#t.e.d. klein

[aquitainequeen]

Me, a week ago: You know, with people enjoying things like Dracula Daily and Re:Dracula so much, I could do the same thing with The Events at Poroth Farm! Most of it is diary entries and it takes place over a whole summer; I can post about it on the specific days!

Also me: Aren't we already nearly through June?

Me: A minor setback!

Also me: And isn't that novella still well within copyright?

Me: ...a major setback.

Also me: Although...

Me: ???

Also me: As long as you're careful and don't use too many quotations from the original novella, you could describe the plot?

Me: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thus: until August 20th, stay tuned for the unfolding of the terrible truth about The Events at Poroth Farm!!!

(If you want to read along and delight in T.E.D. Klein's magnificent novella, you can find it in American Supernatural Tales (Penguin Classics) or The Cthulhu Mythos MEGAPACK ®: 40 Modern and Classic Lovecraftian Stories. If it turns out that I get a cease and desist from Klein et al, go and read the novella regardless.)

[megatherium-americanum]

Jason C. Eckhardt's cover for the 1990 chapbook printing of T.E.D. Klein's The Events At Poroth Farm, published by Necronomicon Press.

[thehorrorofnachosandhamantaschen]

Episode 284 - Horror Roundup, February 2023, Part 1

Another year, another chance for the boys to talk about all the horror experiences they endured while on break. Dead Space 3 was played. Hellbender was watched. Reassuring Tales was read. V/H/S/99 was streamed. JR also "peddles" some "new" books, but doesn't seem to know anything about them. This is what taking time off does folks.

Episode 284 - Horror Roundup, February 2023, Part 1

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[vintagerpg]

The Events at Poroth Farm (1990) was T.E.D. Klein's debut short story (first published in 1972) that formed the basis for his excellent novel The Ceremonies (1984). Despite being included in a couple of Year’s Best Horror anthologies, the story was difficult to find prior to this Necronomicon Press version (which boasts some minor revisions and corrections by the author). It’s one of my favorite horror stories ever and I think there is a solid argument for it being one of the best horror stories written in the second half of the 20th century (and it is, at least to my recollection, free of the controversial themes that mars some of Klein’s later work).

It sees a writer preparing for a course on Gothic literature by spending the summer in a rented room on a remote farm in South Jersey owned by a couple who practice an unnamed Amish-like religion that proscribes modern technology. The isolation is right there from the start, as is a light (an entirely unrealized) sexual tension between the young couple and their lodger. It almost feels like a different kind of story entirely, but then something crawls out of the woods and into one of the couple’s cats, then into more human lodging. Whatever it is does a good job of impersonating people, but it often forgets to blink. The result is catastrophic without ever losing the sense of intimacy and isolation (something the larger novel doesn’t succeed so well at, thought it’s still a banger).

Jason Eckhardt’s stipple-full illustrations really sold the story for me, now and in 1992. That one of the night sky is just beyond perfect. You might be familiar with Eckhardt’s name because I think his work on Chaosium’s Lovecraft Country sourcebooks is so excellently atmospheric. His work for Necronomicon Press is on the same level.

[witchyfashion]

COLLECTED HERE ARE KLEIN’S RARE AND OBSCURE SHORT STORIES, HARD TO FIND EVEN FOR DEDICATED FANS.

Creatures sinister but unseen. Madmen who may not be so mad. Realities that twist into astonishing patterns. Insidious new technologies beyond our understanding or control. Welcome to the existential weird fiction of master storyteller T.E.D. KLEIN, the acclaimed editor of Twilight Zone magazine and author of the bestselling novel The Ceremonies and the award-winning four-novella collection Dark Gods.

