[YSDC] Into The Deep - User contributions [en]

Horror on the Orient Express

2006-01-21T12:37:48Z

Nstalkie:

'''Publisher:''' Chaosium Inc.

'''Product Code:''' 2331

'''Authors:''' [[Geoff Gillan]], [[Mark Morrison]], [[Nick Hagger]], [[Bernard Caleo]], [[Penelope Love]], [[Russell Waters]], [[Marion Anderson]], [[Phil Anderson]], [[Richard Watts]], [[Peter F. Jeffery]], [[Christian Lehmann]], [[L.N. Isinwyll]], [[Thomas Ligotti]]

'''Era:''' 1920s (Classic)

'''Published:''' 1991

'''Format:''' Boxed

== Contents ==

BOOK I - Campaign Book: I. The Orient Express, II. Simplon-Orient Express Operations, III. The Campaign.

BOOK II - Through the Alps: IV-a. Dancers in an Evening Fog (London), IV-b. The Doom Train (London), V. Les Fleurs du Mal (Paris), VI. Nocturne (Lausanne), VII. Note for Note (Milano).

BOOK III - Italy And Beyond: VIII. Death (and Love) in a Gondola (Venezia), IX. Cold Wind Blowing (Trieste), X. In a City of Bells and Towers (Dream Zagreb), XI. Little Cottage in the Wood (Belgrade).

BOOK IV - Constantinople & Consequences: XII. Repossession (Sofia), XIII. By the Skin of the Teeth (Constantinople), XIV. Blue Train, Black Night (Europe), XV. The Fog Lifts (London Again).

Also includes 'Strangers on the Train', four blank passports, passage stickers, scroll of the head, Sedefkar Simulacrum, train car plans and a period poster.

== Comments ==
Featuring the Brotherhood of the Skin, this is a classic campaign and the last boxed set produced by Chaosium to date. Chapter X - In a City of Bells and Towers (Dream Zagreb) - was written by [[Mark Morrison]] in an attempt to capture in scenario form the work of author [[Thomas Ligotti]]. A previous version of this Scenario was published in the British CoC fanzine [[DAGON]].

Winner of the 1991 Origins Award for Best Graphic Presentation and Best Role Playing Adventure. The majority of authors on this book are Australians, mostly based in Melbourne. [[Penelope Love]] must enjoy gondolas - see also the entry for [[Abhoth Omnipotens]].

Horror on the Orient Express

2006-01-21T12:35:00Z

Nstalkie:

'''Publisher:''' Chaosium Inc.

'''Product Code:''' 2331

'''Authors:''' [[Geoff Gillan]], [[Mark Morrison]], [[Nick Hagger]], [[Bernard Caleo]], [[Penelope Love]], [[Russell Waters]], [[Marion Anderson]], [[Phil Anderson]], [[Richard Watts]], [[Peter F. Jeffery]], [[Christian Lehmann]], [[L.N. Isinwyll]], [[Thomas Ligotti]]

'''Era:''' 1920s (Classic)

'''Published:''' 1991

'''Format:''' Boxed

== Contents ==

BOOK I - Campaign Book: I. The Orient Express, II. Simplon-Orient Express Operations, III. The Campaign. BOOK II - Through the Alps: IV-a. Dancers in an Evening Fog (London), IV-b. The Doom Train (London), V. Les Fleurs du Mal (Paris), VI. Nocturne (Lausanne), VII. Note for Note (Milano). BOOK III - Italy And Beyond: VIII. Death (and Love) in a Gondola (Venezia), IX. Cold Wind Blowing (Trieste), X. In a City of Bells and Towers (Dream Zagreb), XI. Little Cottage in the Wood (Belgreade). BOOK IV - Constantinople & Consequences: XII. Repossession (Sofia), XIII. By the Skin of the Teeth (Constantinople), XIV. Blue Train, Black Night (Europe), XV. The Fog Lifts (London Again). Also includes 'Strangers on the Train', four blank passports, passage stickers, scroll of the head, Sedefkar Simulacrum, train car plans and a period poster.

== Comments ==
Featuring the Brotherhood of the Skin, this is a classic campaign and the last boxed set produced by Chaosium to date. Chapter X - In a City of Bells and Towers (Dream Zagreb) - was written by [[Mark Morrison]] in an attempt to capture in scenario form the work of author [[Thomas Ligotti]]. A previous version of this Scenario was published in the British CoC fanzine [[DAGON]].

Winner of the 1991 Origins Award for Best Graphic Presentation and Best Role Playing Adventure. The majority of authors on this book are Australians, mostly based in Melbourne. [[Penelope Love]] must enjoy gondolas - see also the entry for [[Abhoth Omnipotens]].

Miskatonic University (Location)

2006-01-20T00:04:14Z

Nstalkie:

'''Miskatonic University''' is a [[List of fictional schools|fictional university]] located in the equally fictional [[Arkham]], [[Massachusetts]]. It was introduced in the stories of [[H.P. Lovecraft]] and continues to figure prominently in [[Cthulhu Mythos]] stories written since his death, as well as in [[role-playing games]] based on the mythos.

Miskatonic University is famous for its collection of occult books. The stories describe the library at the [[university]] as holding one of the few genuine copies of the ''[[Necronomicon]]''. Other tomes known to be in its library include the ''[[Unaussprechlichen Kulten]]'' written by [[Friedrich von Junzt]] and the fragmentary ''[[Book of Eibon]]''. According to the stories, Miskatonic has a [[medical school]], which figures prominently in Lovecraft's [[short story]] "Herbert West—Reanimator" ([[1922 in literature|1922]]). Some real-life retailers sell merchandise such as [[bumper stickers]] displaying the school's supposed [[mascot]], the Fighting [[Cephalopods]].

The [[horror movie]] ''[[Re-Animator]]'', directed by [[Stuart Gordon]] and based on a Lovecraft story, took place at Miskatonic University. As a [[tribute]] to Lovecraft, [[Bill Pullman]]'s character in 'Brain Dead' attended the university, as did some characters in the film ''[[Dagon (movie)|Dagon]]''.

The Millennium comics series ''[[H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu]]'' introduces [[The Miskatonic Project]] (created by [[Mark Ellis]] with art by [[Darryl Banks]], [[Daryl Hutchinson]] and [[Don Heck]]), a group of investigators who follow up on the loose ends of Lovecraft's original stories, such as "The Whisperer In Darkness".

Also, the [[DC Comics]] character [[Zatanna]], a female magician, uses the alias "Miss Katonic". [[John M. Ford]]'s ''[[Star Trek]]'' novel ''How Much For Just The Planet?'' puts "Princess [[Diane Duane|DeeDee]] the First" into a Miskatonic U. sweatshirt at one point. "[[Dreams in the Witch House]]" (a short film for the [[SHOWTIME]] network's "[[Masters of Horror]]" series), also based on a [[H.P. Lovecraft]] story and directed by [[Stuart Gordon]], focuses on a Miskatonic University student and takes place in and around the university.

It is speculated that the word "Mis-katonic" is derived from Greek [[chthonic]], since many of Lovecraft's monsters and gods were chthonic.
==External links==
*[http://www.miskatonic-university.org/ A Miskatonic University website]
*[http://www.miskatonic.net/ A mock Miskatonic University site]
*[http://www.yankeeclassic.com/miskatonic/ Another mock Miskatonic University site]
*[http://www.google.com.au/search?q=%22Miskatonic+University%22 Other Miskatonic University websites] ([[Google]] search)

[[Category:Cthulhu mythos locations]]
[[Category:Fictional universities and colleges]]

Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]

Thomas Ligotti

2006-01-17T19:57:38Z

Nstalkie:

'''Thomas Ligotti''' (born [[July 9]], [[1953]], in Detroit, Michigan) is a [[writer]] of [[Horror fiction|horror]] stories.

Something of a [[cult following|cult figure]], Ligotti is rather little known, but has seen high praise as one of the most effective and unique horror writers of recent decades: The [[The Washington Post]] calls him "the best kept secret in contemporary horror fiction." Another critic declared "It's a skilled writer indeed who can suggest a horror so shocking that one is grateful it was kept offstage."[http://www.iblist.com/author524.htm]

== Overview ==

Ligotti attended [[Macomb County Community College]] between 1971 and 1973 and graduated from [[Wayne State University]] in 1977.

Often favorably compared to [[Edgar Allan Poe]], [[Jorge Luis Borges]], [[Franz Kafka]] and [[H.P. Lovecraft]], Ligotti began his publishing career in the early 1980s with a number of [[short stories]] published in various American [[small press]] magazines.

His unique and affecting tales gathered a small following. Ligotti's relative anonymity and reclusiveness led to speculation about his identity: Was Ligotti a [[pseudonym]] used by a prominent literary writer? Were his stories in fact collaborations of multiple authors? In an introduction to her collection ''The Nightmare Factory'', [[Poppy Z. Brite]] mentioned these notions, with a rhetorical question: "Are you out there, Thomas Ligotti?"

In recent years, Ligotti has conducted interviews and disclosed some details of his background. For twenty-three years Ligotti worked as an Associate Editor at Gale Research (now the [[Gale Group]]), a publishing company that produces compilations of literary (and other) research. In the summer of 2001, Ligotti quit his job at the Gale Group and moved to south Florida. His favorite music is generally [[instrumental rock]]. Nevertheless there are still some who question Ligotti's actual existence and--in a fittingly Ligottian notion--claim these biographical details are part of an extended literary conspiracy.

Ligotti's [[worldview]] has been described as profoundly [[nihilism|nihilistic]] (though he's wary of the label, stating "'Nihilist' is a name that other people call you. No intelligent person has ever described or thought of himself as a nihilist."[http://www.darkmoonrising.com/issues/jun02/?file=ligotti]), and has stated he has suffered from [[anxiety disorder|anxiety]] for much of his life; these have been prominent themes in his work.

