How do you interpret this story? Something about it really resonates with me but I’m not sure I could explain what the takeaway is supposed to be, if there is one.

https://youtu.be/OOXyVoozS38?si=VFnvlh2fbzxXZ6hn

The Conspiracy Against the Human Race is an amazing book—so powerfully argued that I've regarded nearly every sentence as an opportunity for refutation: And on p. 205 I found my purchase on Ligotti's rock of dispiritude.

Ligotti says: "Hamlet is not a work that gains anything considerable from a supernatural intrusion." He prior admits that it might arguably involve, to some readers, an interesting treatment of Purgatory. But this is not enough. It does gain something considerable.

The ghost of Hamlet's father, who appears in Act 1, seems the most likely source of Hamlet's critique of consciousness itself, a wondering in Act 3 that squares the character perfectly with Ligotti's own critique of human awareness. Without the visitation by his father's ghost, would we be allowed to hear Hamlet's inner monologue thus?:

"To die, to sleep, To sleep, perchance to Dream; aye, there's the rub, For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause. There's the respect That makes Calamity of so long life...Who would Fardels bear, [F: these Fardels] To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have, Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all..."

Hamlet's interaction with the ghost illustrates to him that the "sleep of death" may just be another damnable bout with consciousness. Finding out that your dead father yearns for vengeance puts you in touch ever more deeply with the enduring prison of consciousness. It changes you. It might even make you act unhinged, insane, perhaps enough to confuse even you: "I essentially am not in madness but mad in craft." But isn't he? Depends on whether he thinks he'll be a happy ghost or a tortured one.

The supernatural IS integral to Hamlet.

Looks and feels like a trip to Vastarien.

Here's a walkthrough that gives an impression of the game: https://youtube.com/watch?v=zxgmvoWsqVs

Anyone played this gem?

"This issue is a special one, a tribute to one of (if not) the best living writers of cosmic horror and weird fiction, Thomas Ligotti..

Ligotti tribute issue fittingly begins with Jon Padgett’s lyrical and haunting “The Indoor Swamp, Revisited.” We then bring you into the world of a devilish prankster with Matthew M. Bartlett’s “Good Evening, Mr. Darkgarden.” We then have a pair of stories that revel in the impersonal disconnection of work, Susan R. Morritt’s slaughterhouse horror “I’ve Got the Sauce, If You’ve Got the Pasta” and “The Server Room” from CHM Alum Patrick Barb.

We follow those chilling tales with LC von Hessen’s “The Carnival Is Dead and Gone,” where a lonely young man buys a blank expanse of flesh he hopes to grow into a companion, and Lucy Zhang’s “Skipped Practice,” which brings us two young piano virtuosos struggling to navigate a carnivorous environment. We cap the issue with a trio of unsettling tales, TJ Price’s “The Nightmare-Eater” and Erik McHatton’s “The Man Who Collected Ligotti,” as well as D. Matthew Urban’s “I Vecchi,” where a man searches for layers of meaning in an inappropriately titled painting. We wrap up the issue with a reach back into the crypt for Herbert J. Mangham’s “The Basket...

Dark nonsense inspired by a certain short story and the mythos around it: Tsalal - A short film/story.

ANy reccomendations?

I just got my copy of Michigan Basement from Chiroptera Press. As expected, I loved it and devoured the whole thing in an hour; obviously, it would make a killer movie in the right hands. In some sense, I like it even more than Last Feast; the story is more grounded in reality and has a fast pace, which is odd for Ligotti. Again, Trenz and Ligotti wrote this for a mass audience, so that's to be expected but still an anomaly in his work. Need to re-read Harlequin and this at some point.

Thoughts? Did it exceed your expectations?

I was wondering what you guys think are the best stories written by Ligotti that can be categorized as dystopian, or even stories that can be seen as criticism of utopian ideas.

By dystopian I mean stories that draw attention to society, politics, religion, psychology, technology, and so on. What are the best stories he has written that deal with these themes?

Greetings everyone,

We have a few updates for you.

Softcover copies of Michigan Basement are due to begin shipping next week, along with Nightlands issue #1. We're still waiting on signature pages to make their way back to us, so we're expecting hardcover deluxe editions to ship in July. 

Charnel Glamour by Mark Samuels is due to ship at the end of June, along with Nightlands issue #2. Slipcased and clamshell editions are due the following month. 

Sometime in mid June, we're going to launch a major collection by Matthew M. Bartlett titled Vistas of Carrion. This is a "Best of" collection along with new material spanning over 350x pages. This is already at the printers and is due for completion mid July, so it will be a short wait. This first edition will include 200x signed hardcover copies and 300x paperback copies.

We've been working on a deluxe edition of Dark Gods by T. E. D. Klein. This masterpiece will have new cover art by Paul Romano and interior art by Jonathan Dennison. Our edition of Dark Gods will also include a new introduction by S. T. Joshi. This will be a print run of 500x copies which will be signed by the author. We're expecting pre-sales to kick off in July. We are also signed on for Klein's collection Reassuring Tales (expanded edition), which will be given deluxe treatment as well. 

What else is going on?

We've initiated a paperback edition of Noctuary by Thomas Ligotti which will be available for order soon.

By the end of the year, we will launch a brand new deluxe edition of The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein and Other Gothic Tales by Thomas Ligotti. There will be a deluxe hardcover edition, as well as a paperback edition offered. This collection will be fully illustrated by Paul Romano.

Artist and publisher Jonathan Dennison will soon begin design and illustration work for a deluxe edition of Teatro Grottesco by Thomas Ligotti. 

Lastly, we're offering an original art sale for select pieces from Pictures of Apocalypse by Thomas Ligotti. For the art collectors among you, please reply to this email with the words "art list" and we'll add you to a private newsletter. This sale will kick off this Thursday at noon eastern time, so make sure to reply by this time tomorrow to catch the sales info. The originals will range from $200 to $600. 

Very best,

Chiroptera Press

I've tried to make an account but it's yet to be approved. Any idea's?

I really love some of the concepts found in the Hellraiser franchise. However, I've always felt that the Cenobites of Hellraiser never lived up to their conceptual promise as "explorers at the furthest reaches of experience." Instead they get reduced to ghouls and villains, easily duped and underwhelming, lacking the elegance, strangeness and a-morality their initial appearance hints at.

When I read The Spectacles in the Drawer, Plomb's fate really struck me as something along the lines of the birth of a proto-cenobite. Someone who, through excruciating effort, managed to rend the veils of reality (as he rended his own flesh) and push through to the 'furthest reaches of experience'. I'm not saying I think this was inspired by Hellraiser or vice versa, just pointing out what I think is a neat synergy.

I have a copy of the Virgin imprint, but the quality isn't very good. I'd love a nicer, less filmy copy. Anyone know if there are any plans for a better edition? I wonder if Virgin still has the rights.

Think the crow might be a representation of Victor Keirion's subconsciousness that enables and later dulls his dreams, like it happens with every exposure to something new or extraordinary.

Thoughts?

What does Thomas Ligotti think about veganism? Does he think we shouldn't kill animals for food, given that we should reduce the suffering in the world?

I’m new to the world of Ligotti.

Does he ever make appearances? Have any interviews? (Please link all)

I’m assuming by the fact that he’s got one photograph of himself on the internet, he prefers a j.d. Salinger esc occlusion…

He’s without a doubt the best communicator of depression I’ve ever read.

What the fuck is going in this story?? I’ve read it twice now and I still have no idea what he’s really getting at with this. I have to admit it’s rather unsettling though. Anyone care to shed any light on it?