Horror Aficionados discussion

This the buddy read thread for T.E.D. Klein's The Ceremonies.
Feel free to join in at any time.

Excited for this!

Thank you Alan for setting up the thread.
Me too Netanella! I'll start reading then, it's quite the door stopper.

I actually just finished this three days ago. I’ll join in if I may.

Feel free to.

You’re a quick reader, Christopher! I’m planning on starting in about 2 days...

I’m not that quick—it’s just that I was so engrossed I could hardly put it down, though I would classify it as a modern-day Gothic novel rather than as “horror” in the typical genre sense. I look forward to seeing what others think of it.

This will be a re-read for me, I have read The Ceremonies a couple of years ago for my book club and we were all very smitten, I will gladly read it again. I agree it is a Gothic novel, but also cosmic horror, a weird combination. I think it is also influenced a lot by Arthur Machen's White People but I haven't read that one. Maybe for another group read :)

The White People is fairly short, so you should go ahead and read it if you're looking for comparisons to Machen. I recently read it for the first time a few weeks ago.

Then I had to go back and reread it to make sure I hadn't lost my mind in the reading.

That sounds awesome :)

I started this last night, and quickly finished the introduction and have gotten an invitation to the farm, odd handwriting and all.

A couple of things I am wondering:

- I read that this book is an expanded version of the novella "Events at Poroth Farm" (1972, found in Year's Best Horror: Series II). I've had numerous instances wherein, if I've happened to have read the earlier, shorter version of the story first, I've found the later expanded novel an over-bloated beast.
Has anyone read "Events at Poroth Farm" and noticed that situation?

I'm not planning on reading "Events at Poroth Farm" first, just to avoid this very thing!

- In a very creepy way, the only picture I can find of T.E.D. Klein looks remarkably like the serial killer Ted Bundy.

I have read "Events at Poroth Farm", I read it before The Ceremonies, it was the reason I read The Ceremonies in the first place. I think it is one of the best horror writings ever but I immensely enjoyed both. There are things in Poroth Farm that are only implied but that are explained in detail in The Ceremonies but not in a bad way. In The Ceremonies he makes a point that this is a Gothic novel and adds lots of details to make it Gothic, which you don't have in the short story. I would say both are great in their own way.
You're right, I hadn't seen the similarity before you mentioned but can't unsee now, haha!
I will finish one book I'm reading and then I will start too.

Netanella said (in part): I've had numerous instances wherein, if I've happened to have read the earlier, shorter version of the story first, I've found the later expanded novel an over-bloated beast. Has anyone read "Events at Poroth Farm" and noticed that situation?

Opinions on such comparisons are going to vary, of course. Personally, I think Klein’s earlier novella, “The Events at Poroth Farm”, is a classic work of its kind. The Ceremonies , by contrast, is a good — perhaps even a very good — work, but it does suffer from a number of noticeable defects. It drags in parts and the ending feels a bit arbitrary.

yes, of course! Now that I'm immersed into the book, I am planning on reading the shorter "The Events at Poroth Farm" afterwards. Probably not right away, though. I might need a palate cleanser.

I'm up to the part in the story where Freirs has arrived in Gilead and (view spoiler)[ has gone traipsing through the cemetery looking for a pot to piss in, and finding none, decides to water the trees within sight of the gravestones. Somehow, after reading the names on the stones, I'm not sure I could have done that - almost as if the dead were watching me. (hide spoiler)]

I also read yesterday that this book is considered "quiet horror," which seems self-explanatory but I've never heard that phrase used. I usually thought of it as a slow burn.

My favorite passage so far:

No one has noticed - no one but the plump little figure perched unobtrusively at the end of the bench, a battered old umbrella by his side. No one else is watching; no one would understand. No one sees the patterns in the water, or smells the corruption beneath the flower scent, or hears the secret sound the grass makes when the wind dies.

Once more the air grows still. Small green moths flit among the weeds; hornets buzz thirstily around a barrel of refuse. No one could guess what is happening. The river rolls past the park, unobserved; the planet rolls through space, unsuspecting; the Old One's squat black shadow lengthens on the bench.

Netanella said (in part): I also read yesterday that this book is considered "quiet horror," which seems self-explanatory but I've never heard that phrase used.

I’m not sure who coined the term “quiet horror”, but during his life it was closely associated with Charles L. Grant. Grant was a fairly prolific writer, but he may be best remembered by aficionados for Shadows, a long-running anthology series whose contents exemplified his brand of quiet horror fiction.

I'm familiar with some of Charles L. Grant's short stories, mostly in several anthologies. He's solid.

Well, I'm getting a feel for Klein's quiet horror style. I've made it to "Book Four: The Dream" and I'm enjoying the direction it's taken quite a bit.

My thoughts so far: (view spoiler)[

Nothing's really happened, except a little ol' murder (which is pretty blasé for New York City) and Friers' naked episode on the barn roof in the moonlight.

But the slow build up of what is to come, the inexorable forward motion of some dark evil thing that we don't even know what it is . . . . that's the fun part of reading all of this.

I thought about the bad omens thus far:
- a dead bird in the library garden
- a seed sack with a hole in it
- a spooky widow with a talent for divining the future
- a white worm with a human face (wtf!! images of Alice in Wonderland!)
- a crazy old man making evil faces at a baby at the zoo
- the trees encroaching upon Friers' shack-for-rent

There's really not much, come to think of it, but Klein does such a good job building up the tension that even with nothing really happening the book is spooky AF.

It's like waiting for the shoe to drop. And when it does, I have a feeling I'm going to jump a mile high. (hide spoiler)]

Oh! Incimini - I've gotten to the part where Friers reads Machen's The White People and trips out on the barn roof. Have you read the story yet?

What are your thoughts?

(I didn't realize that this particular story played an important role in Klein's novel. I thought it was an influence, but not such an important plot device.)

So I now finished Chapter 1.
First off - no I haven't read The White People yet, but I think I will before going on with Ceremonies, because, as you say, it does really play a substantial part. A lot of other books are mentioned too, since Friers is there to read a whole summer (what utopic summer vacation!) but that one will be important.
As the title says "The Cermonies" and (view spoiler)[apparently there are some ceremonies described in White People (white ceremonies, green ceremonies etc.) that Klein uses here. (hide spoiler)]
I like the fact that Friers ponders writing his thesis about "Gothic Imagination" and then goes on with "Interplay between Setting and Character" or "Setting as Character" and then indulges in setting/landscape descriptions, like as to give us a hint.
I didn't know that a hole in a sack of grain or dead bird are bad omens, it's interesting to learn!
I have to admit that I find Sarr and his mother utterly charismatic, especially the mother. And I really enjoy the part about the old one, they are written in such flowery language that I really enjoy!

I'm just 50 pages in and it's definitely got quiet horror written all over it. I love Charles L Grant and I loved Straub's Ghost Story. It has a way of just creeping up on you and people tend to either love it or hate it.

The scene where Freirs is in the cemetery (view spoiler)[ The line of willows gets mentioned twice, and he notices some willows carved into some of the gravestones, I wonder if that's a reference to The Willows by Algernon Blackwood - (another favourite of mine) and if it's going to come up later on? (hide spoiler)]

Also, could everyone remember to use spoilers if possible please, I think there's going to be lots of little hidden gems in this one.

Netanella, I have finished The White People, and I see The Ceremonies in a different light now
(view spoiler)[ when I first read The Ceremonies a few years ago, I didn't realize that that twisting and the movements Friers makes stem directly from WP. I also think that Rosie the old one somehow took on the role of the nurse in WP, who knows all the rites and ceremonies and stories and steers the clueless innocent girl.
I don't know if you have finished it already, but the end scene again emphasizes that "evil = unnatural" notion.
One of the scenes that left an impression on me is the scene where Carol driving in the car encounters Saar's mom who wears her long black garment plus the beekeeper mask, what a picture!
Bwada is the queen of creepy animals! Just think of a cat watching you like that! (hide spoiler)]
I am now just above half way through, at about 60%.

That's great! What did you think of The White People? It's amazing how closely connected that story is to Klein's work.

I finished The Ceremonies yesterday morning. I didn't really post anything about it because my brain was kind of numb, for lack of a better expression. It left me speechless.

I find the books I like the best tend to do that to me.

(view spoiler)[I didn't consider the parallel between Rosie and the Nurse in the two works, but now it's quite obviously right there.

I loved the character of Mrs. Poroth, the spooky widow mom of Saar, and I wish there were a clearer understanding of what happened to her after the undead Saar went to pay her a call. I get "fade to black" aspects of storytelling, but damnit! I'm a visual girl.

I hated the character of Jeremy Friers! What an unlikeable man-tramp. I was sort of disappointed that Saar got the axe and not Friers. (hide spoiler)]

The willows! Between Algernon Blackwood's classic and the creepy T. Kingfisher The Hollow Places, willows are quite possibly the spookiest trees in existence.

