"Beyond the Wall of Sleep" is a science fiction short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in 1919 and first published in the amateur publication Pine Cones in October 1919. The tale tells of a former inmate at a mental hospital for the criminally insane, who claims to have been driven to violence following a series of deep and strange slumbers, in the Catskill Mountains. Chapters: 00:10 - Introduction 01:06 - Beyond the Wall of Sleep 29:40 - Further Listening Bandcamp link: horrorbabble.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-wall-of-sleep Narrated by Ian Gordon for HorrorBabble Music and production by Ian Gordon Support us on Bandcamp or Patreon: horrorbabble.bandcamp.com www.patreon.com/horrorbabble HorrorBabble MERCH: teespring.com/stores/horrorbabble-merch Search HORRORBABBLE to find us on: AUDIBLE / ITUNES / SPOTIFY Home: www.horrorbabble.com Rue Morgue: www.rue-morgue.com Social Media: facebook.com/HorrorBabble instagram.com/horrorbabble twitter.com/HorrorBabble
Constitutional Remunerations totally agree, thanks to this channel I’ve managed to listen to all of these now. Wanted to do this for a long time too 🌠💥🌠
Am I the only person who's wondering why H.P. Lovecraft's imaginative, unusual stories and ideas aren't cliches in modern horror movies and novels? They were unique in Lovecraft's times (Lovecraft wasn't successful, in spite of his uniqueness) and they are unique now. Lovecraftian horror is worthy of exploring; can't people see that?!
That is a very good question indeed. I am new to Lovecraft's work yet am now just so taken with it and what it reveals about our innermost fears we want to evade, deny they are part of us and what they have to reveal about our halves that are often kept repressed and buried away, yet are never truly dispelled.
It’s curious indeed. But I am not certain a movie could faithfully reproduce the feeling of the stories they would be representing. You can get chills reading them. But could you get the same with a movie? Few producers would even dare try.
Nobody seems to be able to pull them off in movie style. Take The Color Out Of Space !!!! Absolutely butchered by Nicolas Cage. Ruined the entire feeling of the tale .
I do think Lovecraft’s work is hard to translate from page to screen. So much of his horror lies in the suggestion of things literally too dreadful to envision, while film demands that these horrors ARE made visible, at least to some degree. In effect, the medium of film fatally undercuts the unique “don’t dare to look!” atmosphere Lovecraft’s prose creates.
What's cool is that algol, the demon star is actually three stars orbiting each other but they hadn't known that back then. It predictably changes in luminosity because two of them are so close that they appear as one. The third (which orbits at a greater distance from the pair) must've came around while they were looking and that's what they're talking about.
Doesn't the ending imply he failed? Algol has been there for some time, surely it's made more than one enemy since then? Perhaps our celestial friend is one of many past attempts, hence Algols laughter and mocking.
@@CJM-rg5rt I thought it was about surviving a heroin overdose. "Visions cupped within the flower, deadly petals with strange power": the poppy flower. It goes with Hand of Doom, another anti-heroin song. Maybe they got the title from Beyond the Wall of Sleep, but yeah I don't see any connection to it in the lyrics.
@@pythoncoder2000 wow that's cool! We all perceive it differently but that makes sense too. Wishing that the hands of doom could take your mind away and you don't care if you don't see again the light of day.. but that's clear as day off SBS. This song is more cryptic.
1. Beautiful work as always, Ian. Bravo! 2. Holy mackerel...Howie didn't think very highly of country folk, did he? "Oh sure, those Innsmouth people are pretty strange...but have you ever met a...a... [shudder] ...West Virginian?!?"
Every time i listen to another lovecraft tale i think that i have finally heard/read all of his works, only to discover another one. This channel is fantastic, and listening to these weird tales as i work is a source of great enjoyment for me. Thanks for doing this.
Well done Ian...we your loyal minions wish to convey our appreciation and undying affection for you and Jennifer....😃💜 I think HPL might change his mind about the South if we gave him some gumbo, king cake and Jacques Daniel😃 HAPPY MARDI GRAS EVERYONE!
