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The Yellow House
"This house is a terrible place! The tears of Hali cannot cleanse the taint! This house is the house of death!"
Magical realism and surrealism blend into yellow decadence within the walls of The Yellow House as Sylvia seeks to learn the secrets that the peculiar building contains and resolve her feelings for her mysterious cousin, Camilla. Temptation forces her to consider just how much she is willing to risk to satisfy her curiosity.
Magical realism and surrealism blend into yellow decadence within the walls of The Yellow House as Sylvia seeks to learn the secrets that the peculiar building contains and resolve her feelings for her mysterious cousin, Camilla. Temptation forces her to consider just how much she is willing to risk to satisfy her curiosity.
- GenresHorrorWeird Fiction
76 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 26, 2013
Yellow symbolizes decadence in literature, and has since long before both Giallo and The Yellow Book. Robert W. Chambers explored this decadence in his collection The King in Yellow, as did Charlotte Perkins Gilman in her weird tale "The Yellow Wallpaper." And now, DJ Tyrer fuses the supernatural and psychological hauntings of Chambers and Gilman in THE YELLOW HOUSE, a Gothic manor chiller with nods to Sheridan Le Fanu, Shirley Jackson, and V. C. Andrews. THE YELLOW HOUSE begins with awakening adolescent Sylvia arriving at the house of her twin cousins, Camilla and Cassilda, and their wicked adult guardians, dictatorial housekeeper Mrs. Hawberk and cruel caretaker Chambers. Having been sent to stay with the twins as protection from an offscreen war, Sylvia soon finds herself exploring both the manor's vast interior world and her own, a journey of discovery that leads the reader along like a voyeur through spaces strange, sensual, and sanguine. Sylvia's narrations are treated with a sense of déjà vu, and at times the novella feels like a half-forgotten Hammer haunted house rediscovered on late night television. Fans of Old Dark House stories, weird fiction aficionados, and Yellow Decadence will all find something to enjoy... and chill in THE YELLOW HOUSE.
February 26, 2021
This book was a pleasant surprise, very gothic, very gialli. Packs a lot of punch in a memorable 70 pages.
September 29, 2013
Back when I started this blog, nearly a year ago, I began by reviewing A Season In Carcosa, an original anthology in tribute to the King In Yellow works by Robert Chambers. I’ve long had a special fondness for these stories of madness and decadence, and over the years I’ve tried to hunt down any works related to this “Yellow Mythos”.
Jordan Krall’s Dynatox Ministries, under the Dunhams Manor Press imprint, recently released The Yellow House by DJ Tyrer. This novella sized chapbook serves as an excellent example of a longer piece that plays with the themes of the Yellow Mythos.
The Yellow House seems to draw inspiration from many corners of the weird fiction realm. It has a Gothic feel, and takes place in a giant, secluded manor, a setting reminiscent of all the best ghost stories. Instead of ghosts though, this story takes a surreal trip into madness and sexuality.
As the title suggests, the setting serves as the story’s centerpiece. The Yellow House, as the manor is called, is vast and labyrinthine. The narrator, Sylvia, arrives at the house where she is met by a strict and unfriendly housekeeper and a wicked caretaker, who appear to be the only adults in the mansion. Sylvia is restricted to the first two floors of the house, with meals set in a room at appointed times. Her only companions are her cousins: twins Camilla and Castilla, who initially receive Sylvia with undisguised disdain.
The house is strange in many ways. The girls are not allowed to roam any of the upper floors (of which there is a ridiculously large amount) or go outside. Sylvia notices a lake sheathed in mist next to the house, a lake that she failed to see on the ride up the drive. As Sylvia begins to tire of doing nothing, she starts making expeditions onto the upper floors, where many, many strange things await. When one of the twins warms up to her, Sylvia starts to explore her sexuality with her new friend, all while making excursions ever further upwards in the house.
The entire piece has a pervasive sense of dislocation. The story opens as Sylvia is coming down the drive towards the house. The outside world is never seen, and it’s as if the house and its environs comprise their own little world. Sylvia has a strange sense of déjà vu at times, as though much is familiar although she can’t fully recall any visits to the house or with her cousins. The house also seems out of time. Early on it is alluded to that Sylvia is staying at the house to be safe from the Great War. This would seem to indicate the story taking place near one of the World Wars, however in her first conversation with the twins Sylvia compares The Yellow House with the house in the film The Haunting, which was released in 1963. The twins say they don’t go to the cinema, and there doesn’t seem to be anything else in the house that would indicate the time period in which the story takes place.
There is a lot of mystery in The Yellow House, and readers who like to have everything tied up neatly by the end may be disappointed. I, however, am NOT one of those readers. I found that Tyrer succeeded in creating one of the most perfect King In Yellow stories I have had the pleasure of reading. The Yellow House is a masterful piece, with a surreal tone and the perfect atmosphere to go with it. It is definitely a story I can see myself reading multiple times.
Originally appeared on my blog, The Arkham Digest.
Jordan Krall’s Dynatox Ministries, under the Dunhams Manor Press imprint, recently released The Yellow House by DJ Tyrer. This novella sized chapbook serves as an excellent example of a longer piece that plays with the themes of the Yellow Mythos.