More than a decade ago, Klein's shorter stories were collected in Reassuring Tales in an edition limited to 600 copies. It quickly sold out and is today hard to find even for dedicated fans. This new expanded edition reprints the earlier book's contents, along with two previously uncollected stories, three poems, an essay, new illustrations, and an interview with the author.

https://amzn.to/3RxKtcc

[reality-breaker]

Επιλογές Νοεμβρίου (28/11)

Hunter’s Moon (δωρεάν ιστορία ηρωικής φαντασίας) & Banth (το λεοντοειδές φανταστικό θηρίο από τα βιβλία του E.R. Burroughs) & Αχρήματη οικονομία (ένα πολύ κακό σύστημα) & Ksematiasma (Android εφαρμογή που σε ξεματιάζει) & Moon Flight (ταινία μικρού μήκους του Ουγγαρέζου Sándor Reisenbüchler) & Return to Square (ηλεκτρονική μεταμόρφωση εικόνας) & Εξερεύνηση της ιαπωνικής Κόλασης (μέσα από την τέχνη) & Ιστορίες λαξεμένες από τα φύλλα δέντρων (κι άλλη τέχνη) & Ambientblog (ambient μουσικές) & Οι 13 πιο τρομαχτικές ιστορίες τρόμου (μια λίστα του T.E.D. Klein) & The Ship That Sailed to Mars (ένα πολύ όμορφο και πολύ σπάνιο βιβλίο, γραμμένο χειρόγραφα) & Το Αρχείο του Καβάφη στην Αθήνα (Φρυνίχου 16Β, Πλάκα) & Συνέντευξη Alan Moore («Χρειαζόμαστε περισσότερα φαντάσματα») & Witch House (περιοδικό με ιστορίες Cosmic Horror· όλα τα pdf δωρεάν) & The Robots of Dawn του Asimov (πραγματικά απαίσιο παρότι υποψήφιο για Hugo και Nebula) & Fighting Slave of Gor (μία από τις χειρότερες ιστορίες του John Norman) & Out on Blue Six (ίσως το πιο αμφιλεγόμενο και ψυχεδελικό βιβλίο του Ian McDonald)

➤ https://fantastikosorizontas.gr/kostasvoulazeris/epiloges/ep.php?ID=11_2023#3

[vsthepomegranate]

The Ceremonies (1984)

by T.E.D. Klein

[allwaswellrp]

" Secrets are ultimately too hard to conceal. The keys to the rites that will transform the world are neither hidden nor rare nor expensive. They are available to anyone. " - T.E.D. KLEIN, the ceremonies

grimoire summary -

Grimoire University is the only wizarding University in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000 by Johan Hoffman, who believed that the key to success was education. The University is globally renowned for magical further education, particularly in the art of Divination. The University is situated in the beautiful Snowdonia National Park where the castle walls are enchanted with a Disillusionment Charm to keep our institute private for our students and staff. Within our grounds we have shops, cafes, entertainment facilities, gym facilities and advice centres. We are proud to say we also have botanical gardens, Llyn Mwyngil lake and are surrounded by mountain ranges which makes our University unique. Through partnerships with Hogwarts and other magical Universities across the world, we harness our expertise in research and education to advance magical knowledge, transform lives and shape a better future for our communities, and the world. 

the four houses

Below are the four houses of Grimoire University that students are sorted into once accepted. They are founded by Johan Hoffman and all have their own colors and mascots based off the constellations. Sorting is executed with a palmistry reading done by the Headmistress.

HOUSE OF CUPS

The Cups House is known for their compassion, idealism, creativity and spirituality. Students of whom -- upon undergoing the palmistry sorting -- experience the lines of their hand GLOW TEAL are placed into this house. The dormitories for the House of Cups is, on the contrary, frightening to some. To sleep beneath the moving waters is not an easy feat, but once you have taken the stairwell down, you are met with colors of teal and beige, and above, a clear, glass ceiling that gives you a visual to all of the creatures and life in the river. Edible lotus flowers are made daily for the students and candles in the shapes of doves adorn the walls. It is located under the river which leads to Snowdonia National Park. To enter, you must travel to the edge of the water that runs through the grounds of Grimoire. From there, you must find a still spot in the water; this is the door. house colors — Teal & Beige house mascot — The Swan

HOUSE OF PENTACLES

The Pentacles House is known for their gregariousness, practicality, insatiability and invulnerability. Students of whom -- upon undergoing the palmistry sorting -- experience the lines of their hand GLOW VIOLET are placed into this house. The dormitories for the House of Pentacles are exactly what you might imagine; an elegant archway leading into the main area, which is brimming with white lilies and divine foliage. The ceilings are scattered with floating clouds, almost as if you were staring up at the sky above, and the windows offer you the most beautiful view of the mountains in the distance. Gold accents decorate the furniture, giving the room an embodiment of riches. It is located in the highest tower to the East. To enter, you must simply knock thrice. house colors — Violet & Gold house mascot — The Crow

HOUSE OF SWORDS

The Swords House is known for their methodical approach, honesty, isolation and intuition. Students of whom -- upon undergoing the palmistry sorting -- experience the lines of their hand GLOW MAROON are placed into this house. The dormitories for the House of Swords is just beyond a large, towering door made of steel. Two swords are embossed in the center, crossing over one another to form a large 'x'. Upon entering, you are greeted with flags adorning the walls, wreaths embroidered in the fabric and decorated with marigolds. Every item is a pair; two of the same sofas, lamps, curtains, et cetera. The room is minimalistic, but that is just how they like it. It is located beneath ground level where you must walk down a long, winding corridor to reach your destination. To enter, you must stroke the handle of the left sword twice. house colors — Maroon & Onyx house mascot — The Little Fox

HOUSE OF WANDS

The Wands House is known for their intelligence, impatience, charisma and optimism. Students of whom -- upon undergoing the palmistry sorting -- experience the lines of their hand GLOW MARIGOLD are placed into this house. The dormitories for the House of Wands is dark yet bewitching, just as you might expect. Black was sprinkled in with the maroon furniture, and the decor and tables were all made of various wand woods. Vines covered the ceiling, some draped down the walls and lined the chairs, encompassing you in what might be reminiscent of a forest. In the center of the room, which has stairs encircling it, is a fire that never dwindles. It is located, simply put, on the first floor of the university just adjacent to the dining hall. To enter, you must tell the statue of Ignatia Wildsmith your fondest memory of the day. house colors — Marigold & Grey house mascot — The Owl

[bookwormsnook]

Book Review

My review of Reassuring Tales (Expanded Edition): The Weird Fiction Short Stories of T.E.D. Klein.

[aquitainequeen]

I was raised on M.R. James' ghost stories; in my opinion the best ones are Casting the Runes, The Mezzotint, ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’, The Ash Tree, Count Magnus, and A Warning To The Curious.

Emily Carroll's webcomics are glorious and harrowing, since she makes such incredible use of the screen to tell the story and surprise and terrify the reader.

The Magnus Archives podcast! (The first few seasons, anyway; once the overarching narrative really kicks in and a lot of what's going on gets explained, the scares decrease 😩)

The Events at Poroth Farm by T.E.D. Klein; it builds the tension and the horror so beautifully.

There's a short film on Youtube called Mannequin and I know what happens in it, and yet every single time I watch it, I'm doing so through my fingers, it is so scary

I spent the weekend watching short horror films on Youtube, which I regret with delight, and I have decided to go ahead and draft some Spooky Season posts. Just, you know, set them aside for a spooky day in case I catch covid for the umpteenth time or something and find myself languishing again. I don't know if I should save them for October or post as early as September, but I'm curious:

In the sense of "So scary I almost couldn't finish it," like really bloodcurdlingly scary:

What movies or short films have really truly freaked you out?

What are your favorite scary books or short stories? (Actually, let's include creepypasta and online horror writing in this.)

While we're here, is there any music (songs or scores) that you find really unnerving?

Come to think of it, I'm a mobile gamer rather than a video/console gamer, but I enjoy watching horror game playthroughs. Scariest games?

I have some specific answers myself, but I'm curious what strikes everyone else. Feel free to answer in reblogs as well as tags or comments.

[fictionz]

New Horror 2022 - Day 5

"The Events at Poroth Farm" by T.E.D. Klein (1972) "Sometimes we forget to blink."

Hotdang, that’s a scary story! It’s a novella-length yarn and the author uses that space to build things up so gradually that you don’t notice the creeping dread until it’s too late. And it’s funny because the character in this is a horror book nerd and is insistent on dropping titles, names, and the occasional critique of some pre-70s horror fiction, which felt a bit annoying, but then here I am constantly dropping what I’ve just read or watched. Feel seen, indeed.

