Group Read: A Coven of Vampires

[Jason of Khem]

Thought I'd open a new thread for our notes on the stories in Coven to keep postings nice and neat. Here goes.........

The House of the Temple.

One for fans of Lovecraftian horror and to boot, one of Brian's best Mythos stories.

It's all in here....

a chap inherits a house from the black sheep of the family who dabbled in the dark arts,

a warning that the property must be destroyed,

a scribbled notebook that details the cursed family history, gives cryptic references to unholy rites, Elder Gods and Ancient Ones,

the nightly playing of atonal music and chanting by persons unknown,

the library full of rare & horrific tomes,

The encroaching horror due to the claustrophobic atmosphere and the sudden release of terror, when the hinted at instances mentioned in the notebook start to re-occur.


IMHO a brilliant updating of the Lovecraft / Derleth tale "The Shuttered Room".

<FONT COLOR="#660000" SIZE="1">[ 07-06-2001 08:00 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jason of Khem ]</font>

[Nathan]

Excellent Jase. smile.gif Finally another name (besides mine) under the 'topic starter' collumn here in The Source! smile.gif

The House of the Temple

Now that is not quite your typical vampire story! A Coven of Vampires had me thinking of things like fangs and bats and blood and stakes and coffins and...well you get the idea. smile.gif

Well, I shoulda known that good 'ol Mr. Lumley wouldn't follow the crowd all the way...if at all! I don't know about the rest of the stories, (and no, don't tell me) but I hope at least some of them are more like this one...and the others we've read already.

The "vampire" from Recognition is definately not a caped bloodsucker. And although the one in Necros is at least a little closer to the stereotypical vampire, she's still a far cry! :eek: If these three are any indication of the rest of them...I'm anxious to see the next "vampire." I hope they're all "vampires!" (You know...with the quotes that insinuate that the word vampire only just fits...beautifully somehow :D)

I'll now be prepared for just about anything besides the typical vampire.
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John Hamish wrote...

"But I do not understand the position of the alienists here at Oakdeene.
Surely they, too, can hear the damnable music?--that music which..."

Does this have anything to do with The Horror at Oakdeene? Don't have it. Haven't read it. Unfortunately. :(

Was Carl's painting a premonition? You think he really got it from his ancestoral background?

I think that thing...that pet was talkin' to him in his sleep. Yikes. smile.gif

[Jason of Khem]

Hi Nathan

There's no real link with John Hamish ending up in Oakdeene Sanatorium and the title story of "The Horror at Oakdeene" apart from Brian using the name of the location from an earlier tale. Oakdeene has been mentioned in-passing in other tales as well.

I suppose that since The House of the Temple was set just outside of Edinburgh, it made sense to stick Hamish in the nearby nuthouse.

I do recommend you hunt the second hand book sites for The Horror of Oakdeene. It is a fine book from Arkham House with fabulous artwork. Only 4000 copies were published in 1977, but some reasonably priced, decent quality copies are floating about.

In signing off, Brian approaches vampiredom in Coven from a new angle. It's not just about Christopher Lee being chased around by Peter Cushing.

To whet your appetite for the upcoming stories, here's a quote from the back cover of the UK edition...

"Here, you'll find erotic vampires, bestial vampires, teenage vampires, tentacled vampires, vampiric gods, ghouls, lamias, witch's familiars, blood suckers, life-stealers and soul eaters - even an ecological vampire! In fact every kind of ghoul except the man in the cut away coat and cape - although the real Dracula does put in an undead appearance".

"Welcome, enter of you own free will, But do leave the light on, wont you"?

[topol_sheap]

as an aside, Oakdeene Sanitorium crops up in Lost Years 2... Harry ends up there after his mind had a couple of problems coping... I keep meaning to check out Oakdeene again.

[Nathan]

What Dark God

I think the moral to this story should be quite clear: If you are going to be pushy and overbearing in your attempts to find a seat on the train, bus, or subway, just make sure you don't sit next to the guy with the
tentacle/siphon/mouth hidden beneath his coat!! Jeezly Crow!! :eek:

The sort of beguilment that Funny-Mouth uses to put the two travellers in the trance is horrifying! If I'm gonna be sacrificed to some "Dark God," I'd much prefer it if the perpetrator would kindly knock me over the head and be done with it! Sitting there helpless while a fellow passenger is drained of blood would be bad enough...but if it were to have been me...*shudder* I don't need to know about it. How must that feel?!

Hmmm...I sure don't like the feeling of my blood draining away! Sure wish I could move my muscles to help me out a little!

Back Row

I loved this story! Or at least I did until the end when you find out it's the chic that does the bloodsucking! :eek: What a painfully eyeopening ending! That girl puts to pitiful shame the old saying, "She could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch." Youchies!!

Me oh my...I don't need that sort of "canoodling"!!! Give me the prude girl with the slap-happy hands any day!! :D
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I wish this book had notes from BL before each story like Fruiting Bodies did. It was cool to read about his inspiration for the stories and the little comments he had about each one.

The way he writes a lot of them in the first person, makes me wonder what he sees when he goes for a train ride or takes in a movie or simply walks along the side of the road. Did he get stuck with some obnoxious Scot while
travelling abroad and perhaps take a little snooze? Maybe dreaming of what he'd like to see happen to the overbearing fella but never actually making his thoughts known to him? Did he actually experience an irritating couple making all sorts of disgusting noises behind him as he tried to take himself back in time with a well known film? I can almost picture him wanting to turn around and say something to them to make them stop or at least make them feel self conscious about what they're doing. But instead of doing so he just sits terrified because of what his mind is telling him
might actually be going on! So instead he goes home and writes a story about his macabre thoughts, possibly as an outlet for his outrage and embarassment. What a scary world his mind must be! I know mine is. :D

[Jason of Khem]

What Dark God

A fantastic story, although like Nathan, I wish each of the stories in Coven had a small intro by Brian.

Bad enough to be sat next to a drunken Scotsman on a crowded train (even in the pre-privatised Golden Days of rail travel) and to cap it off, have members of some strange religous sect performing a Communion.

I did feel sorry for Jock though. It was only because he shifted forward, whilst mesmerised, that he ended up being "Funny Mouth's" Communion wafer in the Tuscan Ritual.

So folks, if you're coming up to Manc for Keoghcon 1, go by coach, not train. ;)


Back Row

When I first read this in 98, I thought it would the be "dirty old man in the cinema" type story. However, it's the couple sat behind him, wearing the rain macs. A bit more than your usual snog on the backseats and it took me a couple of readings to realise it was the girl who was the blood sucker.

<FONT COLOR="#660000" SIZE="1">[ 07-13-2001 06:45 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jason of Khem ]</font>

[Nathan]

Hmph...I must have missed that Jase. I thought he was used as the "communion cake" because he was irritating. But I went back and scanned through it and you were right!

Jeez...that doesn't seem real fair, does it? I mean, it wasn't his fault he was unable to control himself from sliding over!

Man...those vampires just have no sense of right and wrong! :D
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...and I have my eye on a copy of The Horror at Oakdeene. Looks to be in pretty decent shape, but the price is up there. Unfortunately for me, the second hand book stores around here don't offer much in the way of UK books. :(

I can't tell from the picture...is it a full sized hardcover book or more the size of these short story books? smile.gif

[Nathan]

A little early but what the hell? It's Monday in the UK. :D

The Kiss of the Lamia

If the Primal Land books are anything at all like this story, then I don't know why I've been wasting time...I need to get my hands on those books! Man that story is cool! High adventure. Fantasy. Horror and terror and gruesome injuries all wrapped up together. It had it all. It's been a long time since I've read a fantasy story that I've liked. Can I look forward to the same with the novels? Are some of the characters in the story also in them? Tarra Khash is the hero right? And I'm assuming that more is told of Changli, Kluhn, and the Desert of Sheb. But what about Mylakhrion, Obiquita, Stumpy, etc. Are these just characters from a sort of side adventure?

And I seem to remember at the end of Elysia someone called Tarra Khash making a small cameo. I felt I was missing something when I read it...apparently I've missed quite a bit! Can someone refresh my memory as to what his role was with d'Mariginy? Seems like he was on a deserted planet with a companion or something? Wasn't he quite old at the time? I remeber his role being sugnificant, but being sort of lost, I guess it went over my head a little. :confused:

One other thing...the pain of having an arrow torn from your flesh is just about the worst possible pain I can imagine living through other than burning. Man, that had me cringing!

EDIT---sugnificant=significant redface.gif Sheesh!!

<FONT COLOR="#660000" SIZE="1">[ 07-16-2001 08:33 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Nathan ]</font>

[Jason of Khem]

Nathan

Going slighty off-topic in the story postings thread, but in answer to your question, "The Horror at Oakdeene", like most Arkham House books is a standard PB size, but with a hard cover and dust jacket.

BTW Oakdeene isn't a UK book as Arkham House are a U.S publishing house.

[Nathan]

Hey...we can go off topic if we want to! :D Especially if it's to do with a BL book!

And...really? I'd've never thunk it from the looks of the cover. Maybe I will check some second hand book shops. Thanks! smile.gif

[Vereor]

Nathan.....In answer to your question..yes all the Primal Land stories are cool...and yes you are crazy not to have gotten them yet. And yes some of the characters you do see more of.

Glad I could be of assistance...lol.. smile.gif

[Nathan]

Kinda figured. Thanks for your help...and for droppin' by. :D

Now can anyone help me out with his role in Elysia or do I have to go reread the chapter? :D

<FONT COLOR="#660000" SIZE="1">[ 07-16-2001 12:25 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Nathan ]</font>

[Jason of Khem]

Kiss of the Lamia

A great sword & sorcery tale with a hint of the Arabian Nights.

It combines a dashing hero, lots of derring-do, brigands and cut-throats, a beautiful hand-maiden LOL, a stolen treasure trove and a pantomine villain. (Oh yes he is - oh no he isn't).

Tarra Khash can out-swashbuckle Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
He's in a different league to Hero & Eldin, as the pair of them are more Camp than the cub scouts. ;)

Like others on the Board, this story will make me want to re-read my copy of "The House of Cthulhu" and the two Tarra Khash novels.


Nathan - I can't remember the part Tarra Khash played in Elysia.
Since it came out ten years after "In the Moons of Borea", to tie up the loose ends, it featured characters from other of Brian's series of books, Khash and a wizard from The Primal Lands tales and Hero and Eldin from the Dreamlands books.

I thought at first the characters featured in Lamia hadn't appeared elsewhere, but on checking, there is a story called "Tharquest and the Lamia Orbiquita" in House of Cthulhu, although this may be the same tale, slightly re-jigged.

Also in the same book, there is a story called "Mylakhrion the Imortal", who happens to be Orbiquita's dad.

Jason

[Nathan]

Somehow the term "dad" just doesn't seem to fit when speaking of such creatures! LOL! Kinda like the "beautiful hand-maiden" thing. smile.gif It's like Shaithis saying to Shaitan, "Hi Grampa!" :D
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Shoot...I guess I'll have to reread that chapter...what a shame. ;)
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And I'm really not that crazy for not getting into these earlier, Peter. They are after all fantasy, right? At least that's how they struck me. I've been off on fantasy for quite some time. I was mainly wondering if the other Primal Lands stories do have the same element of horror in them as "Lamia" does...which is to say a lot! Or are they more fantasy like Hero and Crow?

It's not that I didn't like the Crow and Hero books...I just wasn't blown away by them like the Necroscope books. Are the Primal Lands stories like that? Horror with a fantasy twist? Or more just straight fantasy with some gruesome happenings thrown in for good measure?

EDIT---and btw...what exactly are the books called? Or is there just one book with stories? Is there an actual novel or are they all short stories? (I know I could check the site for my info. It's just more fun this way. :D)

<FONT COLOR="#660000" SIZE="1">[ 07-17-2001 12:32 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Nathan ]</font>

[Jason of Khem]

Nathan

Obviously, I was taking the mick by calling Orbiquita a beautiful hand-maiden. ;)
Really, she was a right dragon. LOL

I'd class the Primal tales as Fantasy, mixed with Mythos horror. As you know, Brian does have a way of crossing genre boundaries. tongue.gif

I bought the 3 PBs published by Headline in the early 90s, House of Cthulhu, Tarra Khasah: Hrossak and Sorcerey in Shad,

The Headline books are long OOP, but Ganley re-published them in 2 Compleat Khash volumes.

[Nathan]

Thanks for the info, Jase. smile.gif ...and you kidding around? No way! tongue.gif LOL!

The Strange Years http://www.brianlumley.com/ubb/icons/icon24.gif

Those Vampires used to live in my backyard! I used to burn 'em off my dog on a daily basis and crush their vicious little heads with a pair of hemostats! Nasty little things! I'd almost prefer the huge mutations in this story to the actual little bloodsuckers themselves! Something that small and potentially life threatening makes my skin crawl. That sucker could be fat and bloated in the crack of your butt before you ever knew what hit you! :(

I mean, come on...first off, you can see the ones in the story coming a mile (well maybe not a mile) away. When they get to you, they give you a pleasant little sting accompanied by a euphoric, lethargic LSD type of high! :eek: That could be fun. :D

...but there are so many! And they are big...which means they could get real big...on your blood! You ever seen a fully bloated tick? *shivver, shudder and quake!* Absolutely not the way I wanna go!

And how 'bout those plagues and droughts and disasters and such? You might have been able to tell by now that I kinda like "End of the World" stories. This was a nice little short one that had all kinds of different things trying to put an end to the human race. 'Twas good...really good. I especially liked the bathing in four inches of water during the droughts. "Scientists say it can be done! Just don't use soap and you can water some crops with the muddy water left from your bath!" Too funny. smile.gif

The Thief Immortal

Ahh daydreams. I love to daydream about what I'd do to people who piss me off. Especially driver's I have to share the road with! The guy in the truck wasn't a bad driver, but that's what it made me think of at the end when you find out the guy was just daydreaming the whole affair.

But what a daydream! Being vaulted to almost Godlike proportions just because you have the power to steal lives and add them to your own life span...this would be the way to be a vampire in my book. Sure, you'd have the guilt of knowing you caused the death of millions of people and animals, but look at all the good he did! Hell, he even repopulated the islands and species he destroyed! That's one way to rid yourself of the guilt! And no messy feeding! No thralls following you around moaning! Sunlight? Silver? Garlic? Pah! I guess the only classical vampire fears you'd have to watch out for would be the stake, sword, and fire! But who would feel the need to come after you with such? You are, after all, King of the World!

I wonder who BL had in mind when he first came up with this story? Maybe someone undoing some work he'd done?

[Jason of Khem]

The Strange Years

Eco-themes abound in Brian's tales and in this story, it's good to see Mother Nature get her own back on mankind after buggering up the planet for so long.

All sorts of biblcal droughts, plague and pestilence occur and even a space-bug brought back from Mars adds to man's woes.

Then the parasitic bugs appear and what freaked me out was them having chameleon-like qualities.
One day, the chap in the story discovers he has 2 identical hair brushes and 3 slippers. Oh imagine the horror of it, brushing your hair with one of those things, or putting a foot in the wrong slipper. DOH!

A story to make your skin itch and best read undercover of a mosquito net. :D


The Thief Immortal

Wasn't a fan of this tale on my first reading. However, a gap of a few years in its second attempt have worked wonders.

Some stories do need to be read a couple of times in order to pick up on points you might have missed the first time round.

A dream tale of a young man worried about getting old, who finds he has the ability to take away life-years from others for his own long-livity.

His first victim is a young solder who had nicked some of his hand painted road signs.
Talk about a short sharp shock. LOL

There is a catch and after a while he works out that the number of years he can take, is lessened by the number of times he uses his talent, so he does go over the top.

He builds a Necrometer. A machine that does all the calculations and selects victims for him. Wouldn't like to see his electricity bill. LOL

Plenty of black humour in this story, e.g. he takes the life-years of half of the fish in the Med. To balance things out, he does the same to half of the Med fishermen. LOL

At the end, the silly sod passes his gift and talent onto his wife, who promptly uses it to bump him off for wiping out all life on her home island of Crete.

What a plonker :D

Actually is the above tale fiction? or does Cliff Richard own a Necrometer. That would explain his boyish looks.
(Apart from his neck, as that looks like a dinosaur's scrotum.)

[Nathan]

You can probably guess what I was thinking when he was talking about that third slipper. :eek: I'd just have to hope I got the mutant slipper on one of my feet instead! :D

And that was definately funny how the Thief Immortal rationalized killing the fish... and then the fisherman. I had a good laugh on that too. smile.gif

But what kind of "plonker" was he that he forgot how it was with his first victim? Could he really not see it coming that she'd gain a million years at a stroke with the death of half the earth's whales? I saw it comin a mile away! But I somehow [i]didn't see her revenge coming. :( But I should've...as should he!

Ummm...Cliff Richard? Can't say I've heard of him but I definately have an hysterical mental image now!! :D

[Nathan]

Early again on the second two stories. :D Sorry if I'm spoiling for someone, but Jase is away this week and you should've made your presence here known. :D

The Thing from the Blasted Heath

A man with a tentacle under his cloak, a young girl with a very powerful mouth, mutant ticks and other parasties, a hideous dragon in the form of a lovely woman, a beautiful woman in the guise of a victim, the steeler of lives, a...spider? and a familiar of the elder gods...

...so why not a tree from another planet? Apparently the sun has no affect on it, but it seems the axe and the fire do the trick nicely...or do they?! :eek:

The ending of this story kinda reminds me of Faethor Ferenczy and his grisly...end? Staked by the beam of a building, head lopped of by a horror-stricken passerby, and burned to a final excruciating death among the rest of the rubble that had been caused by a bombing of the area. (This bombing being brought about by his what...half-brothers? I never completely figured out how exactly they were related. Angelo was both their fathers, right? The twins and Faethor? Tops?)

Anyway...dead and gone from the earth was Faethor. But what of his...roots? All that had been burned away to fats and juices seeping into the ground to lie there until some unsuspecting Necroscope comes along to have a chat. Well it's history from there...I wonder what will happen to the guy with the "Vampire" remains creeping under his house.

I wanna know who the man was telling the story. The way he talks about the things in his collection (not to mention the things in that collection) sounds a bit familiar.

Uzzi

What a creepy story! The revenge factor at the end is great! Unlike the young lady from The Pit-Yakker, (remember that one?) we don't get to know or care about that fat, greasy bastard, Powell. All we know is that he has stolen the shrink's home and family...but the shrink's gonna get revenge! And what a revenge! I don't know which is creepier...waking up to a slimy wet spot on your bed and the stench of death filling your room, or the hole with teethmarks surrounding it under your armpit, right near your heart as a bonus! :eek: Jeez! No wonder the guy's wife ditched him!

When the witch that originally relinquished responsibility of Uzzi to the man who killed her died and said, "You swear it?!"...do you think she was saying it in horror or relief? At first I thought she was horrified that the thing would go on because of his oath, but after I reread it, it seemed more like she was glad it would go on...especially with a new caretaker. Would it have died had Miles Clayton not made his promise? Somehow I don't think so...

Might as well throw in a human sized slug for good measure, aye? :D

...and--Krankenwagen! LOL! German names crack me up now...for some reason. :D

Haggopian

Unusual for me, yes...but only five words on this one...

