When I re-read Ambrose Bierce'sAn Inhabitant of Carcosa in February, I decided to finally revisit The King in Yellow after trying to get into it several months back and never managing to gain enough enthusiasm for it. Now the situation was completely different.

The first story, The Repairer of Reputations, is a great introduction to Chambers's universe. It starts as a sci-fi story of sorts, but then it slowly makes you question everything you've read previously. In The Mask, an unusual scientific discovery is able to turn living beings into marble. In the Court of the Dragon leans heavily towards horror with its creepy as hell organist, and The Yellow Sign (my absolute favorite) is an equally sinister story about a man who is disturbed by a worm-like churchyard watchman, who babbles about the Yellow Sign. The Street of the Four Winds has a kitty. Kitties for the win (and people who talk to their cats like they're their friends)!

The rest of the stories, although enjoyable, weren't simply even comparable to the great beginning. While not bad on their own, I'm still struggling to understand why Chambers decided to include them in the collection in the first place, instead of writing more about the yellow king and the play that has the power to drive people mad (what a fantastic concept, by the way!). There are a few connections between the first and the latter half, but they're mostly superficial, and the tone is significantly different in the stories about artists in Paris.

What comes to the mythology, it's definitely interesting enough to warrant a position in literary history. I haven't had much interest toward Lovecraft or cosmic horror in general, but the Yellow Sign (which inspired Lovecraft, by the way) is somehow very intriguing. The more you try to grab hold of it, the further it escapes from your grasp, and that mystery and lack of answers are the keys to Chambers's success.

Apparently, apart from a few names, Bierce's story has nothing in common with Chambers's stories, but the parts True Detective referenced are easy to spot. The starry sky, the mind control aspect, the ear thing with Mr. Wilde and youknowwho etc. Reading The King in Yellow doesn't necessarily help you navigate through the show, but I don't think it's supposed to. The mythology just adds to the mysteries of the show and makes the South a whole lot creepier.

I'll never look at the color yellow the same way again, that's for sure.

Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle through the skies
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa.