Now, first of all, whenever Carcosa is mentioned, the discussion inevitably turns to True Detective. Despite the plagiarism accusations (some of which, I think, are pretty reasonable and founded), it's still a good series overall, and Cary Fukunaga's vision as a director created the most interesting and intense atmosphere not seen in television for a while. The show's mystical aspects then led me to explore Robert W. Chambers's The King in Yellow (1895) (which I didn't finish, but I'm planning on revisiting it soon), and I spotted a reviewer mentioning Bierce's short story.

I've actually read this before. Some years ago I bought The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce (compiled by Ernest Jerome Hopkins) and loved it, but now I can't seem to remember any of it, including this particular short story.

That makes me itchy to revisit the collection, because An Inhabitant of Carcosa is great. It's short (only three pages in my edition), but I feel like it doesn't need any more. It's succinct, to the point, without extra padding, and even within the word count it managed to creep me out and showcase the most gorgeous prose. It's also completely predictable, with a theme that is already kind of a cliché in the horror world, but that's ok. Bierce's imagery of a grey desolate place with dead trees and grass that "bent to whisper its dread secret to the earth" is wonderful. A classic example of a short story that skillfully creates a creeping sense of trepidation and anxiety. The mood immediately made me think of the bleak ending of Lucio Fulci's The Beyond (1981).