Nine Yards of Other Cloth (fiction)

• title: Nine Yards of Other Cloth
• author: Manly Wade Wellman
• publication: 1958
• pages: ~16
• setting: Folk Mythos

Summary

John the Balladeer (AKA "Hillbilly John" or "Silver John") confronts the unlikeable Shull Cobart, master fiddler, at a grave near a cabin in the haunted woods, over the freedom of the lovely Evadare, whom Cobart wishes to take romantic advantage of. Cobart uses his black, enchanted fiddle to compel John into the haunted forest to meet doom at the claws of Kula, a giant skeletal monster (see Tsul 'Kula for the creature's inspiration)....

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Synopsis

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John the Balladeer (AKA "Hillbilly John" or "Silver John") confronts the unlikeable Shull Cobart, master fiddler, at a grave near a cabin in the haunted woods, over the freedom of the lovely Evadare, whom Cobart wishes to take romantic advantage of. Cobart uses his black, enchanted fiddle to compel John into the haunted forest to meet doom at the claws of Kula, a giant skeletal monster (see Tsul 'Kula for the creature's inspiration), but John is able to play a song on his silver-stringed guitar that turns the tide against Cobart, allowing the not-quite-so-evil Kula to turn on Cobart instead. Evadare, free from Cobart, invites John to move in with her in the cabin, but John, not wishing to be tied down, declines, and continues wandering the hills as he is accustomed to....

• Trivia: The story's title is a reference to the amount of cloth that would typically be used for a burial shroud.

Associated Mythos Elements

• setting: Folk Mythos
• deity: Kula
• race: Tsul 'Kula
• character: John the Balladeer
• artifacts: John's silver-strung guitar, and Cobart's black fiddle

See Also

External Links

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