Category: Thoughts on Writing

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The John Langan Mythos

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While I was on paternity leave, I accomplished very little aside from bonding with my newborn daughter. I’m not complaining. It was great. One of the few things I did accomplish was reading John Langan’s two newest releases. Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters is a 2022 reprint of Langan’s debut collection from 2008, while Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies is his newest collection. After finishing these two works, I wanted to celebrate the fact that I’ve now read all Langan’s released novels and collections. I’ve previously reviewed The Wide Carnivorous Sky, The Fisherman, House of Windows, and Sefira, but I didn’t want to do another five-paragraph review. Instead, I decided to categorize his work according to my own observations. I felt that Langan’s work deserved this kind of analysis, and I hope others will be inclined to expand on what I’ve started here. If you’re reading this and wondering if I’m a crazy person for doing this, I am, but why don’t you judge me after you’ve reviewed what I’ve written below.

 

Note: If you’re confused by my categories, I define them at the end of this post. Additionally, some of my notes and categories may contain spoilers. Lastly, John Langan’s Story Notes in the back of his collections contain far more information than what I listed below, so I recommend checking those out if you like this post.

 

Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters 2008 (2022 Reprint)

On Skua Island – Scottish Myth/Ancestry/Setting

      • Note: This story is about a mummy.

Mr. Gaunt – Scottish Myth/Ancestry/Setting + Fatherhood

      • Mythos Note: The character of George Farage is an occultist who reappears in Langan’s short story, “The Supplement.” The protagonist, Henry Farage, is also heavily implied to appear in “The Supplement” as George’s new assistant.

Tutorial – Art/Writing Reflection

Episode Seven: Last Stand Against the Pack in the Kingdom of the Purple Flowers – Apocalyptic + Parenthood

      • Mythos Note: It’s possible that Langan’s apocalyptic stories are connected and occurring during the same apocalypse. Other stories Langan has written on apocalypses are “The Shallows,” and “Inundation.”
      • Easter Egg: One of the protagonist’s names is Wayne, and he wears a Batman t-shirt.

Laocoon, or The Singularity – Art/Writing Reflection + Horrible Transformation + Fatherhood

      • Mythos Note: This story contains some thematic similarities with “The Communion of Saints.”

Tethered – Ghost Story

      • Note: Original to 2022 Reprint

 

House of Windows 2009 – Ghost Story + Fatherhood + Occult

      • Mythos Note: Papers belonging to the protagonist of this book reappear in “The Supplement.”

 

The Wide Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies 2013

Kids – Teaching + Zombie

How the Day Runs Down – Apocalyptic + Zombie

Technicolor – Teaching + Occult

      • Note: This story fictionalizes elements of the life of Edgar Allan Poe.

The Wide, Carnivorous Sky – Vampire + Military

City of the Dog – Lovecraftian

      • Note: This story features Lovecraft’s ghouls from “Pickman’s Model.”

The Shallows – Lovecraftian + Fatherhood

      • Mythos Note: It’s possible that Langan’s apocalyptic stories are connected and occurring during the same apocalypse. Other stories Langan has written on apocalypses are “Episode Seven: Last Stand Against the Pack in the Kingdom of the Purple Flowers,” and “Inundation.”

The Revel – Monster + Experimental

      • Note: This story examines the tropes associated with werewolf fiction.

June, 1987. Hitchhiking. Mr. Norris. – Laird Barron + Occult

      • Note: The protagonist of this story is the author Laird Barron.

Mother of Stone – Exorcism

      • Mythos Note: The statue at the heart of Mother of Stone reappears briefly in The Fisherman. It’s implied that the titular Fisherman was responsible for the stone’s appearance in upstate New York.

 

The Fisherman 2016 – Occult + Lovecraftian + Fatherhood

      • Mythos Note: The characters of Rainer and Wilhelm Vanderwort venture to a magic city on a black ocean patrolled by bird-like figures. This city and its inhabitants reappear in “Outside the House, Watching for the Crows,” and “Shadow and Thirst.”
      • Mythos Note: Late in the novel, the protagonist, Abe, encounters the statue from “Mother of Stone.”