The Yellow House seems to draw inspiration from many corners of the weird fiction realm. It has a Gothic feel, and takes place in a giant, secluded manor, a setting reminiscent of all the best ghost stories. Instead of ghosts though, this story takes a surreal trip into madness and sexuality.
As the title suggests, the setting serves as the story’s centerpiece. The Yellow House, as the manor is called, is vast and labyrinthine. The narrator, Sylvia, arrives at the house where she is met by a strict and unfriendly housekeeper and a wicked caretaker, who appear to be the only adults in the mansion. Sylvia is restricted to the first two floors of the house, with meals set in a room at appointed times. Her only companions are her cousins: twins Camilla and Castilla, who initially receive Sylvia with undisguised disdain.
The house is strange in many ways. The girls are not allowed to roam any of the upper floors (of which there is a ridiculously large amount) or go outside. Sylvia notices a lake sheathed in mist next to the house, a lake that she failed to see on the ride up the drive. As Sylvia begins to tire of doing nothing, she starts making expeditions onto the upper floors, where many, many strange things await. When one of the twins warms up to her, Sylvia starts to explore her sexuality with her new friend, all while making excursions ever further upwards in the house.
The entire piece has a pervasive sense of dislocation. The story opens as Sylvia is coming down the drive towards the house. The outside world is never seen, and it’s as if the house and its environs comprise their own little world. Sylvia has a strange sense of déjà vu at times, as though much is familiar although she can’t fully recall any visits to the house or with her cousins. The house also seems out of time. Early on it is alluded to that Sylvia is staying at the house to be safe from the Great War. This would seem to indicate the story taking place near one of the World Wars, however in her first conversation with the twins Sylvia compares The Yellow House with the house in the film The Haunting, which was released in 1963. The twins say they don’t go to the cinema, and there doesn’t seem to be anything else in the house that would indicate the time period in which the story takes place.
There is a lot of mystery in The Yellow House, and readers who like to have everything tied up neatly by the end may be disappointed. I, however, am NOT one of those readers. I found that Tyrer succeeded in creating one of the most perfect King In Yellow stories I have had the pleasure of reading. The Yellow House is a masterful piece, with a surreal tone and the perfect atmosphere to go with it. It is definitely a story I can see myself reading multiple times.
Originally appeared on my blog, The Arkham Digest.
May 20, 2015
The Yellow House by D.J. Tyler had a limited print run but is available as an ebook.
In the late 19th Century, Robert W. Chambers wrote a couple of horror stories collected in a book entitled _The King In Yellow_. These stories are about the horror of fractured minds, of losing a grip on reality, or perhaps entering a disturbing level of reality. Robert W. Chambers turned his back on that sort of fiction and wrote romance novels.
Those stories inspired subsequent writers. One of those, Karl Edward Wagner, wrote "The River of Night's Dreaming" which I suspect influenced this novella, for both stories have an erotic element.
In this novella, the narrator is an adolescent who is sent by her parents to stay with her cousins, Caasilda and Camilla, in a manor called The Yellow House. The stern housekeeper instructs the narrator of the rules of the house, especially not to go to the rooms on the upper floor.
The forbidden is tempting. The narrator, and one of her cousins, secretly explores the forbidden rooms. These rooms have creepy aspects. I'm not sure if these rooms have a symbolic meaning, like the rooms in Poe's story "The Masque of the Red Death."
The novella has a Twilight Zone-style ending which made the reader reconsider the narrative. The novella is written in one of the clearest prose styles I've ever read and has a measured pace.
In the late 19th Century, Robert W. Chambers wrote a couple of horror stories collected in a book entitled _The King In Yellow_. These stories are about the horror of fractured minds, of losing a grip on reality, or perhaps entering a disturbing level of reality. Robert W. Chambers turned his back on that sort of fiction and wrote romance novels.
Those stories inspired subsequent writers. One of those, Karl Edward Wagner, wrote "The River of Night's Dreaming" which I suspect influenced this novella, for both stories have an erotic element.
In this novella, the narrator is an adolescent who is sent by her parents to stay with her cousins, Caasilda and Camilla, in a manor called The Yellow House. The stern housekeeper instructs the narrator of the rules of the house, especially not to go to the rooms on the upper floor.
The forbidden is tempting. The narrator, and one of her cousins, secretly explores the forbidden rooms. These rooms have creepy aspects. I'm not sure if these rooms have a symbolic meaning, like the rooms in Poe's story "The Masque of the Red Death."
The novella has a Twilight Zone-style ending which made the reader reconsider the narrative. The novella is written in one of the clearest prose styles I've ever read and has a measured pace.
September 3, 2014
This is how it should be done! Only 43 pages but leaves you wanting more. DJ Tyrer does a fantastic job with this story. I rank this up there with Karl Edward Wagner's "The Rivers of Nights Dreaming" and James Blish's "More Light". I see a shadow of Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" in bits throughout. Robert W. Chambers would be proud to see his legacy handed down to such a gifted writer. The obvious tone of sexuality that flows in some chapters, gives it just the right effect that KEW would admire. I cannot wait if this is re-released in paperback.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews