"The Gorgon" / A Weird Tale of Medusa by Clark Ashton Smith
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ส.ค. 2024
- "The Gorgon" is a short story by Clark Ashton Smith. The tale, which first appeared in Weird Tales back in April 1932, was described as follows: “A thrill-tale of the snaky-locked Medusa and a fantastic adventure in modern London.”
00:00 - Introduction
01:04 - The Gorgon
31:27 - Further Listening
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This recording is dedicated to our Cthulhu and Yellow Level HorrorBabblers:
'General' Dipper, [redacted], Amir Lampkins, Andrew, Ashley Lindsay, Bernard Mulligan, Brandon, Camerin Seigars, Chris Epplett, DCB, Galen Hoffman, Greyson, Jacob Louwerse, Jessica Mari, Kickweed, L. Harris, Madison Scythe, Owen Abe, Richard WB Feigen, Wes Sale, Zontar Zee
AND
Adam Beckner, Adriana Alexander, al doty, Alicia, Andrew, Andrew Moffat, Ann Bassano, Aromatic Sponge, Art Wagner, Austen Jones, Brian Hendricks, Christian N. Collier, Corey Chimko, Discriminating Patron, Drew Koller, Esmonde, Flying Shoes, Gordon Cooper, James Dunne, James E. Thomas, John Michael, Kathleen Adamson, Larna Dennis, Laura, Laura Scarlett, Mark R Patterson, Matt Finan, Mike Chaney, Philip R Aden, Philippe Lavoie, Rachel, Robert Daniel Pickard, Ryan, Sandy Hale, Shanna Syn, SolaceInChains, Tanya Enright, Thomas Scott, Uriah Light, William Butterfield
Narrated by Ian Gordon for HorrorBabble
Music and production by Ian Gordon & Jennifer Gill
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_Meanwhile, his neighbour frantically plays the violin all night_
Can’t beat a bit of a fiddle in the wee hours.
Hell yes
And a little ways down the street, a young mathematics student is struggling with non elucide equations.
As beautiful as the language of this story is (as is typical of C.A. Smith's stories), Mr. Gordon's rendition of the laughter from the old man was delightful in a way that, for me, surpassed what I would have gotten from reading the text.
The cackling laughter of the mysterious guide brings to mind the sound of nails being grated across chalkboards it discordantly vibrates across the back of the mind
Like they say - "Mess with the gorgon and ya gonna get stoned."
Everybody must get stoned. . . Bob Dylan 🌷 🧆
Brilliant narration of a forgotten masterwork. The journey to the mansion of the Gorgon reminds of He by H.P. Lovecraft. Both tales feature Journeys through lost and forgotten alleys ,not necessarily of our time and place, with an ancient necromancer as the guide. 💀
Imagine that all those sculpters of men that the romans made were actually victim's of medusa...
Yay, more Klarkash-Ton
Thank you Clark Ashton Smith and Ian Gordon for teaching me the word "veridical". Your narration is so good I was able to spell it correctly having never heard it before.
When is it said
@@teyanuputorti7927 with reference to truthfulness or the abstract concept of veracity, e.g. "what is Truth?" "verily verily I say unto thee" & "in vino veritas". All these appeal conceptually to "the veridical". It almost has the ring of a Platonic ideal.
Thank you is it from this story though
@@teyanuputorti7927 Yes! 🤠
Too bad for everyone who now enters that house. I imagine the floors will eventually collapse from the weight
The pleasure of hearing a CAS tale read that I do not recall having heard before is a high, supernal and refined pleasure.
That pleasure you have brought me. Were it in my power, I would recompense you with ivory, apes and peacocks borne on quinqueremes of fabled Ophir.
Was it on a vernal day though? I repeat was it on a vernal day?
Stoned again! Your Wierd Tales readings are invariably a pleasure. Thank you as always!
Clark Ashton Smith is my favorite weird tales authors. Glad to hear this one!
Clark Ashton Smith doesn't try too hard to mimic Poe's and Lovecraft's at times cartoonish obtuse sesquipedalianism in this tale. Instead, he focuses on telling an interesting story and this work is better for it. Great reading as always!
Sesquiped what..?!?
I was under the impression that the head of the Gorgon was part of Christopher Lee's property.
These "Don't Talk To Strangers" ads from the 1930s are in a league of their own.
😂😂
Very true
Always appreciative of the delectable tales! The channel is an auditory addiction. 🖤
11:43 That laughter is just perfect, this is why I like audiobooks.
Excellent story and narration as always thanks Ian!😎👍
Thanks Ian - more CAS please sir
Listening to this on a graveyard shift at an empty warehouse - here til 1am - hello to everybody listening live right now - stay scared, and keep watching the skies
That evil little laugh was a very nice, realistic touch of characterization. Cheers!
It's a beutiful day for horror. Thanks so much for all you do to bring us these wonderful stories.
Wonderful tale masterfully told
Kids, never go off with a stranger offering to get you stoned. Particularly if he says that a mirror will be involved. 👃
I was just making an adventure for D&D dealing with gorgons 🤔 I guess I'll have to listen to this first
D&D gorgons are really different.. besically they are giant steel bulls with petrifying gas breath. More closely based on African legends than Greek Medusa..