Holy reverse amphibeous sh**...Batman!! :eek:

[Vereor]

Nathan In the spirit of giving I thought I would give you this gift.....I know its a bit late, you asked for this awhile ago...but hey I've been busy... Here goes, you said you wish that Coven had notes by Brian like Fruiting Bodies has about the stories. Well You said that when talking about Back Row so here they are... from "Second Wish and other Exhalations"

"I did my share of back-row necking way back when in my teens. And sometimes I got lucky and didn't stop at the neck! More I daren't say because I don't want to spoil my clean-cut image. Oh and a PS: this is the closest I get to breaking the promise I made in my introduction. So, just in case, have a bucket handy..."

[Nathan]

Thanks Peter! Appreciate that little tidbit. smile.gif

Now I wanna know what the introduction says. Something about not having blood and guts in the stories?

<FONT COLOR="#660000" SIZE="1">[ 07-20-2001 02:47 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Nathan ]</font>

[Nathan]

The Picnickers

I can just see The Man, (aka, The GrandMaster of Horror) writing this story, the image of the viaduct (or many such viaducts?) firmly implanted in his mind since childhood. Using it (them?) in this story and stopping to ponder...another!

Two boys, one impressive, (?) the other impressed, (?) need to make it across just such a viaduct--underneath it and hand over hand--to prove to each other (for their own conflicting yet somehow connecting reasons) that they can do it!

Oh yeah! They've also just pissed off the wrong village idiot!

And then back to the story at hand. Save that other one for later.

Now I don't know my scenario to be accurate...I'm not the GM of H! But that's what was in my head as I read. smile.gif

No spoilers beyond that. You'll have to read it. smile.gif

Zack Phalanx is Vlad the Impaler

I sure know how to pick 'em! Save the best for last, right?.

I guess we can all safely say that at one point in his life or another, the GM of H didn't particularly care for the film industry? My goodness gracious me, that was not a nice thing to do at all!!

But you know? I can completely understand. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to ride into town with DEATH and run the 'Butchers of Books' through with a freshly sharpened staff? Maybe plant the staff in the ground and watch them writhe?

Maybe not in real life, no, I wouldn't really go that far...but in books? It sure is fun to read about. smile.gif

The names in the story were a nice familiar taste...even if the story does dispute Thibor's tale. Hell, we never really got the truth from Thibor, now did we? :D
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That last story was definately my favorite. I've said that before and I'm saying it again. Maybe now I'll read The Whisperer. Or maybe The Compleat Crow. Then I can have a bunch of others that are my new favorite BL story. That last one'll be hard to beat, but I think he's (the GM of H) up to the task. smile.gif

It's been fun. Reading is fun. Book reports are fun. Good times. smile.gif
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On a coincidental sidenote...our record for the most visits to the board at a time just happens to be...A Coven of Vampires. A witch's dozen. Kinda eerie, no? smile.gif

[Jason of Khem]

The Picknickers

Another great tale comparable to Lovecraft's best. I'm glad to say that round my way, the gypsys only come round to sell clothes pegs and read your fortune.


Zack Phalanx is Vlad the Impaler

A fine mickey-take of Hollywood movie making and its over the top egos. Again, another comic tale. This one is a classic.

A crew on a location shoot to film the story of Vlad the Impaler.
Vlad turns up with his undead horde and kills all the film crew. Funny stuff! smile.gif


I previously said I had read all the short story collections over Easter, but I might have to go back over them again as a lot of the humour in them pased me by, due to me reading them in a rushed manner.
It's only now I'm beginning to notice the comedy that Brian injects into his stories.


So far, we've covered Fruiting Bodies and A Coven of Vampires in this thread, so onwards with Demogorgon. :cool:

Jase


Edit - Vampies :rolleyes:

<FONT COLOR="#660000" SIZE="1">[ 07-26-2001 09:02 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jason of Khem ]</font>

[Nathan]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jason of Khem:

...and A Coven of Vampies in this thread, so onwards with Demogorgon. :cool: Jase<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Vampies--Vamp-Pies...YUMMY!! LOL! Thought I'd jump on it before Ema could. :D

Thanks for your input and participation, Jase. smile.gif I appreciate it.

...and I'm glad you're enjoying yourself and finding new things to like from stories already read. smile.gif

[Ema]

Umm.. was too busy eating the Vampies to reply... heh ehh