===

"Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall!" by Jack Davis, et al. (1953) "Why do they scream when they see you?"

First-person perspective in a comic must have been a fresh thing in the fifties, and if you’re going to do it, then you may as well pull from a classic like Frankenstein. I also recognize this sort of amnesiac monster thing from many stories since ‘53, in particular the disturbing "His Silicon Soul" from Batman The Animated Series.

===

The Picture of Dorian Gray dir. Albert Lewin (1945) "You think it's only God who sees the soul?"

That design for the sins of Dorian Gray is gnarly.

[aquitainequeen]

The Events At Poroth Farm Read Along: June 11

Until August 20th, stay tuned for the unfolding of the terrible truth about The Events at Poroth Farm, by T.E.D Klein!

(This is where it starts getting good, everyone!)

***

Jeremy remarks upon the humidity of the area during the day, compounded with the chill at night. He spends most of the day finishing Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin, commenting on how it’s a book that wants the reader to hate and simply causes unconstructive rage, but still interesting and worth assigning to his class. Before dinner he then reads The White People by Arthur Machen and is immensely struck by the story:

‘the sections from the young girl’s notebook were…staggering. That air of paganism, the malevolent little faces peeping from the shadows, and those rites she can’t dare talk about […] it must be the most persuasive horror story ever written’. [1]

While walking to the farmhouse for dinner, the Poroths already having gone inside, and without really knowing the reason why, Jeremy climbs the old tree in the side yard and stands on a sturdy branch to make strange faces and gestures. ‘I must have looked like a madman’s shadow as I made signs to the wood and the moon.’ [2]

During dinner, Jeremy and Sarr get onto the usual topic of conversation: the cats, and the dead animals they keep bringing back from the woods or fields and leaving them on the porch, almost as an offering.

Once Jeremy leaves the Poroths to their television (deploring their taste in programs!) he conducts his nightly routine of hunting spiders with his extra powerful insect spray, meant for outdoor use only, and spraying his screens for good measure; trying to avoid killing moths and actively avoiding any slaughter of fireflies. Afterwards he sits in bed to read Algernon Blackwood's Ancient Sorceries and coming to dwell upon the Poroths’ seven cats, and all the numerous names they have for each of them. The only cat that doesn’t have multiple names is Bwada, Sarr’s pet from before he married Deborah; the oldest and by far the meanest of the cats, who’s bitten Deborah and guests in the past but thankfully appears to be afraid of Jeremy and keeps her distance.

Jeremy hears sounds from the farmhouse as the Poroths sing their devotions, and then there is silence. Jeremy plans to stay up and read a little more, when-

‘Something odd just happened. I’ve never heard anything like it. While writing for the past half hour I’ve been aware, if half consciously, of the crickets. Their regular chirping can be pretty soothing, like the sound of a well-tuned machine. But just a few seconds ago they seemed to miss a beat. They’d been singing along steadily, ever since the moon came up, and all of a sudden they just stopped for a beat – and then they began again, only they were out of rhythm for a moment or two, as if a hand had jarred the record or there’d been some kind of momentary break in the natural flow…’ [3]

While the insects sound normal enough once more, Jeremy decides to return to reading The Castle of Otranto in the hopes it will help him to fall asleep.

[1] The Events at Poroth Farm, by T.E.D. Klein, originally published in From Beyond the Dark, edited by Edward P. Berglund in December 1972; this edition found in The Cthulhu Mythos MEGAPACK ®: 40 Modern and Classic Lovecraftian Stories, Loc 2269 of 17308

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid, Loc 2301 of 17308

(If you want to read along and delight in T.E.D. Klein’s magnificent novella, you can find it in American Supernatural Tales (Penguin Classics) or The Cthulhu Mythos MEGAPACK ®: 40 Modern and Classic Lovecraftian Stories. If it turns out that I get a cease and desist from Klein et al, go and read the novella regardless!)

[weirdletter]

Providence After Dark and Other Writings, by T.E.D. Klein, Hippocampus Press, 2019. Cover photo by Donna St. Pierre, cover design by Dan Sauer, info: hippocampuspress.com.

Best known as a writer of supernatural horror, T.E.D. Klein, author of The Ceremonies and Dark Gods, has also written essays, articles, op-ed pieces, and reviews that are provocative, erudite, occasionally splenetic, and always highly opinionated. This book, compiled by S.T. Joshi, presents a wide selection of Klein’s nonfiction, including a lively account of the first World Fantasy Convention, where the field’s most colorful personalities gathered in Providence to honor its native son, H.P. Lovecraft; Klein’s introduction to the Arkham House edition of Lovecraft’s shorter tales... His lists of the 13 most terrifying horror stories and the 25 most familiar horror plots; memoirs of his college days in Providence, under Lovecraft’s spell... His triumphs and blunders as a Paramount script reader... His influential tenure as editor of Twilight Zone magazine... What it was like to work with eccentric (and notorious) director Dario Argento on his first full-length American film; a pair of groundbreaking New York Times features on cruelty to animals in the movies... A skeptical take on Woody Allen at the turning point in his career... The hitherto unremarked secret of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001; personal encounters with legendary weird-tale writers Robert Aickman and Donald Wandrei... Appreciations of Arthur Machen, Lord Dunsany, Rod Serling, Ramsey Campbell, and Mark Twain... Reviews of Ruth Rendell, Christopher Priest, William Peter Blatty, and a quartet of Gene Roddenberry biographies, plus candid interviews, impassioned editorials for CrimeBeat magazine, and even a couple of poems.

Contents:     I. On Lovecraft Providence After Dark The United Amateur A Dreamer’s Tales Remembering Arkham House The Festival The Old Gent T.E.D. Klein: Master of Ceremonies     II. On Other Authors Arthur Machen Ramsey Campbell: An Appreciation Slow An Afternoon with Aickman A Haunted House Frank Belknap Long Dr. Van Helsing’s Handy Guide to Ghost Stories. Introduction to Dark Love Introduction to David Schow’s Seeing Red Whiskey, Popcorn, and Gold Gaspard de la Nuit A Connecticut Yankee The Ceremonies, edition: A Note from the Author A Conversation with T.E.D. Klein     III. The Twilight Zone Stories from the Twilight Zone Twilight Zone Magazine The Most Terrifying Horror Stories The Book of Hieronymus Bosch Twilight Zone: The Movie Horrors! An Introduction to Writing Horror Fiction Standing Behind the Curtains: A Conversation with T.E.D. Klein     IV. On Film They Kill Animals and They Call It Art Animals in Movies— The Abuse Gets Worse On Cutting Up Movie Classics How I Flopped as a Paramount Script Reader Annie Hall Star Wares Master of a Lost Art And Many Happy Returns T.E.D. Klein Interview     V. On Other Topics Where Do We Go from Here? Charles Manson, B.M.O.C. The Joy of Losing Working for the Brown Daily Herald CrimeBeat Crime and Punishment A Higher Standard A Couple of Letters on... Antarctica! Quotation & Misquotation Silenced Voices Three Letters to Brown Spalding Gone Gray Lament of an Aging English Instructor Reassuring Words: An Interview with T.E.D. Klein     VI. Reviews Legion by William Peter Blatty The Face That Must Die and Incarnate by Ramsey Campbell The Suburbs of Hell by Randolph Stow More Books The Glamour by Christopher Priest Collected Stories by Ruth Rendell The Terrors of Ice and Darkness by Christoph Ransmayr Bring Me Children by David Martin A Curate’s Egg Sci-Fi Entertainment A Swedish Podcast

[bigtickhk]

A Wild Tumultory Library by Mark Valentine https://amzn.to/2WYm7tY

Providence After Dark and Other Writings by T.E.D. Klein https://amzn.to/32u2Mle

[batmonica]

I fell prey to the sort of anxiety that had made me miserable in youth: it was a sense that time was running out...

“Black Man with a Horn” by T. E. D. Klein

[skookworks]

(via Chaugnar Faugn - Color)