Ligotti generally avoids the [[splatterpunk|explicit violence]] common in some recent horror fiction, preferring to establish an intensely disquieting, [[pessimism|pessimistic]] atmosphere through the use of subtlety and repetition. He has cited [[Vladimir Nabokov]], [[Thomas Bernhard]], [[Edgar Allan Poe]], [[Bruno Schulz]], [[E. M. Cioran]] and [[William S. Burroughs]] among his favorite [[writer]]s. There are similarities between some of Ligotti's work and the subtly disturbing stories of [[Robert Aickman]], as well. [[H.P. Lovecraft]] is also an important touchstone for Ligotti: At least one story (most blatantly "Sect of the Idiot") makes explicit reference to Lovecraft's [[Cthulhu Mythos]], and another, "The Last Feast of the Harlequin", was dedicated to Lovecraft.

Ligotti has explored [[metafiction]]al notions in several stories: "Notes on the Writing of Horror" and "Professor Nobody's Little Lectures on Supernatural Horror." Both begin as advice for prospective writers of [[horror fiction]], but gradually become uniquely Ligottian exercises in quietly disturbing [[fiction]].

Ligotti has stated he prefers [[short stories]] to longer forms, both as a reader and writer, though he has recently written a [[novella]], ''My Work Is Not Yet Done''.

Ligotti has collaborated with the musical group [[Current 93]] on several albums: ''In A Foreign Town, In A Foreign Land''; ''This Degenerate Little Town''; and ''I Have A Special Plan For This World''.

The story "The Journal of J.P. Drapeau" is presented as a player handout in the scenario "In a City of Bells and Towers" from the [[Horror on the Orient Express]] campaign for the [[Call of Cthulhu role-playing game]].

A critical analysis of Ligotti's work can be found in [[S. T. Joshi]]'s book ''The Modern Weird Tale'' (2001).

== Reviews ==
Critical opinion of Ligotti has generally been favorable.

*[[The New York Times]] Book Review: "If there were a literary genre called '[[philosophy|philosophical]] horror,' Thomas Ligotti's ''Grimscribe'' would easily fit within it...provocative images and a style that is both entertaining and [[lyric]]al;" [http://room23.de/1192.html]

== Awards ==
Ligotti has received many awards and nominations for his work:

* [[1982]]: Small Press Writers and Artists Organization, Best Author of Horror/Weird Fiction: "The Chymist"
* [[1986]]: [[Rhysling Awards|Rhysling Award]], from Science Fiction Poetry Association (nomination): "One Thousand Painful Variations Performed Upon Divers Creatures Undergoing the Treatment of Dr. Moreau, Humanist"
* [[1991]]: World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction (nomination): "The Last Feast of Harlequin"
* [[1992]]: World Fantasy Award for Best Collection (nomination): ''Grimscribe: His Lives and Works''
* [[1997]]: World Fantasy Award for Best Collection (nomination): ''The Nightmare Factory''
* [[1995]]: [[Bram Stoker Award for Best Short Fiction]] (nomination): "The Bungalow House"
* [[1996]]: [[Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection]]:''The Nightmare Factory''
* [[1996]]: [[Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction]] "The Red Tower"
* [[2002]]: [[Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction]]: "My Work Is Not Yet Done"
* [[2002]]: International Horror Guild Award, Long Form Category: "My Work Is Not Yet Done"

==Books==
*''[[Songs of a Dead Dreamer]]'' ([[1986]], [[1989]])
*''Grimscribe: His Lives and Works'' ([[1991]])
*''Noctuary'' ([[1994]])
*''The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein and Other Gothic Tales'' ([[1994]])
*''The Nightmare Factory'' ([[1996]])
*''In a Foreign Town, in a Foreign Land'' ([[1996]], with [[Current 93]])
*''I Have a Special Plan for This World'' ([[1997]])
*''This Degenerate Little Town'' ([[2001]], with [[Current 93]])
*''My Work Is Not Yet Done: Three Tales of Corporate Horror'' ([[2002]])
*''Crampton: A Screenplay'' ([[2003]], with [[Brandon Trenz]])
*''Sideshow, and Other Stories'' ([[2003]])
*''Death Poems'' ([[2004]])
*''The Shadow at the Bottom of the World'' ([[2005]])
*''Teatro Grottesco'' ([[2005]])

*''The Thomas Ligotti Reader: Essays and Explorations'' ([[2003]]), edited by Darrell Schweitzer. A collection of essays about Ligotti's work, which includes one by Ligotti on the horror genre, a Ligotti interview, and a bibliography of his published works.

==External links==
*[http://www.ligotti.net/ Thomas Ligotti Online]
*[http://www.darkmoonrising.com/issues/jun02/?file=ligotti A 2002 interview with Ligotti]
*[http://www.fantasticmetropolis.com/show.html?iw.ligotti Literature Is Entertainment or It Is Nothing], a long, in-depth interview conducted by Neddal Ayad.
*[http://lovecraft.cjb.net "The Ultimate Mythos Book List"] - Listing of all Cthulhu mythos novels, anthologies, collections, comic books, and more.
*[http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Thomas_Ligotti.htm Listing of his works]

[[Category:1953 births|Ligotti, Thomas]]
[[Category:American writers|Ligotti, Thomas]]
[[Category:Horror writers|Ligotti, Thomas]]
[[Category:People from Michigan|Ligotti, Thomas]]

Original Wiki source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia]