Dark Art ¦ The King in Yellow – Hastur – Great Old One from H P Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos

The King in Yellow - an aspect of Hastur - by Torstein Nordstrand - All Rights Reserved

Part of a series of images from the shadowy fringes of the Internet.  Visuals that stir my sense for the eerie and macabre.

Torstein Nordstrand has created a stunning rendition of the King in Yellow, one of the most enigmatic, disturbing and hard-to-define aspects of Hastur.

Hastur is possibly one of the most written about and discussed Great Old Ones within this Mythos, and conversely, one of the least understood. This fuzzy, blurred and vague state of comprehension is exacerbated by a divide between literary fans of Hastur, and the RPG community. The fact Hastur is so hard to accurately quantify is no coincidence.

Read more about this and concepts such as Ambrose Bierce & Robert W. Chambers; Orbis Tertius and legend of Tlön; and Carcosa here.

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This wonderful work of art taps in the infectious meme concept of the King in Yellow: the way in which just encountering an aspect of the Yellow sign, woven into a piece of music, some written text or even a slice of wicked art (!) may lead to the corruption of your reality.  And possibly even those around you.  This is expounded to devastating effect in the concept of Orbis Tertius and legend of Tlön.  It forms the ever-fluctuating cornerstone of the short story “The Corrupt Moon“.

I wonder if Nordstrand has captured the King in Yellow stealing away a copy of the unfinished play (The King in Yellow) in preparation of driving some other poor individual to madness and despair?  You should definitely check out Torstein Nordstrand’s work across the web – and beyond. A brilliant artist who clearly understands the subtle moods and shadows that make up a work of macabre horror or eerie fantasy.

• Torstein Nordstrand profile on epilogue.net

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Further reading:

• Exploring influence of Hastur – King in Yellow – on post-apocalyptic world of Yellow Dawn through sci-fi & dark fantasy short stories
• Yellow Dawn – The Age of Hastur (RPG)

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Available in print or download formats

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Corrupt Moon is a short story,  4,200 words: a  survivor becomes obsessed by a church tower on a distant hill leading him to a mind-shattering encounter with the Outer Chaos of the Cthulhu Mythos. Preview or purchase here.

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David J Rodger – DATA