Carcosa is a fictional city in the Ambrose Bierce short story "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" (1891). In Bierce's story, the ancient and mysterious city is barely described, and is viewed only in hindsight (after its destruction) by a character who once lived there. Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842–1914?) was an American satirist, critic, poet, short story (horror) writer, editor, and journalist. ... This article is in need of attention. ... An Inhabitant of Carcosa is a short story written by 19th century critic and occasional horror author Ambrose Bierce. ... See also: 1890 in literature, other events of 1891, 1892 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

The King in Yellow

The city was later used more extensively in Robert W. Chambers' book of horror short stories published in 1895 entitled The King in Yellow. Chambers had read Bierce's work and had also borrowed a few other names (including Hastur) from Bierce's work. Robert W. Chambers (May 26, 1865 - December 16, 1933) was an American artist and writer. ... See also: 1894 in literature, other events of 1895, 1896 in literature, list of years in literature. ... The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers is a 1895 collection of short stories loosely connected by three main devices: a fictional book in play form titled The King in Yellow a mysterious and malevolent supernatural entity of the same name a eerie emblem/symbol called The Yellow Sign... Hastur is a fictional character from the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecrafts short stories; the name was borrowed from Robert W. Chambers, who, in turn, had borrowed it from Ambrose Bierce. ...

In Chambers' stories, and within the apocryphal play (also titled The King in Yellow) which is mentioned several times within them, the city is a mysterious, ancient, and possibly cursed place. The most precise description of its location given is that it said to be located on the shores of Lake Hali in the Hyades. The descriptions given of it, however, make it clear that it must be located on another planet, or possibly even in another universe. The Hyades (‘Υάδες) are an open star cluster located in the constellation Taurus. ...

For instance:

Along the shore the cloud waves break,

The twin suns sink behind the lake,

The shadows lengthen

In Carcosa.

Strange is the night where black stars rise,

And strange moons circle through the skies,

But stranger still is

Lost Carcosa.

Songs that the Hyades shall sing,

Where flap the tatters of the King,

Must die unheard in

Dim Carcosa.

Song of my soul, my voice is dead,

Die though, unsung, as tears unshed

Shall dry and die in

Lost Carcosa.

—"Cassilda's Song" in The King in Yellow Act 1, Scene 2

Lake Hali

Lake Hali is a misty lake found near the city of Carcosa. In the play The King in Yellow, the mysterious cities of Yhtill^[1] and Carcosa stand beside the lake. It is referenced in the Cthulhu Mythos stories of H. P. Lovecraft and his imitators. The city of Carcosa is said to be the home of the god Hastur, although it should be noted that this conjecture (along with the concept of Hastur as a Great Old One) began not with Chambers or Lovecraft but with the fiction of August Derleth. Cthulhu Mythos is the term coined by the writer August Derleth to describe the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated writers. ... H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy and horror fiction, noted for giving horror stories a science fiction framework. ... Hastur is a fictional character from the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecrafts short stories; the name was borrowed from Robert W. Chambers, who, in turn, had borrowed it from Ambrose Bierce. ... A Great Old One is a type of fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The name Hali apparently originiated in Ambrose Bierce's "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" (1891) in which Hali is the author of a quote which prefaces the story. It is possible that the Hali referred to is the Urdu poet Maulana Hali^{[citation needed]}. The narrator of the story implies that the person named Hali is now dead (at least in the timeline of the story). The phrase Zaban-e Urdu-e Mualla written in Urdu Urdu () is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Aryan family that developed under Persian, Turkish, and Arabic influence in South Asia during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire (1200-1800). ... Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali was an Urdu poet, and the last student of Mirza Ghalib. ...

