Cosmic Horror That Makes Reality Feel Unsafe
Branomander
71,014 views
This set of cosmic, Lovecraftian books will make reality feel unsafe. Each one has something...other...cosmic...metaphysically vile... that will affect you in your actual life. It makes your world into Lovecraft's, into a cosmic horror story. Cthulhu might be the least of your problems. Ten books, from the SCP world, to the realm of disturbing fiction, to classic Lovecraftian horror, to political cosmic literature, to abstract reality breakage, to philosophical hauntings, and to simulation theory. Your mind will break.
Books Covered (With Amazon Affiliate Links That I Am Compensated For):
Negative Space - B. R. Yeager: https://amzn.to/3T7SvvH
Song For The Unraveling Of The World: Stories - Brian Evenson: https://amzn.to/4dEm3Ib
Stonefish - Scott R. Jones: https://amzn.to/4ABT8OY
The Cipher - Kathe Koja: https://amzn.to/4Avc7dR
The Imago Sequence and Other Stories - Laird Barron: https://amzn.to/4hoX10C
There Is No Antimemetics Division - qntm: https://amzn.to/3TQ4le7
The Sea of Ash - Scott Thomas: https://amzn.to/4rrFf1r
The Secret of Ventriloquism - Jon Padgett: https://amzn.to/46JxMkV
The Twenty Days of Turin - Giorgio De Maria: https://amzn.to/4hl3XMj
Wounds - Nathan Ballingrud: https://amzn.to/4xG6G9d
Other Books Mentioned:
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All: Stories - Laird Barron: https://amzn.to/3VxVCh3
The Conspiracy Against The Human Race - Thomas Ligotti: https://amzn.to/4ylpWdC
The Red Tower (in Teatro Grottesco) - Thomas Ligotti: https://amzn.to/4yhcPKk
Game:
Silt
Music:
Vibing Over Venus - Kevin Macleod
Artist Credits In Order (Not Accurate Titles):
Cthulhu - Jeff Himmelman, Wanderer - Friedrich, Rider - Morier, Newton - Kneller, Edward 1 - Unknown, Elder Thing - Tom Ardans, Azathoth - Dominique Signoret, Avatar In Suit - Prampta, Solipsism - Matthew Moody, Guy In Water - Beksinski, Boat Illusion - Rob Gonsalves, Cthulhu - Dominique Signoret, Necronomicon - MrZarono, Abdul Alhazred - Beata Kurkul, Beautiful Apartment - Asmongold, The Cipher (Both pieces) - Martin Ander, John The Revelator - Lars Justinen, Red and Black Bubbles - Pawel Czerwinski, Hell/Heaven Pictures - Gustave Dore, Angel - Tweet Shiraaa?, Monk By The Sea - Freidrich, La Bibliothèque de Babel - Erik Desmazières, Baptismal Scene - Mark Rothko, The Knifegrinder - Malevich, Composition VII & Points - Kandinsky, Relativity & Waterfall - Escher, Johannes & Arch - Orosz, Geometry - Fink, Ligotti - Dave Felton, Cipher - Marshall Arisman, Samshiel - Peter Mohrbacher
#lovecraft #cosmichorror #lovecraftianhorror #horrorbooks #recommendations
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
2:18 Spoiler Warning
2:56 There Is No Antimemetics Division
8:21 The Cipher
12:12 Negative Space
17:09 Wounds
20:53 The Imago Sequence
24:26 The Sea of Ash
27:20 The Twenty Days of Turin
31:29 Song For The Unraveling Of The World
36:06 The Secret of Ventriloquism
39:44 Stonefish
44:19 Conclusion
20 Comments
Tyler is such an interesting character and the way it uses cosmic horror an existential dread to explore the effects of being influenced by someone who has been so deeply affected by something else is masterful. The subtlety of his abuse of drugs and other people felt ripped out of my high school experience in many ways. Long after the story has moved on from the main plot, his presence hovered above everything else.
I Found myself crying more than anything after I finished it. It truly left me in a negative space - no pun intended.
I would highly recommend Ballingrud's other collection "North American Lake Monsters". It's a totally different style from "Wounds", more literary character studies with a horror twist.
I recently finished Laird Barron's novel "The Croning" which really helps to contextualize many of his short stories which take place within the same universe/mythos, particularly some of the stories from "The Beautiful Thing".
Brian Evenson has been a revelation for me over the past few months and all his collections that I've read have been really amazing. He apparently also wrote a hard to find novelizatiin of the "Dead Space" game series that I'd love to get my hands on.
I simply can't recommend "The Secrets of Ventriloquism" highly enough. Especially to fans of Ligotti.
Thanks for the great videos! I'll definitely be checking out the books I haven't read on this list, because the ones I have are among my all time favorites. Keep up the great work.
Delighted to see The Secret of Ventriloquism and The Twenty Days of Turin get a shout-out as well :)
Btw, I recommend Laird Barron's novel The Croning. It might help identify some of the interconnectivity between his short stories (well, some of them).
Also, if you're still not feeling The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All, at least check out The Men From Porlock. It's a good horror story.
Cosmic Horror That Makes Reality Feel Unsafe
Branomander
71,014 views
This set of cosmic, Lovecraftian books will make reality feel unsafe. Each one has something...other...cosmic...metaphysically vile... that will affect you in your actual life. It makes your world into Lovecraft's, into a cosmic horror story. Cthulhu might be the least of your problems. Ten books, from the SCP world, to the realm of disturbing fiction, to classic Lovecraftian horror, to political cosmic literature, to abstract reality breakage, to philosophical hauntings, and to simulation theory. Your mind will break.
Books Covered (With Amazon Affiliate Links That I Am Compensated For):
Negative Space - B. R. Yeager: https://amzn.to/3T7SvvH
Song For The Unraveling Of The World: Stories - Brian Evenson: https://amzn.to/4dEm3Ib
Stonefish - Scott R. Jones: https://amzn.to/4ABT8OY
The Cipher - Kathe Koja: https://amzn.to/4Avc7dR
The Imago Sequence and Other Stories - Laird Barron: https://amzn.to/4hoX10C
There Is No Antimemetics Division - qntm: https://amzn.to/3TQ4le7
The Sea of Ash - Scott Thomas: https://amzn.to/4rrFf1r
The Secret of Ventriloquism - Jon Padgett: https://amzn.to/46JxMkV
The Twenty Days of Turin - Giorgio De Maria: https://amzn.to/4hl3XMj
Wounds - Nathan Ballingrud: https://amzn.to/4xG6G9d
Other Books Mentioned:
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All: Stories - Laird Barron: https://amzn.to/3VxVCh3
The Conspiracy Against The Human Race - Thomas Ligotti: https://amzn.to/4ylpWdC
The Red Tower (in Teatro Grottesco) - Thomas Ligotti: https://amzn.to/4yhcPKk
Game:
Silt
Music:
Vibing Over Venus - Kevin Macleod
Artist Credits In Order (Not Accurate Titles):
Cthulhu - Jeff Himmelman, Wanderer - Friedrich, Rider - Morier, Newton - Kneller, Edward 1 - Unknown, Elder Thing - Tom Ardans, Azathoth - Dominique Signoret, Avatar In Suit - Prampta, Solipsism - Matthew Moody, Guy In Water - Beksinski, Boat Illusion - Rob Gonsalves, Cthulhu - Dominique Signoret, Necronomicon - MrZarono, Abdul Alhazred - Beata Kurkul, Beautiful Apartment - Asmongold, The Cipher (Both pieces) - Martin Ander, John The Revelator - Lars Justinen, Red and Black Bubbles - Pawel Czerwinski, Hell/Heaven Pictures - Gustave Dore, Angel - Tweet Shiraaa?, Monk By The Sea - Freidrich, La Bibliothèque de Babel - Erik Desmazières, Baptismal Scene - Mark Rothko, The Knifegrinder - Malevich, Composition VII & Points - Kandinsky, Relativity & Waterfall - Escher, Johannes & Arch - Orosz, Geometry - Fink, Ligotti - Dave Felton, Cipher - Marshall Arisman, Samshiel - Peter Mohrbacher
#lovecraft #cosmichorror #lovecraftianhorror #horrorbooks #recommendations
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
2:18 Spoiler Warning
2:56 There Is No Antimemetics Division
8:21 The Cipher
12:12 Negative Space
17:09 Wounds
20:53 The Imago Sequence
24:26 The Sea of Ash
27:20 The Twenty Days of Turin
31:29 Song For The Unraveling Of The World
36:06 The Secret of Ventriloquism
39:44 Stonefish
44:19 Conclusion