Weird Fiction Explained | Horror Explored

  Рет қаралды 14,341

Daniel J. Blackwood

Daniel J. Blackwood

Жыл бұрын

Instagram ➤ @danieljblackwood
Hello, my name is Daniel J. Blackwood and welcome to Horror Explored. Today we're covering Weird Fiction, a subgenre of horror fiction, and its creator, Edgar Allan Poe. Weird Fiction flourished in the Victorian Era, similar to Gothic Fiction, and cross-pollinates with both Gothic and Cosmic Horror. But how did the genre come to be? What makes a story weird? Let's find out.
Thank you for watching Horror Explored.
If you enjoyed this video please remember to leave a like, comment and subscribe as it really helps the channel out.
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:26 - History
06:53 - What makes a story weird?
13:43 - Closing remarks
#Weird Fiction
#Gothic Fiction
#Edgar Allan Poe

Пікірлер: 79
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
A fair few people have told me they dislike my pronunciatiation of certain words because of my Yorkshire accent, and I tried to adjust some pronunciations which sounded even weirder so I decided not to force it. Enjoy!
@austinciejka611
@austinciejka611 Жыл бұрын
Yet u did a brilliant video analysis so screw em lol well done man 👏
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
@@austinciejka611 Hah, thank you!
@rayswoop4947
@rayswoop4947 Жыл бұрын
​@@DanielJBlackwood shit you killed it man!! All the best!!
@DavideMazzetti
@DavideMazzetti Жыл бұрын
It's your accent - don't change it just to accomodate the intolerance of others. :-)
@draddams
@draddams 10 ай бұрын
Accent is fine, mate. Don't worry about it.
@julien-denisgallais7420
@julien-denisgallais7420 Жыл бұрын
Isn't the House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson? Thanks for the superb introduction to the genre!
@williamerickson520
@williamerickson520 8 ай бұрын
Yes. If Ambrose Bierce wrote a story by that name as well, I am not aware of it.
@stevekudlo1464
@stevekudlo1464 Жыл бұрын
Reading the king in yellow: haven't gone insane yet, but it is debatable.
@SamSepiol1909
@SamSepiol1909 9 ай бұрын
Ligotti, Barron, Langan, VanderMeer and Vernon/Kingfisher are some of my favourite recent weird fiction writers.
@rayswoop4947
@rayswoop4947 Жыл бұрын
Man I friggin love all of these authors!!! Once I found this type of esoteric folk horror, I was profoundly hooked and is mainly all I look for in fiction!!! After H.P. Lovecraft, I read Faerie Tale by Raymond E Feist, that left me wanting to learn way more about the fae, and pagan history!! These classics wake something up in me primitively and spiritually... just fascinates me all together!! I believe folk horror is making a comeback in a major way!!! You should really hear, The Cairn Upon The Headland on KZfaq, tis an awesome weird tale!! For we are the watchers by the threshold!!! You rock brother!!!
@SmileyTrilobite
@SmileyTrilobite 3 ай бұрын
I’m enchanted by Clark Ashton Smith’s zaniness. Two of my favorites are: The Double Shadow The Geas There’s a venerable tradition of weird fiction in Japan called kaidan (ghost stories) or kaiki (strange tales). Its characteristics are largely the same, especially the “ordinary life interrupted” aspect. Lafcadio Hearn wrote much in English about it, and there’s a multivolume English-language anthology titled Kaiki, Uncanny Tales from Japan. Two of my favorites are: The Face in the Hearth by Tanaka Kōtarō “Ino Mononoke Roku” which has multiple adaptations and may also count as a folk tale.
@kimsimonson6515
@kimsimonson6515 9 ай бұрын
You are probably already aware of this, but in case you are not .. . Check out a wonderful work of experimental music made by David Tibet of Current 93 wherein he does his own spoken word version of Thoma Ligotti's "I Have A Special Plan For This World". Extremely dark and surreal and a chillingly disturbing piece of weird fiction set to sound.
@crnosloven
@crnosloven Жыл бұрын
Your taste in literature is exquisite, especially mentioning Thomas Ligotti. He is one of my main writing inspirations and I have all of his books (excluding poetry). In "Teatro Grottesco", the story "Our temporary supervisor" is the essence of "corporate horror", one of the best sub-genres of weird fiction. Keep up with good work!
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
Mine, too. I've read everything from his anthologies to his philosophy, and to say the man is the best modern writer of the weird is an understatement. Thank you for watching. I appreciate your comment.
@rayswoop4947
@rayswoop4947 Жыл бұрын
Most definitely
@authorbrittanyrosebutler
@authorbrittanyrosebutler Жыл бұрын
This video is fantastic - just subscribed! I'm an aspiring author, and have had such a difficult time defining my own genre tendencies. I kept saying I write "soft" or "quiet" horror, but that never felt entirely accurate. I knew of weird fiction and had a loose idea of what it was, but had never really looked into it specifically. However, I kept feeling pulled to learn more about it, and I ended up finding this video. I'm sure it sounds dramatic, but I could have cried watching this! I've been writing my entire life, but after this I feel like I finally know my genre and have a better sense of identity regarding who I am as a writer. Thank you so much for the work you put into researching this.
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
I'm so glad I could help! I love reading comments like these. I've been writing for a long time too, and one of the goals of this channel is to be a resource for horror writers to help find their identities and break down any themes they may want explore. So I'm very pleased that these videos are reaching my target audience and they seem to be serving their purpose. Thank you for watching and subscribing!
@rayswoop4947
@rayswoop4947 Жыл бұрын
That's so great to hear!!! I have tried to write my own weird tales on my channel if you would like to take a listen 😊 I would love to hear yours; mine is not the best quality, but I hope the story itself makes up for it!!
@rayswoop4947
@rayswoop4947 Жыл бұрын
​@@DanielJBlackwood WOW!! That is so awesome!! I would love to immerse myself into your stories, that's great you've created a community for like-minded writers of folk, atmospheric, and cosmic horror. So glad to have subscribed 😊
@SanguineUltima
@SanguineUltima 8 ай бұрын
Ligotti's Teatro Grotesco is one of my all-time favorite collections of weird fiction, as well. Great video.
@rustyshackleford1875
@rustyshackleford1875 2 ай бұрын
You bloody nailed this one. The channel should definitely have more subscribers. Thank-you!
@terjenordin
@terjenordin Жыл бұрын
Nice video! But, The House on the Borderland is by William Hope Hodgson, not Ambrose Bierce.
@dkujo
@dkujo Жыл бұрын
You could not tell that you have only 1.5k subscribers, you got some quality videos
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
Thanks for coming back to watch!
@TheCuttingBureau
@TheCuttingBureau 9 ай бұрын
Great video. "The House on the Borderland" was Hodgson, not Bierce, though, right?
@lauragisi1678
@lauragisi1678 6 ай бұрын
I wish you had more videos! They’re so entertaining AND informative, and that’s so difficult to find on this subject matter. Come back! :)
@andromeda4220
@andromeda4220 Жыл бұрын
A little correction, The house on the Borderland is written by William Hope Hodgson, plus: I think the common concept all this stories came to be recognizable by all its writers own styles and themes is a subversion of the idea of Sacred, in all these universes, the forces beyond humanity have not beign contaminated by the existence of any kind of pure Goodness, by the inverse, they are the full expression of the absence of any Sacredness in the influence of any aspect of the Cosmos. They can be egoistic forces like Lovecraftian, unrecognizable by the limitless existence of humanity 'cause the ideia of Good, takes place in all humans, like a theological take on this one. So if these creatures hasn't this aspect in their own genesis, they become individuals who follow their own desires leading to every fictional cosmos where they live.
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
Yep, you're correct, it was written by William Hope Hodgson. It's been years since I read it and forgot who wrote it. Should have used Google to double check.
@horrorgeorge2102
@horrorgeorge2102 Жыл бұрын
Wow you stepped it up for this one, huh. The quality of your editing hs got so much higher. If it takes longer to make videos at this level than take all the time you need
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
Thank you! I really tried to go for a more documentary styled video on this one. I'm glad you liked it!
@igorrenfield6588
@igorrenfield6588 10 ай бұрын
I don’t think The House on the Borderland wasn’t written by Ambrose Bierce. I think it was written by William Hope Hodgson.
@igorrenfield6588
@igorrenfield6588 10 ай бұрын
Sorry for the typo. Double negative.
@geordiejones5618
@geordiejones5618 7 ай бұрын
I feel like New Weird is still so underexplored. Shows like The Venture Bros and Rick & Morty dip into New Weird but theres not enough horror usually. I'm working on a New Weird short story collection because I love that intersection of scifi, fantasy and horror.
@elankesnyman2167
@elankesnyman2167 8 ай бұрын
I hope you continue making videos! I binged the videos you have so far, and was quite disappointed to see that I got to the end. Very informative and well put together, and I actually quite like your accent.
@apeon1551
@apeon1551 Жыл бұрын
Great vid! Motion graphics are top tier - I'll have to give the recommendations a read!
@evraegg
@evraegg Жыл бұрын
Really appreciate the videos Daniel. I love gothic/weird fiction themes but I haven't read a huge amount of the classics so these videos are very useful. I'm also writing a psychological gothic horror DnD campaign currently.
@johnjay70
@johnjay70 6 ай бұрын
Your videos are great and I truly appreciate the obvious amount of time and effort you put into these. Thank you, sir!!
@sapere_aude250
@sapere_aude250 Жыл бұрын
You make really fantastic content. Please keep it up❤
@mamberroi0935
@mamberroi0935 Жыл бұрын
Just subscribed, your videos are amazing man keep up the good work!
@agm5424
@agm5424 Жыл бұрын
A good source of modern/revived Weird storytelling are the books by The Bizzarchives, wich are described by Arkham Reporter as "the spiritual successor to Weird Tales".
@justsomerandomguyhere8657
@justsomerandomguyhere8657 Жыл бұрын
Underrated channel, amazing video.
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@brians132
@brians132 Ай бұрын
Some Classic Weird Fiction Stories you didn't mention:- 'The Moon Pool' by Abraham Merritt. 'The Music Of Erich Zann' by H.P. Lovecraft 'The Tower Of The Elephant' by Robert E Howard 'Black God's Kiss' by C.L. Moore 'Loup Garou' by R.B. Russell Enjoy!
@greenknightable
@greenknightable 19 күн бұрын
Yeah, the Moon Pool haunted me as a child. I was not good at remembering authors at the time. And it took me years to find that story again.😢
@snarksss
@snarksss Жыл бұрын
Really liked it!
@LonelyDistance
@LonelyDistance Жыл бұрын
KZfaq really came through for me with this recommendation. Cheers!
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
Thank you for taking the time to watch it!
@bluesmandingo
@bluesmandingo Жыл бұрын
There are some stories that come to mind on the Internet Archive, The White People, The House on the Rock (???), and the was a sprawling story that took place in a fairyland where it turns out the protagonist is dead. 🤷 I listen to a lot of books as i fall asleep soo it gets foggy.
@TheEldritchArchives
@TheEldritchArchives Жыл бұрын
Great analysis! You did a great job of breaking down the elements of weird fiction! I agree that the supernatural is the central aspect of weird fiction. The supernatural provides that sense that there are forces at work who's motives and actions we cannot understand or comprehend, which is a very unsettling idea to think about.
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
Thank you! Exactly, and it's for that reason that weird fiction is my second favorite subgenre behind cosmic horror. It's just so uniquely bizarre.
@rayswoop4947
@rayswoop4947 Жыл бұрын
Well said you guys 😊😊
@peaceturtleinfinity
@peaceturtleinfinity Жыл бұрын
Good video. I’ve been building a “fantasy world” for nearly a decade. When breaking down my own work I’ve come to think of it as a sword & sorcery high fantasy pulp weird fiction hybrid lol. Look forward to more videos.
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
It's always fun to sit and write something that you think belongs to a specific genre, only to realise that what you're writing is actually an obscure sub-genre from the Victorian era.
@vulpes_callidus
@vulpes_callidus 11 ай бұрын
Love the video. Love the "yawk-shuh" accent.
@Filippo5
@Filippo5 Жыл бұрын
Quite instructive
@zanemarion7211
@zanemarion7211 2 ай бұрын
I strongly believe I write weird fiction. I mix genres and often times the stories are very twisted. They don't align with the typical horror you see today but yet they do in ways. I explore the dark side of humanity a lot and also the what if this or that. I blend this in with reality at the same time.
@cayreet5992
@cayreet5992 8 ай бұрын
Very interesting video. Just a little nitpick: the Romantic movement in literature (and art in general) has been around since the late 18th century and started out in Germany. German Romantic stories were then translated into English and sold both in the UK and the US. EDIT: after the translated stories had found their way to the UK and the US, writers there naturally also began to write Romantic literature.
@securityscorpion8687
@securityscorpion8687 Жыл бұрын
Excellent job Mr Blackwood. Btw: please consider reading "Noir" by Olivier Pauvert. I discovered it by accident. I love Thomas Ligotti/Franz Kafka/China Mieville/JL Borges...& Pauvert's book really knocked me the fxck out! Sir, would you please consider reviewing it sometime? I think you'll love it. Peace.
@roxanavasilakis9435
@roxanavasilakis9435 10 ай бұрын
Thank you so much, learner 🌳
@Nyctonaut
@Nyctonaut Жыл бұрын
You're back! I'm very excited for this one! So here's a comment for the Algorithmic overlords.👻-SLD
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
Thank you, brother! 🖤
@Nyctonaut
@Nyctonaut Жыл бұрын
@@DanielJBlackwood No problem my friend! So far I'm digging your new video. Great work!
@evanfont913
@evanfont913 5 ай бұрын
Edgar Alan Puh
@joebees21
@joebees21 8 ай бұрын
Please do more videos
@wolffesaurusrex
@wolffesaurusrex Жыл бұрын
I'm very bothered by the fact that you have such a low sub count in contrast to your production quality
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood Жыл бұрын
Thank you for the kind words!
@DeeMolition
@DeeMolition Жыл бұрын
Really good description, but I disagree in your statement that every Weird Fiction piece contains the supernatural. I guess it depends on what you consider "supernatural." I do not consider Cthulhu and his pals to be supernatural, any more than Mr. Spock on Star Trek. They are to me aliens, so even as HPL may throw in elements of folk horror such as the mention of pagan holidays such as Halloween and Roodmas, it seems to me that his frightening denizens of deep space and deep history have more to do with science fiction than with said folk horror. I would also maintain that Ligotti does not always or even frequently have absolute supernatural concepts in his fiction. Ideas, anyone?
@DanielJBlackwood
@DanielJBlackwood 9 ай бұрын
Sorry, I've only just seen this comment. The word supernatural is defined as; attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature. I'd consider Cthulhu, Azathoth, Nyarlathotep etc as supernatural, as they *do* exist beyond the laws of nature. In the case of Ligotti, he is not just a weird fiction writer. The stories he has written that belong to the genre do contain the supernatural.
@ChurchofCthulhu
@ChurchofCthulhu 4 ай бұрын
Cthulhu fhtagn!
@morriswheeler87
@morriswheeler87 Жыл бұрын
🏃 Promo'SM!!!
Gothic Horror Explained | Horror Explored
12:19
Daniel J. Blackwood
Рет қаралды 59 М.
Useful gadget for styling hair 🤩💖 #gadgets #hairstyle
00:20
FLIP FLOP Hacks
Рет қаралды 9 МЛН
Sigma Kid Hair #funny #sigma #comedy
00:33
CRAZY GREAPA
Рет қаралды 37 МЛН
My Favourite Weird Fiction Writers
22:18
Jason White
Рет қаралды 8 М.
CONTROL - Exploring the New Weird
1:13:22
Eric Crosby
Рет қаралды 19 М.
Past Betrayal’s: Echoes of the Banshee
4:13
Coffee House Whispers
Рет қаралды 7
When the West Gets Weird
29:17
The Dungeon Dive
Рет қаралды 3,8 М.
the scariest genre of horror
9:02
4 Plus
Рет қаралды 2,5 МЛН
8 gothic horror book recommendations to rule them all
15:20
Dakota Warren
Рет қаралды 55 М.
The Disturbing Effect of Child Neglect
18:28
YourEverydayTheorist
Рет қаралды 5 МЛН
Cosmic Horror Explained | Horror Explored
9:40
Daniel J. Blackwood
Рет қаралды 96 М.
Weird Fiction, Lovecraft, Ligotti, and Magic with Aaron French
1:16:29
Hermitix Podcast
Рет қаралды 2,9 М.
Concepts of Horror in Fiction ( Writing Tips )
4:48
Weird Quests
Рет қаралды 123 М.
Matt Kills Dexter's Deer | Dexter: New Blood S1E1 | #Shorts
0:51
Clashed PR
Рет қаралды 12 МЛН
Бабайка #юмор #рекомендации #прикол
0:32
МэдПринц 👑
Рет қаралды 1,9 МЛН
Why Is He Unhappy…?
0:26
Alan Chikin Chow
Рет қаралды 29 МЛН