THE KING IN YELLOW (HASTUR)
"At the farther end was a high stone dais reached by five steps; and there on a golden throne sat a lumpish figure robed in yellow silk figured with red and having a yellow silken
mask over its face.To this being the slant-eyed man made certain signs with his hands, and the lurker in the dark replied by raising a disgustingly carven flute of ivory in silk-covered paws and blowing certain loathsome sounds from beneath its flowing yellow mask."
"Then the figured silk slipped a trifle from one of the greyish-white paws, and Carter knew what the noisome high-priest was. And in that hideous second stark fear drove him to something his reason would never have dared to attempt, for in all his shaken consciousness there was room only for one frantic will to escape from what squatted on that golden throne."
H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest Of Unknown Kadath
"Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in Dim Carcosa."
Robert W. Chambers, The Yellow Sign
"'The ambitions of Caesar and Napoleon pales before that which could not rest until it has seized the minds of men and controlled even their unborn thoughts,' said Mr. Wilde.
'You are speaking of the King in Yellow', I groaned with a shudder.
'He is a king whom Emperors have served.'"
Robert W. Chambers, The Repairer Of Reputations
Then I sank into the depths, and I heard the King in Yellow whispering to my soul: 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!"'
Robert W. Chambers, In the Court Of the Dragon
mask over its face.To this being the slant-eyed man made certain signs with his hands, and the lurker in the dark replied by raising a disgustingly carven flute of ivory in silk-covered paws and blowing certain loathsome sounds from beneath its flowing yellow mask."
"Then the figured silk slipped a trifle from one of the greyish-white paws, and Carter knew what the noisome high-priest was. And in that hideous second stark fear drove him to something his reason would never have dared to attempt, for in all his shaken consciousness there was room only for one frantic will to escape from what squatted on that golden throne."
H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest Of Unknown Kadath
"Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in Dim Carcosa."
Robert W. Chambers, The Yellow Sign
"'The ambitions of Caesar and Napoleon pales before that which could not rest until it has seized the minds of men and controlled even their unborn thoughts,' said Mr. Wilde.
'You are speaking of the King in Yellow', I groaned with a shudder.
'He is a king whom Emperors have served.'"
Robert W. Chambers, The Repairer Of Reputations
Then I sank into the depths, and I heard the King in Yellow whispering to my soul: 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!"'
Robert W. Chambers, In the Court Of the Dragon
A true majesty! :D
ReplyDeleteVery cool. I like how the ivory flute looks like it was carved to resemble diseased wood or a length of duodenum.
ReplyDeleteI'm fascinated by depictions of Hastur in general, and this one is pretty great without being "showy," which I think too many illustrations attempt.
thanks man! yeah I know the actual connection between Hastur and The King In Yellow is very tenuous in HPL's writings. Other author's/artist's depictions are a bit much (I particularly hate August Derleth's description of him possessing a human body and turning it into rubber..actually I hate most of Derleth's writing, but his "collaborations" have opened the door for me to draw some cool monsters). I do love this one though
ReplyDeletehttp://www.unboundbook.org/wiki/images/d/de/KingInYellow.jpg
Ha! I knew I wasn't the only one who identified Dream-Quest's "high priest not to be described" as the King in Yellow! Damn Wikipedia trying to pass it off as another incarnation of Nyarly...
ReplyDeleteReally really nice work. The comment may be late but the image is giving me ideas for a Hastur tattoo I have been considering.
ReplyDeleteThen I sank into the depths, and I heard the King in Yellow whispering to my soul: 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!"'
ReplyDeleteOh hey, isn't that dialogue from Hebrews 10:31?