I went tree-shopping last month, since I needed to create shade for my house. I stayed the hell away from willows. I planted a lovely elm instead.

I thought White People was OK. I didn't find it very spooky but appreciate the two blokes pondering the nature of evil in the frame story, it also helped for the understanding of The Ceremonies. I understand though that 120 years ago it must have been terrifying.
I just finished it and will let the ending sit (even though it's my second read, those last 50 pages really had me at the edge of my seat.)
(view spoiler)[That extraterrestrial rape scene really stayed with me for a few days after my last read. I agree Jeremy is very obnoxious and his constant horniness annoying, but ultimately he was the one for Carol. Mrs. Poroth stays my favorite character, also what happened to Rosie with the bees surely must be her doing from beyond the grave ;) (hide spoiler)]
I haven't read Willows either, maybe I should!

I would urge anyone interested to read “The Willows,” which for me is one of the ten best horror stories of all time. But I’m with you, inciminci, regarding “The White People” and Machen in general. Lots of writers I respect cite him as a major influence (including T.E.D. Klein, obviously), but for some reason his writing has never done a thing for me.

Alright then, one of my next reads will be "The Willows". These discussions are good because one discovers more and more good stuff.

I gotta stand up for Machen here, or at least "The White People," which is the only Machen I've yet read. I do agree with you, Christopher, that his writing can leave something to be desired. For example, the inner story of the young girl, the green book, seems to be formulated as a string of run-on sentences usually starting with "and then . . . and then . . . and then . . . " But for me the mystery of story comes in the descriptions after the "and then's". The misogyny leaves a lot to be desired, though.

I initially had given "The Ceremonies" 4 stars, but now I have corrected it to 5 stars. I liked it even better on second reading. A few years ago I was lucky enough to find an affordable copy of "Dark Gods", which comprises 4 short stories and I was delighted to find some elements from those novellas/stories here too - like the card game for instance. I truly do wish he would write more. Maybe "The Ceremonies" was meant to be a kind of magnum opus and he was burnt out after that? A pity there aren't more books like this. Do you guys know anything that resembles it?

I kinda get him as a "one and done" type. I doubt we will see more by him.

Earlier this year I read Adam Neville's The Reddening. It has a similar feel of cosmic horror, and the underground caves in Cornwall harken back to some old Robert Bloch stories from "Weird Tales."

I think also Laird Barron's The Croning is similar to Klein's book. But it's got a much more modern feel, of course.

The second of this month's BOT, Harvest Home, is folk horror, which is a vibe that resonates in Klein's book. I'm going to dive into that next as soon as I'm done with my current reads.

Thank you Netanella I will try those. I even have a copy of The Reddening so I'll start there.

Are you reading physical or electronic books?

Both. I have a Kobo e-reader but can't say no to a physical book as far as I have some space on my shelves left.

inciminci said (in part): I truly do wish he would write more. Maybe "The Ceremonies" was meant to be a kind of magnum opus and he was burnt out after that?

Klein seems to have struggled with some form of writer’s block throughout his career. (He’s also one of those guys who wants to tweak and then re-tweak his previous stuff. There are a number of different versions of “The Events at Poroth Farm”, for example. And he revised The Ceremonies when PS Publishing brought out a new edition in 2017.) After publication of The Ceremonies, Klein started working on a crime novel set in New York City called Nighttown. At one time a publication date of 1995 was announced, but Klein hasn’t been able to finish it. To this day, one hears rumors, some more concrete than others, about the possibility that Nighttown might see print. Horror writer David Schow, a friend of Klein’s, said circa 2016 that he had read (and been impressed by) some sort of draft of the novel. Critic and editor S. T. Joshi reported that in conversation with Klein (again circa 2016) the latter stated that he still intended to finish the book. Scott Edelman, in an interview with Klein conducted around 2018, asked him about the Joshi comment. Klein didn’t say Joshi was mistaken, but he was pretty vague about any concrete plans to complete the work. So while it’s still possible we may see another Klein novel, after the passage of around 40 years I ain’t gonna be holding my breath.

inciminci said (in part): Do you guys know anything that resembles it?

You might consider checking out Stephen King’s 2008 novella, “N.”. It appears in the author’s collection, Just After Sunset . According to King, it was inspired by Arthur Machen’s famous 1894 novella, “The Great God Pan”.

Great! Thank you Canavan for the info and the recommendation, I'll check it out.

Canavan wrote: "...Klein seems to hav..."

Canavan, you are a fount of information! That is awesome stuff.