I can always get behind lovecrafts dream focused work, its not usually what people associate the name with, but its just as interesting to see how he modernized the dreamer/oracle sort of idea edit: is it possible to sub to your band camp if i dont use GBP?
I don't think there are any restrictions re: currencies/locations. If you sign up and there are any problems, let us know here (www.horrorbabble.com/contact) and we'll reach out to Bandcamp!
So Lovecraft's writing really reflects his desire or fantasy for a way of existence beyond the human and terrestrial environment. This story in particular may be interpreted as showing his fantasy wherein human beings (himself included, of course), are or can become lifeforms in some sort of a higher order of existence, with expanded intellect, individual power and freedom of movement in space and time. Also a recurring theme is his pessimistic speculation of how glimpses into such supernatural realms are likely to be received with disbelief, superstition and dismissal as mental defect by people engrossed in the mundane world. All things considered, the author is not really that difficult to understand, and his disposition has a sort of idealistic innocence to it when empathized with. Yes, I did write a literary analysis on my own accord.
It always makes me chuckle when Lovecraft or one of his contemporaries uses the phrase "white trash." It's not a term one typically associates with early 20th-century literature.
Great story and narration! I would love to know what Lovecraft dreamed of and intended to write about. I am always left wondering. Thanks for recording this classic!
Lovecraft already saw how we dream our day and have the possibility of waking up when we "Dream" , what we now call lucid dreaming. Anybody who experienced such a dream knows what I am talking about.🤯😎
This is one of Howard's more beautiful and surprisingly spiritual stories, where he's revealing that he's well aware of a greater reality beyond the material one. He had a gorgeous, perceptive mind, and unlike his character Joe Slater he had the language to articulate all he dreamt and felt. This story gave me chills, and I'm so happy to have discovered it and that Ian narrated it so wonderfully. 🖤
I keep thinking of the Smithereens song, "Behind the Wall of Sleep" which, by the way, has absolutely no connection to this story other than the title.
Magnificent reading as usual Mr. Gordon. May I suggest “The Trap” by H.P. Lovecraft and Henry Whitehead. I don’t believe I’ve seen that one in your Lovecraft library. 👋😁✌️
I am happy to have come across your channel as I kicked off my exploration of Lovecraft's work and am deeply immersed in his tales now. This being the sixth one I have listened to today! His talent of navigating through the human psyche is nevertheless intriguing and has an indelible grip on the reader, which is certainly evident through this story.
Since this is technically a thread I might as well share my experience, I first had the vision after getting hit by my father (one of many times) when I angrily went into my room to write a poem to let out my frustrations. I ended up writing a very long, very descriptive Dante’s inferno style of writing which was pretty cool, I sat down after writing, still enraged drunk very tired and began to meditate. About 15 minutes into the guided meditation on my phone I began to have a weird dream like vision. In this vision (very vivid might I add) I was smoking cannabis with my friends in a room, the setting was nice and home-like but there were no windows or doors, which I did think was strange but was already accustomed to from my stays at the hospitals being in what they called the “quiet room” which is a padded cell for patients who are either violent or capable of violence. (I got in a fight and had to defend myself.) Regardless, let me get back to the story, So, out of literal thin air, a man appears in a dark corner of the room and sat down next to me, i was already frightened considering the mans red face paint and head to toe tattoos, as the joint slowly makes its way around the group, the man hands reaches to hand me it for my turn, but instead pulls out a knife of some sort and stabs me incredibly fast. I woke up from this vision gasping for air, so startled and shaken up I literally told my family immediately, Luckily I wasn’t sent back to the hospital for this because my family is pretty weird, we’re basically the real life version of the Addams family from the movies. I’ve had this “vision” for lack of a better word almost every week since then when I dream at night. My theory for all of this? I’m not really sure, maybe it was the gift of a life lesson bestowed upon me by someone or something. Either way if you’ve read this thank you for reading, goodnight.
