Short Story· 1895· Horror

The King in Yellow

by Robert W. Chambers

The King in Yellow: 1 recorded work traces back to it.

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What The King in Yellow influenced

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True Detective

TV Series · 2014

InfluenceMEDIUM

The first season borrows Robert W. Chambers's book of stories for its mythology: the killers' cult worships the Yellow King, and Carcosa, Chambers's name for his mythical city, is the place the detectives are searching for. Nic Pizzolatto has discussed Chambers and the weird fiction behind the season.

About the work

The King in Yellow

The King in Yellow is a short story collection by American writer Robert W. Chambers, first published by F. Tennyson Neely in 1895. The British first edition was published by Chatto & Windus in 1895. [Main story:] The ill effects of a soul-destroying play, to read which brings doom. A discovery that changes living flesh to stone. The mad adherents of a cult of evil powers from beyond. A lost traveler is suddenly 400 years in the past.