The King in Yellow

Written in the last decade of the 19th century, Robert W. Chambers’ The King in Yellow inhabits a high-water mark in the lineage of weird fiction and is like nothing else in the canon, including the other published works by the author himself. Only a couple of the stories follow the titular theme to its place of unknown horror, and that place remains a mystery after reading, which is probably why the book has remained an influential and attractive enigma for more than a century. The mysterious malignant character of the Yellow King, overseeing cosmic pandemonium and disorder from his terrible land of Carcosa, is an anchor point for many contemporary works, from the occluded demon-haunted HBO series True Detective to some of the best fringe political analyses out there regarding the last decade’s events in the ongoing compilation series of What the Hell is Happening. In an age of gods and monsters, it seems increasingly clear that there are terrible new creatures bubbling out of the void to fight over the fate of humanity. Any decent wire service dedicated to compiling the news of the world as it comes should be given the catch-all name What Fresh Hell is This for the purpose of warning the weary viewer. “No news is good news, and there is no good news” is a decent runner-up. Yet view we must, I suppose, at least before any form of honest reporting — along with everything else — is criminalized, a sanction that is plausibly coming far sooner than we’d like to believe possible. Everything around us is has the stench of Carcosa, a place “where black stars hang in the heavens; where the shadows of men’s thoughts lengthen in the afternoon, when the twin suns sink into the lake of Hali; and my mind will bear forever the memory of the Pallid Mask.” Only this is American Carcosa, which is by definition so much stupider. 

Still, there’s a ton of fun going on this week, which starts on the eve of All Hallow’s Eve, and ends with the Beaver supermoon. Go have some with the right monsters and chase off the other ones.

Thursday

Starting at 7 p.m., it’s the beginning of the end for this year’s iteration of the Haunted Kinetic Lab of Horrors, the annual guided haunted house run-through at the Kinetic Sculpture Lab at Eighth and N streets in Arcata. I heard a rumor that DJ Red will be spinning his stuff for those of you waiting patiently in the infamous line. Remember, the $15 admission is cash only; don’t be a sucker and wait only to get your plastic turned away.

Halloween

As usual, there are many, many, many events going on all over the county. In years past I detailed quite a few of them, but lately I’ve remembered that this column isn’t called the calendar for a reason, so I’m only going to detail two shows, all live music with great bands, in an area that spans from Blue Lake to Eureka. The rest is up to you. First up at Savage Henry Comedy Club, it’s a headbanger’s Halloween bash for those of you in the punk and metal community. Join Marvin the Fly, Something Wicked, Greybush, Kult of Indifference and Chudson as they share the stage with Black Sabbath tribute supergroup SturgoMafic, made up of members from, you guessed it, The Sturgeons and Ultramafic. The doors open at 6:30 p.m., and tickets go for $10 advance, $13-$20 sliding scale on the night of. And wear a dang costume, for Pete’s sake.

Over at the Logger Bar at 9 p.m., punk party veterans The Smashed Glass are playing a free shindig for those of you who like your Halloween fun boisterous and hoisterous, as in, lifting up a few liquid spirits to the Great Pumpkin.

Saturday, All Saints Day

Celebrate the beginning of the Weekend of the Dead with a fantastic psychedelic show at the Miniplex at 8:30 p.m. Magic Castles from Minneapolis brings to mind the post-British Invasion, West Coast sound of the late-’60s with some analog excellence that is perfectly matched with local night trippers Western Extra. This is a must-hear for all you old school tapeheads and vacuum tubers ($15).

Sunday, All Soul’s Day

As Daylight Savings time and Day of the Dead both draw to a close, it’s a good time for two early theatre gigs germane to the time at hand. First up at the Eureka Theatre at 4 p.m. is Centro Del Pueblo’s Dia de Muertos celebration, where you can join in with the community for traditional dancing and art for free.
After that expires, 6 p.m. at the Arcata Theatre Lounge is the time and the place to enjoy a showing of the 2017 Pixar/Disney film Coco. Just $8 gets you through the doors and $12 lets you leave with a poster. Such a deal.

Monday

Veteran comedian David Testroet will be doing his thing at the Basement tonight at 7 p.m. If you have a hankering for three decades of observational humor come to life, roll through with at least $20 for general tickets ($15 if you bought in advance). If you are really feeling the vibe and have three other friends of the same persuasion, front row, four-top table spots are going for $120. Enjoy.

Tuesday

The Redwood Curtain in Eureka is the place to be tonight for a one-man (or mankey) show by Roland Rock called Tarzan: the Musical. I read the press release and that’s the most succinct and useful way I can sum up its contents, so the rest is up to you and your curiosity. The show is at 6 p.m. and is free.

Wednesday, Guy Fawkes Day

“Remember, remember the fifth of November. Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.” So goes the rhyme that the Brits learn from childhood to commemorate their unique holiday best understood by Americans as a combination of Halloween and the Fourth of July. Also known as the celebration of a foiled but potentially highly effective way to petition the legislative branch of one’s government with one’s grievances.

You could go over to the Arcata Theatre Lounge at 6 p.m. and watch the film adaptation of Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta, a topical story about a fascist state brought to heel by a subterranean superman created in one of the regime’s monstrous killing camps, but I honestly think you’d be better off reading the comic book. I don’t like this movie; it misses the mark, despite some occasionally good acting. Make up your own mind, though — while you are free to do so — and bring $6, $10 if you want to leave with a poster.

Collin Yeo (he/him) uses and endorses the em dash and does not use A.I. One is an elegant tool for writing — the other is detestable outside of a few applications like transcription.

This article appears in Halloween.