room B 116 of the basement of the Guthrie Asylum's east wing. In addition to a terrible stench it was described as a prone, hairless humanoid with speckled brown skin on its shoulders and a flat head with beady black eyes. |
| + | *Stevens - One of the three men trusted to feed the Thing and clean out its quarters until his death a few years before. |
||
===Circa 1889=== |
===Circa 1889=== |
||
*Walker Davies |
*Walker Davies |
||
| Line 44: | Line 52: | ||
*Chief Grey Eagle |
*Chief Grey Eagle |
||
==Locations== |
==Locations== |
||
| + | ===1925=== |
||
*Guthrie - Home to an insane asylum in central Oklahoma. |
*Guthrie - Home to an insane asylum in central Oklahoma. |
||
| + | *Binger - A small village in Caddo County. |
||
| + | ===Circa 1889=== |
||
| + | * |
||
==Republication== |
==Republication== |
||
Revision as of 01:01, 5 April 2020
For the 1953 collection of stories and essays by Zealia Bishop The Curse of Yig (book)
"The Curse of Yig" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop in which Yig, "The Father of Serpents", is first introduced.
Background
Bishop supplied the story idea and some notes, paying Lovecraft to flesh it out in 1928. It could be said the tale was "ghost-written"; however, others class it as a "collaboration". Bishop then sold the story under her own name to Weird Tales magazine. It was published first in the November 1929 issue (Volume 14, Number 5) on pages 625-36.
It was the first of three tales Lovecraft wrote for Bishop, the others being "The Mound" and "Medusa's Coil".
Synopsis
Based in Oklahoma around 1889, a newly arrived couple learn about the local legends surrounding a "Snake God", Yig, who takes vengeance on anyone who kills a serpent by killing them or turning them into a half-snake monster. The husband has a snake phobia which isn't helped by the wife disturbing a nest of rattlesnakes.
The husband and wife go through rituals to keep Yig away, but in the end it fails and in fear the woman kills her own husband in the dark, thinking he is Yig. She is taken to an asylum, and dies there... But not before giving birth to a half-snake creature.
Plot Summary
While researching snake lore in 1925 the Narrator finds that while most of the residents of Oklahoma are unwilling to talk there is a rumor that Dr McNeill is keeping a terrible relic Guthrie Asylum.
He was well recieved by the aging doctor who revealed that the relic was in fact a live victim of the curse of Yig. After being taken to see it in the basement the horrified narrator was gently led back to the doctor's plush office to hear the full story from the afternoon till late at night. After explaining the local customs surrounding Yig the Doctor moves on to the story of Walker and Audrey Davies.
In the spring of 1889 public land was opened in Oklahoma and the Davises left Franklin County, Arkansas to settle north of the Wichita River with all of their worldly possessions and Wolf (an ancient dog) in a covered wagon pulled by 2 mules.
Characters
1925
- The Narrator - An Indian ethnologist who travelled through Guatemala before ending up in Oklahoma in 1925 looking for snake lore.
- Dr McNeill - The old, well read director of the Guthrie Asylum.
- Major Moore - One of the settlers who pointed the Narrator towards Dr McNeill.
- The Thing - The only surviving "child" of Audrey Davies, held in room B 116 of the basement of the Guthrie Asylum's east wing. In addition to a terrible stench it was described as a prone, hairless humanoid with speckled brown skin on its shoulders and a flat head with beady black eyes.
- Stevens - One of the three men trusted to feed the Thing and clean out its quarters until his death a few years before.
Circa 1889
- Walker Davies
- Audrey Davies
- Joe Compton
- Sally Compton
- Clyde Compton
- Lafayette Smith
- Tom Rigby
- Jennie Rigby
- Chief Grey Eagle
Locations
1925
- Guthrie - Home to an insane asylum in central Oklahoma.
- Binger - A small village in Caddo County.
Circa 1889
Republication
The story has appeared in a number of horror anthologies, including:
- A Treasury of American Horror Stories, ed. Frank D. McSherry, Jr., Charles G. Waugh & Martin H. Greenberg, Bonanza/Crown Books 1985, ISBN 0-517-48075-1
- Tales of the Dark #3, ed. Lincoln Child, St. Martin's Press 1988 ISBN 0-312-90539-4
- The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions, H. P. Lovecraft, Arkham House 1989 ISBN 0-87054-040-8