 

Sefira and Other Betrayals 2019

Sefira – Monster + Occult

      • Mythos Note: The character of Madame Sosostris reappears in “Natalya, Queen of the Hungry Dogs,” found in Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories edited by Ellen Datlow.
      • Mythos Note: The character of George Farange is referenced by Madame Sosostris.
      • Note: This story is about a Succubus.

In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos – Military + Monster

The Third Always Beside You – Parents + Ghost Story

The Unbearable Proximity of Mr. Dunn’s Balloons – Victorian Era + Occult + Monster

Bloom – Horrible Transformation

Renfrew’s Course – Scottish Myth/Ancestry/Setting + Occult

Bor Urus – Monster + Mid-Life Crisis + Fatherhood

      • Mythos Note: Protagonist visits the shore of the Black Ocean from The Fisherman.

At Home in the House of the Devil – Occult + Monster

      • Note: As the name implies this story concerns the devil.

 

Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies 2020

Sweetums – King in Yellow

Hyphae – Fatherhood + Horrible Transformation

Muse – Meta

      • Note: This story is a fictional letter to Paul Tremblay about Stephen Graham Jones. Laird Barron is mentioned.

Zombies in Marysville – Zombie + Meta + Fatherhood

With Max Barry in the Nearer Precincts – Afterlife

Into the Darkness Fearlessly – Vengeance + Art/Writing Reflection

Children of the Fang – Lovecraftian

      • Note: This story features the lizard creatures from H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Nameless City.”
      • Mythos Note: Detective Calasso appears (also appears in City of the Dog and Communion of Saints).

Episode Three: On the Great Plains, In the Snow – Ghost Story

Tragoidia – Rebirth + Occult

Ymir – Military + Monster + Laird Barron

      • Note: This story takes place in Laird Barron’s Old Leech Mythos.

Irezumi – Cyberpunk

The Horn of the World’s Ending – Lovecraftian + Scottish Myth/Setting/Ancestry

      • Note: This story features the Black Goat of the Wood’s Dark Young from H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

The Underground Economy – Occult + Strip Club Setting

The Communion of Saints – Occult

      • Mythos Note: Detective Calasso reappears.
      • Note: This story contains some thematic similarities with “Laocoon, or The Singularity.”

Aphanisis – Sword and Sorcery + Experimental

      • Note: The story concerns killing off different versions of yourself, and this subject reappears in “Shadow and Thirst.”

Gripped – Strip Club Setting + King in Yellow

      • Note: The protagonist of this story is author Joe Pulver. Pulver is also the protagonist in Langan’s uncollected short story “Helioforge.”

Inundation – Apocalyptic + Monster

      • Mythos Note: It’s possible that Langan’s apocalyptic stories are connected and occurring during the same apocalypse. Other stories Langan has written on apocalypses are “The Shallows,” and “Episode Seven: Last Stand Against the Pack in the Kingdom of the Purple Flowers.”

To See, To Be Seen – Occult

      • Mythos Note: An occult group called The Friends of Borges appear. They also appear in “What is Lost, What is Given Away.”

What You, Do Not Bring Forth – Art/Writing Reflection + Dreams

Vista – Art/Writing Reflection + Experimental

Slippage – Laird Barron + Art/Writing Reflection + Meta

      • Note: This story is a fictional account of a drive Langan took with Laird Barron. This story ending this collection mirrors Laird’s story “More Dark” (also a Meta fictionalized tale about writers) ending Barron’s short story collection The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All.

 

Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies 2022

Kore – Halloween

Homemade Monsters – Childhood Reflection + Monster

The Open Mouth of Charybdis – Lovecraftian + Childhood Reflection

      • Note: This story is connected to H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Shadow over Innsmouth.”

Shadow and Thirst – Vampire + Fatherhood

      • Mythos Note: The creature in this story is a banished member of the bird-like figures who are mentioned in The Fisherman and who appear in “Outside the House, Watching for the Crows.”
      • Note: The story concerns killing off different versions of yourself, and this subject reappears in “Aphanisis.”

