Thanks, Matt. I have been a bit obsessed with Ligotti for awhile, and I am stoked to find a story I've never read. I'll head on over to Internet Archive to bookmark that Crypt of Cthulhu.
I know his name but cannot recall if I've read him - I've read a lot of fictional horror over the years but my penchant for forgetting author's names is unsurpassed.
The approach makes me think of the early Gnostics and their demiurge - not a benevolent creator, but a planetary Demon...rather like Saturn or Kronos - trapping pure Soul in the confines of materiality.
One thinks of the newly born - fresh, innocent and already primed to grow...to exist - the drive to thrive. Then commences the forging of an ego to survive the inevitable wounding, onward to aging, loss of faculties, and the final dissolution of everything the living believe to be important.
It sounds like Ligotti and much of horror fiction reflects the story currently unfolding in our world - where monsters in human form lust for power and supremacy in a parody of the Demiurge, upheld by barbarous throngs who believe in the salvation of lies.
It sounds like the vibe is accurately coming across, Richard. A Gnostic vibe definitely plays into much of Tom's writing, including a direct reference to "an obscure gnostic cult" in his first-written story, "The Last Feast of Harlequin."
On the matter of Ligotti and horror fiction reflecting real-world things, it may interest you to hear that one distinct substream in his work is a set of stories exploring what has been termed workplace horror or corporate horror. Several short stories and one short novel, MY WORK IS NOT YET DONE. All are well worth reading.
I discovered the Nightmare Factory in the 90s, exhumed from a pile at the end of a dusty horror aisle in a used bookstore; or rather, it found me, with that fantastically inviting title, cover, and Poppy Z. Brite intro. I still have that copy. And I've been a Ligotti fan ever since (the Vastarien journal was fantastic).
So I am super excited to read this story! Thanks so much for the introduction.
I’m glad this post speaks to your Ligottian attraction. The Nightmare Factory is talismanic book for me, just as it is for you. Occupies a special, in fact a unique, place.
Thanks, Matt. I have been a bit obsessed with Ligotti for awhile, and I am stoked to find a story I've never read. I'll head on over to Internet Archive to bookmark that Crypt of Cthulhu.
I hope you like it!
How cool! Thanks for sharing this, Matt!
You're quite welcome, Greg.
I know his name but cannot recall if I've read him - I've read a lot of fictional horror over the years but my penchant for forgetting author's names is unsurpassed.
The approach makes me think of the early Gnostics and their demiurge - not a benevolent creator, but a planetary Demon...rather like Saturn or Kronos - trapping pure Soul in the confines of materiality.
One thinks of the newly born - fresh, innocent and already primed to grow...to exist - the drive to thrive. Then commences the forging of an ego to survive the inevitable wounding, onward to aging, loss of faculties, and the final dissolution of everything the living believe to be important.
It sounds like Ligotti and much of horror fiction reflects the story currently unfolding in our world - where monsters in human form lust for power and supremacy in a parody of the Demiurge, upheld by barbarous throngs who believe in the salvation of lies.
It sounds like the vibe is accurately coming across, Richard. A Gnostic vibe definitely plays into much of Tom's writing, including a direct reference to "an obscure gnostic cult" in his first-written story, "The Last Feast of Harlequin."
On the matter of Ligotti and horror fiction reflecting real-world things, it may interest you to hear that one distinct substream in his work is a set of stories exploring what has been termed workplace horror or corporate horror. Several short stories and one short novel, MY WORK IS NOT YET DONE. All are well worth reading.
I discovered the Nightmare Factory in the 90s, exhumed from a pile at the end of a dusty horror aisle in a used bookstore; or rather, it found me, with that fantastically inviting title, cover, and Poppy Z. Brite intro. I still have that copy. And I've been a Ligotti fan ever since (the Vastarien journal was fantastic).
So I am super excited to read this story! Thanks so much for the introduction.
I’m glad this post speaks to your Ligottian attraction. The Nightmare Factory is talismanic book for me, just as it is for you. Occupies a special, in fact a unique, place.