THE YELLOW SIGN
The name of a 2011 album by the Dead Milkmen, The King in Yellow is taken from one of my favorite collections of stories; it is by Robert W. Chambers and includes one of the best 19th Century weird-fiction stories (it has been widely anthologized), "The Yellow Sign". Besides being the title of the collection, The King in Yellow is also said to be a hauntingly beautiful play that is referenced in several stories in the book. The play has the ability to drive its readers insane, particularly those who peruse Act 2; with only a handful of quotations and limited details on the story line, the play stays in the background but gives the stories a truly sinister air.
(July 2012)