Corpsemouth – Afterlife + Fatherhood + Monster + Scottish Myth/Setting/Ancestry

Anchor – Laird Barron + Monster + Writing/Art Reflection + Fatherhood

Outside the House, Watching for the Crows – Childhood Reflection + Monster

      • Mythos Note: The bird-like figures in this story are mentioned in The Fisherman and a banished member of their group appears in “Shadow and Thirst.”

What is Lost, What is Given Away – Childhood Reflection + Occult

      • Mythos Note: An occult group called The Friends of Borges appear. They also appear in “To See, To Be Seen.”

The Supplement – Occult

      • Mythos Note: George Farage originally appears in “Mr. Gaunt.” George Farage’s assistant is heavily implied to be the protagonist of “Mr. Gaunt.” Papers mentioned in this story belong to Roger Croydon from House of Windows.

Mirror Fishing – Occult + Lovecraftian

Caoineadh – Monster + Scottish Myth/Setting/Ancestry

 

Definition of Terms:

Apocalyptic: This story occurs during the end of the world.

Childhood Reflection: This story had a character reflecting on their childhood.

Exorcism: This story is about an exorcism.

Experimental: This story plays with the form of telling a story in a novel way.

Fatherhood: The story deals with fatherhood as a central theme.

Ghost Story: This story is about ghosts. Boo.

Halloween: This story concerns the spooky high holiday.

Horrible Transformation: This story contains a character going through a horrible bodily transformation.

King in Yellow: Have you seen the Yellow Sign?

Laird Barron: This story contains elements from Laird Barron’s works or refers to Laird Barron.

Lovecraftian: This story concerns elements derived from Lovecraft’s fiction or a sense of cosmic horror.

Meta: Fiction about real life authors.

Monster: This story contains a supernatural creature. While I was tempted to create a new category for every monster I could identify, I decided to only do it for those who appear in multiple tales.

Occult: This story contains elements of occult magic, grimoires, cultists, or some combination of those elements.

Parenthood: This story deals with parenthood, not just being a father, as a central theme.

Scottish Myth/Ancestry/Setting: The story either deals with Scottish Myth, Scottish Ancestry, or has a Scottish Setting.

Strip Club Setting: This story takes place at a Strip Club.

Teaching: This story is about the profession of being a teacher.

Vampire: This story is about vampires or creatures that can be perceived as vampiric.

Vengeance: This story concerns getting vengeance.

Victorian Era: This story occurs during the Victorian Era.

Writing/Art Reflection: The story focuses on the creation of art or art’s impact on viewers and readers.

Zombie: This story has zombies in it.

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Welcome to My Mythos

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Thanks for checking out my website. If you’re wondering who I am and how you got here, you should probably visit a doctor, followed by my About Me page. If you know who I am and want to stalk me on the web or in person, you can review my Appearances page. If you just want to download spooky stories straight into your brain, I’ve listed some free works below, and you can peruse my entire list of publications on the Read My Work page or check out my Amazon page.

 

Lost Vintage

Short story adapted for audio and free to listen to in The Weird Library.

 

The Voice in the Vent

Flash fiction adapted for audio and free to listen to in Episode 577 of Tales to Terrify.

 

The Abyss Within

Short story adapted for audio and free to listen to in Episode 4, Season 18 of The NoSleep Podcast.

 

The House Flipping Find

Short story adapted for audio and free to listen to in Episode 8, Season 14 of The NoSleep Podcast.

 

Feeding Time

Story that won 1st prize in the Ligonier Valley Writers 2018 Flash Fiction Contest.

 

The Sheriff and the Samurai

Short story published in 3 parts on New Pulp Tales.com.

 

The Threshold

Novelette serialized in 10 parts on New Pulp Tales.com.

 

If you’ve scrolled this far, you’re showing some serious interest in me. As a reward, I’ve got a Thoughts on Writing page with your name all over it, a Seton Hill blog that talks about my experiences earning a Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction, and an Everything Else page that tracks my miscellaneous content.

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The Fellowship of the Ring 20th Anniversary

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On December 19th, 2001, I attended a screening of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring with my mother and her friend, Pasquale. My mom occasionally read me Tolkien at bedtime, and she’d showed me the Rankin/Bass version of The Hobbit, which I loved, a few years before. My favorite character was already Strider because I loved him in the books (I now have a cat named after him). I remember being excited for the release of the film, and my father had already bought me the first action figure I found from the movie, a Legolas that sits on a shelf behind me as I write this. Despite my anticipation, there’s no way I could’ve known how profoundly The Fellowship of the Ring would shape my life.

To understand Fellowship’s influence on me, you’d have to start by recalling the days following 9-11. While I didn’t lose anyone, I was at an age where the events of 9-11 profoundly impacted me. The year before, I’d started to mature rapidly due to the passing of my grandmother, and 9-11 only increased my explosion toward adulthood. Over the course of two years, I discovered anyone in my family could be gone at any given second, and my country could be attacked at random by terrorists. Nightly news coverage and chatter kept 9-11 at the forefront of my mind. Making things worse, New York was only about a two-hour drive from my hometown, and I’d been there several times with my dad. This wasn’t a tragedy in a far-off land. This was next door. Suffice it to say, I was living in a world of fear. Thankfully, the Fellowship of the Ring allowed me to escape all that for three hours.

As a quick aside related to 9-11, while sitting in the theater waiting for The Fellowship of the Ring to start, I got my first full glimpse at Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. The previous summer, I’d tried to watch the teaser trailer online, but I couldn’t get it to completely download over dialup. The trailer I’d been unable to view had been one in which Spider-Man captured a criminal’s helicopter in a web between the twin towers. Raimi recut the film to edit out the twin towers. This holiday season sees the return of the first big screen Spider-Man villain, Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Dafoe’s Goblin returns to theaters almost twenty years to the day from his first appearance as the character. It’s fascinating how many things come full circle.

But I digress. This essay is about The Fellowship of the Ring. I remember being enthralled with the film from Galadriel’s opening words, and, because I was a huge fan of the Rankin/Bass version of The Hobbit, I geeked out over the brief shot of Bilbo in Gollum’s cave during the film’s introduction. To this day, I’ve never felt as fully transported to another world as I did during that viewing of The Fellowship of the Ring. It was a magical experience where I felt like I entered Middle-earth and journeyed alongside the nine companions. The Fellowship of the Ring fundamentally impacted my trajectory as a person. I went home so excited about the Lord of the Rings that I almost immediately dove into The Two Towers. I had to know what came next. After that, I finished The Return of the King. Ironically, it was a movie that truly started my love of reading.

That wasn’t the only impact The Fellowship of the Ring had on me though. I became obsessed with storytelling. Soon, I was creating my own fictional worlds. At first, my invented realms closely mirrored Middle-earth, but as time went on my work matured. Eventually, my Tolkien obsession led me to writing an unpublished fantasy novel, The Swords of Fellowship, while earning my Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. The Swords of Fellowship was directly inspired by The Lord of the Rings, and it was my attempt to put my own spin on Tolkien’s ideas.

In the years since that first viewing of The Fellowship of the Ring, I’ve returned to the film regularly, albeit in a slightly different form. I received The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition DVDs for Christmas in 2002, and I’m certain I’ve watched those disks more than any other DVDs I’ve ever owned. At this point, I’m sure I could recite every line by heart while watching along. The film never ceases to evoke tears from me when Boromir redeems himself by fighting to protect Merry and Pippin, and when Sam rushes into the water after Frodo. And my pulse always pounds faster as Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli charge off to hunt orcs at the end. Truthfully, I enjoy every moment of this film, and it always allows me to escape whatever issues or troubles I’m having, just like when I first watched it.

This reflection has already gone on longer than I intended, but if you’ve read this far, I hope you’ll indulge a few more of my thoughts on this movie’s impact. My best friends in life all feel the same way about this movie as I do. In fact, three of us decided to get the elvish word for friend tattooed on our arms. I’d wager that most kids near my age feel the same way about The Fellowship of the Ring. It came along at a perfect time to help us escape the horrors of 9-11 and showed us a world where good hobbits triumphed over dark lords. So, cheers to The Fellowship of the Ring on twenty years of being a perfect fantasy film. As the hobbits say, “may the hair on your feet never fall out.”