Other appearances

Later writers, including H. P. Lovecraft and his many admirers, became great fans of Chambers' work and incorporated the name of Carcosa into their own stories, set in the Cthulhu Mythos. For instance, in some stories, Carcosa is the residence of the Great Old One Hastur. Occasionally, Hastur will alter reality and merge parts of Earth into Carcosa, usually bringing along unwilling people as well. H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy and horror fiction, noted for giving horror stories a science fiction framework. ... Cthulhu Mythos is the term coined by the writer August Derleth to describe the shared elements, characters, settings, and themes in the works of H. P. Lovecraft and associated writers. ... A Great Old One is a type of fictional deity in the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. ... Hastur is a fictional character from the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecrafts short stories; the name was borrowed from Robert W. Chambers, who, in turn, had borrowed it from Ambrose Bierce. ... Hastur is a fictional character from the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecrafts short stories; the name was borrowed from Robert W. Chambers, who, in turn, had borrowed it from Ambrose Bierce. ...

In the short story "More Light", in which James Blish presented his version of a complete text of the play The King in Yellow, Carcosa was described as having four singularities: that it appeared overnight, that no one could tell whether it sat upon the waters of Lake Hali or beyond them on the unseen farther shore, that the rising moon appeared to be in front of the city's towers rather than behind them, and that one knew the city's name to be Carcosa the moment one looked upon it. In Blish's version, Carcosa was created as a city of exile for the King in Yellow, because he was not king in Aldebaran. James Benjamin Blish (East Orange, New Jersey, May 23, 1921 - Henley-on-Thames, July 29, 1975) was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. ... Bulk composition of the moons mantle and crust estimated, weight percent Oxygen 42. ... Comparison between Aldebaran and the Sun Aldebaran, (α Tau / α Tauri / Alpha Tauri), is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus and one of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky. ...

Marion Zimmer Bradley also used the name Carcosa for a city on her fictional planet Darkover. According to her, this usage and the appearance of other distinctive names from Chambers' work dated from her own youthful fascination with "The King in Yellow" and her ambitions to produce her own reconstruction of the play on the basis of the fragments in Chambers' works. Only later did she transform those early fantasy writings into science fiction by relocating them from a parallel earth to a distant world under a red sun. Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 - September 25, 1999) was a prolific author of largely feminist fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and was a steadfast encourager of equality (and quality) in writing. ... The above illustration shows Darkover as the planet on the left with its four moons: Liriel, Kyrrdis, Irdriel and Mormallor. ...

Carcosa Press

Carcosa Press was a specialty publishing firm formed by David Drake, Karl Edward Wagner, and Jim Groce who were concerned that Arkham House would cease publication after the death of its founder, August Derleth. Carcosa put out two notable collections of pulp horror stories, Manly Wade Wellman's Worse Things Waiting (1975) and Hugh B. Cave's Murgunstrumm and Others (1978), both edited by Wagner and illustrated by Lee Brown Coye. The Carcosa Press colophon depicts the silhouette of a towered city in front of three moons. This article is concerned with the production of books, magazines, and other literary material (whether in printed or electronic formats). ... David Drake (born September 24, 1945) is a successful author of science fiction and fantasy literature. ... Karl Edward Wagner (4 December 1945-13 October 1994) was an American writer of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. ... Arkham House is a weird fiction specialty publishing house founded by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Pulp Fiction is a 1994 film directed by Quentin Tarantino and written by Tarantino and Roger Avary. ... Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle or horrify the reader. ... Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 - April 5, 1986) was an American writer of fiction and non-fiction. ... See also: 1974 in literature, other events of 1975, 1976 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Hugh Barnett Cave (July 11, 1910–June 27, 2004) was a writer of pulp fiction, contributing to Black Mask, Weird Tales, and similar publications. ... See also: 1977 in literature, other events of 1978, 1979 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Lee Brown Coye Lee Brown Coye (1907-1981) was an American artist. ... Colophon (Greek Κολοφών; see also list of traditional Greek place names) was a titular see of Asia Minor. ... A silhouette is a view of an object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior. ...

References

• Harms, Daniel (1998). The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, 2nd ed., Oakland, CA: Chaosium. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.

Notes

1. ^ "Yhtill" is the name of the city where The King is Yellow is set. In the language of Alar (a city in the play), the word means "stranger" and is the name used by the character wearing the "Pallad Mask". (Harms, "Yhtill", The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, p. 341; cf. "The Repairer of Reputation", Chambers.)