B is for Basil, assaulted by bears.
C is for Clara who wasted away,
D is for Desmond, thrown out of the sleigh…
Yes!!!
In this thread Fenris speaks of the scary childrens stories of Heinrich Hoffman.
This moved me to try a few searches on a children’s book I’d seen reviewed countless years ago.
Not only got hits, but the books are still published!!! Wheeee!!!
Author is Edward Gorey, 1925-2000.
Book I saw reviewed is “The Gashlycrumb Tinies”.
Will be purchasing everything by Gorey I can afford; anyone care to recommend? Anyone see this guy’s stuff when they were a kid and get freaked the hell out?
Oh, btw googling on “Gashlycrumb Tinies” currently turns up a set of web pages with scans from the book. No link specified for obvious reasons.
I had that poster in college - freaked out my roommate.
And a friend has the calendar page decorating her room.
And I used to have a pop-up book with pull-tabs of people drowning in the swamps, trees closing in on the pathways where the unwary trod, and other eerie sights. Cool book. Might have been The Evil Garden.
Get the Amphigorey books - nice collections. The Curious Sofa is another favorite of mine.
One site has the dancing cat as jewelry. Mine is on order.
Gorey is brilliant, but his stuff is a satire on childrens lit the way South Park is a satire on kids’ TV. Good thing you are discovering him as an adult!
I gave a copy of The Audrey Gore Legacy to a mystery-loving friend (It’s published separately, and also appears in one of the three Amphigorey collections). It’s a parody of the Agatha Christie-type mysteries, listing persons, weapons, motivations, and clues. (“Gradual” states one page of murder implements, “Arsenical Buns”. “Instantaneous”, reads the facing page, “Boulder”.)
There’s a similar book called “The Z was Zapped”. It’s an alphabet book that has each letter of the alphabet coming on stage and being horribly murdered by a method beginning with it’s letter: “The P was Poisoned”, “The Q was pushed into Quicksand” and like that.
And then there’s the beginning sequence for Mystery!; I love the collapsed lady, moaning softly: “Ahhh! Ahhhhhh!”
I enjoy sending Gorey Christmas cards. They just seem to capture the desolation of the holiday season sooo well.
Ohhh, and not to mention the fact that he would ‘change his name’, either by rearranging the letters or translating it [Edward and Gor(e)y] into a foreign language; one of those smack-youself-in-the-forehead moments. “Edvard Blutig” was my ‘favorite’ author of all of them.
When I was but a wee young lassie, The Wuggly Ump was my favourite story. I, too, loved The Gashlycrumb Tinies, as well as The Doubtful Guest and, when I was in Junior High, The Listing Attic.
I still have the Amphigorey books and have my eye on a few of his first editions. I also have two Gorey stamps; one of The Doubtful Guest and one with Jellico Cats. Miller,
Amphigorey
Amphigorey Too
Amphigorey Also
Green Apple Books still carries them. If you refrain from any slurs against belly dancers for a week, I will exercise my discount on your behalf.
I squealed when I saw the thread title. I am noting down every person in this thread as (a) a sick fuck and (b) exactly my kind of person. Gorey can do no wrong. He’s part of my test of new lovers (back when I did that kind of thing) – if a potential mate does not “get” Gorey, he’s out the door. Gorey-appreciation is an absolute requirement for closeness. I just don’t feel right being around people who don’t like Gorey.
Was introduced to him when I was 12 (it really should have happened much earlier) through a puzzle book of Gorey works, given to me, ironically, by my very religious father. It had about half of the Gashleycrumb Tinies in one puzzle, and I made up rhymes for the missing bits; a couple of them turned out to be pretty close to what Gorey had written (wasn’t I a pleased little boy).
I sought out and obtained all three Amphigorey books, and over the years have collected a few hardbacks of books not in the Amphigorey series. One had these three strange creatures assaulting each other with marmalade, etc., another was about making ever-increasing quantities of white sauce, and painting the Christmas ornaments black. There’s an accordian-folded book which opens up to reveal a monster in a tunnel. I forget the titles and I’m too lazy to go look. I also have an edition of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House illustrated by Gorey (including, fittingly, the Spontaneous Human Combustion scene).
My fave was “Inexplicable” - confetti.
Mrs. Regera Dowdy. All-time best.
Ahh, Gorey memories… The Loathsome Couple … The Hapless Child (“He took her to a low place.”) … The Insect God … The Emerald Necklace … The Beastly Baby … The Bug Book (a happy one, and in color) … The Fatal Losenge (“The Governess up in the attic/Attempts to make a cup of tea;/Her mind grows daily more erratic/From cold and hunger and ennui.”) …
Oh, The Object Lesson. “It was already Thursday, but his Lordship’s artificial limb could not be found; therefore, having directed the servants to fill the baths, he seized the tongs and set out at once for the edge of the lake, where the Throbblefoot Spectre still loitered in a distraught manner. He presented it with a length of string [the Spectre makes a cat’s cradle out of it, and still looks distraught] and passed on to the statue of Corrupted Endeavor [the statue is lying on its side, propped up on one elbow] to await the arrival of Autumn.” Now who could not love this stuff?
Another thing: the names, placenames, names of hotels, operas, etc…
Names:
Miss Skrim-Pshaw
Henry Clump
Marchioness of Bunworry
St. Egfroth (martyred on a bicycle)
Monsieur Bandage-Herniaire
