Stephen Kings "Call of Cthulhu"

[agolosha]

How interested would you be in a King story about a person stumbling onto a collected trove of articles, and records about all the fantastical, and supernatural events that occurred in the world (calling back to as many of King's stories as possible) who then goes on some sort of quest to reveal the overarching truth behind all these supernatural beings, aliens, and dimensions.

I'm not aware if there's a single driving force for all the "weird" in King's stories. Would you want there to be one? Or do you like the chaotic nature of it - 'all these things exist, and there's no rhyme or reason behind it all.'

 

[GNTLGNT]

...I call it The Dark Tower....

 

[not_nadine]

You say true, GNT. I'll be in Topeka, making burritos while looking for slo mutants that might have hitched on to the choo choo train.

 

[not_nadine]

How interested would you be in a King story about a person stumbling onto a collected trove of articles, and records about all the fantastical, and supernatural events that occurred in the world (calling back to as many of King's stories as possible) who then goes on some sort of quest to reveal the overarching truth behind all these supernatural beings, aliens, and dimensions.

I'm not aware if there's a single driving force for all the "weird" in King's stories. Would you want there to be one? Or do you like the chaotic nature of it - 'all these things exist, and there's no rhyme or reason behind it all.'

Take the Journey to the Tower

I want a sandwich.

 

[champ1966]

Leyland Gaunt was definitely one of the Cthulu Mythos crew.I haven't got my kindle to hand, but when Ace Merrill goes on the errand for him he sees 'CTHULU RULES' (or something like that) spray painted on the wall. Oh an Randall Flagg is Nyarlothep (wikipedia it).

 

[GNTLGNT]

Leyland Gaunt was definitely one of the Cthulu Mythos crew.I haven't got my kindle to hand, but when Ace Merrill goes on the errand for him he sees 'CTHULU RULES' (or something like that) spray painted on the wall. Oh an Randall Flagg is Nyarlothep (wikipedia it).

...you recall correctly, the whole "garage scene" in the novel reeks of Lovecraft.....

 

[skimom2]

Chaos is more interesting and unsettling. I don't even like relating everything to the Dark Tower.

 

[GNTLGNT]

Chaos is more interesting and unsettling. I don't even like relating everything to the Dark Tower.

 

[mal]

Howdy GNTLGNT, You have a wickedly sarcastic sense of humour which always keeps me coming back for more! It's truly grand, much like yourself. All the best, mal.

 

[GNTLGNT]

Howdy GNTLGNT, You have a wickedly sarcastic sense of humour which always keeps me coming back for more! It's truly grand, much like yourself. All the best, mal.

...it's probably a character flawbut I use it for fun and also as a weapon and a shield....thank you my friend...

 

[muskrat]

How interested would you be in a King story about a person stumbling onto a collected trove of articles, and records about all the fantastical, and supernatural events that occurred in the world (calling back to as many of King's stories as possible) who then goes on some sort of quest to reveal the overarching truth behind all these supernatural beings, aliens, and dimensions.

I'm not aware if there's a single driving force for all the "weird" in King's stories. Would you want there to be one? Or do you like the chaotic nature of it - 'all these things exist, and there's no rhyme or reason behind it all.'

You read Jerusalem's Lot? Not saying the story is exactly like yer idea, but it indeed touches on some of these points, and definitely has that Lovecraft vibe you seem to be craving.

 

[champ1966]

'Yog-Sothoth Rules'

 

[Gerald]

If you're looking for something overarching, definitely The Dark Tower.

There is no single force behind all the evil and 'weird' in his books, and I like that. Wouldn't the books become uninteresting if there was just one single force behind it. If it was all one source.

I think a lot of evil in his books comes out of humans themselves, a lot is psychological. But then there's inanimate objects coming to life as well, there's science gone wrong, the usual horror-staples like vampires and werewolves, an Indian burial ground, a rabid dog, a dangerous fan, a dangerous psydoneum etc. The list goes on and on.

So, no, I wouldn't be interested in something that explains it all. I also don't feel it's chaos, it's variety. I think it's all held together by its American settings - it's the modern US with a dark underground just below the surface.

And even if you'd like to call it chaos, isn't chaos what horror is supposed to do?

 

[GNTLGNT]

'Yog-Sothoth Rules'

...Herr, herrr, herrr....

 

[agolosha]

I've stayed away from the Dark Tower series for "reasons". But is it a series all onto itself, or does it fulfill the threads question in that, say, Pennywise, and the aliens in Dreamcatcher, etc are connected to it somehow?

 

[GNTLGNT]

I've stayed away from the Dark Tower series for "reasons". But is it a series all onto itself, or does it fulfill the threads question in that, say, Pennywise, and the aliens in Dreamcatcher, etc are connected to it somehow?

...all worlds revolve about the Tower....in other words, read and be assimilated into the DT collective....

 

[not_nadine]

You read Jerusalem's Lot? Not saying the story is exactly like yer idea, but it indeed touches on some of these points, and definitely has that Lovecraft vibe you seem to be craving.

Yes, Jerusalem's Lot. Re-read that not too long ago. I had forgotten about it. It's dark, fine storytelling there.

 

[Gerald]

Jerusalem's Lot is probably the most Lovecraftian thing he wrote, certainly in terms of writing style. But it never felt to me like it touches on other King works. It doesn't even seem related to Salem's Lot the novel, only to the extent that this apparently always was a place that attracted dark forces - but it's not about vampires.

It seems more like he wrote Jerusalem's Lot when he was very immersed in Lovecraft and wanted to try that style. And later when he wrote the novel Salem's Lot inspired by Stoker's Dracula he came across the name of the town again, shortened it to Salem's Lot and used it again. They don't seem directly related apart from the fact that it's most likely the same town.

One for the Road on the other hand is a story that is directly related to Salem's Lot the novel.

 

[no bounce no play]

I used to be a Lovecraft fan and some of SK's stories are a bit Lovecraftian but even Crouch End was more SK than Lovecraft. I actually like SK's Mythos more than Lovecraft's Mythos. SK's stories are on a different astral plane.

 

[Gerald]

To me, King owes more to Matheson than to Lovecraft. You could put King's name above some of Matheson's stories and I could believe it was (early) King. But I like all three a lot.

Lovecraft was where he got his first taste of supernatural literature, but he has said Matheson was the writer who influenced him most.
And you can really tell. Just read a number of Matheson short stories and in terms of themes and ideas, settings and characters they feel very similar.