Do you play online I want to play Ravencroft
@@rjh1909 i 0lay on discord with my friends though sadly not this campaign ATM, (one played in the Grim Hollow setting) but if you find a group and have the module maybe I could help??
@@nitayrafowicz5934 iam new to the game
@@rjh1909 feel free to ask me whatever you want about the game.. heck even run you one..
As an artist, for a long time I have wanted to draw or paint Medusa. And if I could sculpt like her, only with hands, that would be great!
Yet another lovely story by Clark Ashton Smith, and excellent reading (laughter especially) by Ian Gordon.
Snakes alive! I can dig me some Klarkash-Ton! Cheers Warren, who digs many things!
Ian Gorgon.
Your detective work has blown this case wide open!
Bravo!!!! Thank you very much!!!
Clark Ashton Smith was a true poet.
“…I tell you, you can’t imagine what the thing is really like! But I promise to keep you informed over the telephone of every move - you see I’ve enough wire here to reach to the centre of the earth and back!”
Keep up the good work fella and stay safe.
Alas, cellular coverage in the Underworld sucks! Cheers Warren, who found that many things...suck, in the Underworld!
@@awarningtothecuriouswerewolves you do realise it’s a hardwired telephone? No need for your cellular wizardry sir.
@@AcornElectron -- Ah, but NYARLATHOTEP provides my cellular service! Cheers Warren, who is no longer hard-wired!
@@awarningtothecuriouswerewolves You Fool! YIG Broadband has a more stable connection with 99.9999% coverage of ALL dimensions.
@@AcornElectron -- But fails to reach Beyond the Walls of Sleep! Cheers Warren, who is beyond sleep!
Thank you very much!
Thank you , that was a great performance.
My own barnet looked like that medusa after this last lockdown.... 🤔
A wonderful old tale, beautifully written and told! I loved the language and how evocative it was, painting entire scenes as I listened. This tale, like others from this same genre and time, ends very abruptly, leaving one feel as if it is not quite finished. Since so many stories of this type and time end this same way, I have to assume it was the style of writing of that time, or perhaps of the writer himself. The ending leaves you wondering what became of the young man who made such a narrow escape. Having fought and won free, one would think that he returned to the fullness of life, even though he was grieving a lost lover. One would think that there would be more to the tale, what the young man did, what he thought of things, since he obviously lived well beyond the happenings told in the story. I, for one, would have wondered about the identity of the old man who had the head of Medusa. Had he been a contemporary of Perseus? Was he a wizard of some sort? It seems likely since he was able to do the things in the story, like appear out of nowhere, be seen by only his chosen victim, transport them to some unknown area, etc. And what was his motive in giving living victims to be turned to stone by the Medusa head? Was it merely malice, or did he get something else out of it? Did he, perhaps, somehow drain the life forces of the victims, allowing him to live for so long? the old man seemed rather desperate when the young man he had chosen as a victim first realized his danger and tried to leave. After all, the old man ran no risk. Suppose he victim escaped? so what? Even if his crazy story was believed by police, he could never lead authorities to the old man's house. Why get into a knock down, drag out fight that you might not win? Just let the young man go, and choose another victim, it would have been far easier. Again, it makes me wonder if the old man was desperate for some reason, and needed this specific victim, and needed him right now. Which leads you to wonder if he was not getting something out of the murders he committed, other than just vicious satisfaction. And I would have thought that the young man would have had some follow up thoughts about what would happen now, with the Medusa head in some deserted house, somewhere, without an owner? Or was the house in some strange, other dimension, apart from the normal world, as was suggested when the young man made good his escape to the streets of London? But I suppose that is more the feeling of the modern reader who expects a more elaborate ending that tend to tie up loose ends and gives an idea of what happened afterward. But this was a marvelous story and wonderfully told, very riveting.
Dope illustration of Medusa.
Fantastic reading!
Neat story. Great job!
Great stuff.
Excited for this one!
As always, amazing work!
Another great rendition of a enthralling story. I subscribed today; not because of the wonderful stories but because of the delivery by the narrator. 👏
Welcome aboard!
This was an excellent story today. That Gorgon is fairly scary looking and carries an awful curse. Have a marvelous Tuesday and Thank you for a job well done💓
CAS is just spectacular
Absolutely Superb! I've always loved the stories of Medusa.
I felt sorry for her in ways. Very inspiring. I can see me doing art about her one day.
Amazing!
So good!
i love me the smell of clark ashton smith in the morning 🕶 ☠
"Yeah, old man. She's beautiful and all, but..."
"But? BUT!? Seriously, kids these days..."
Great story by the GREAT CAS . Not sure anything else is necessary
really great story, Ian!!! thanks :) 🌷
I’m having a hell of a bad night, but a little klarkash-ton read in a soothing cadence should help. Thanks, HB.
I hope it worked out for you, Ryan!
I was reluctant to peruse this because i had the misfortune of viewing yhe Hammer Horror adaptation of this tale.
Ian does this worthy justice! Thank you for rekindling my interest in CA Smith
Great ! 💀🎱💀
400th like, woohoo! That means ive enjoyed yet another horrorbabble story! 😍
Just checking to make sure Warren is still dead. Did the Gorgon get him this time?
🌺 aloha I waited to savor this post, you did not disappoint.
Warren status check complete.
Once again, I'm sorry to hear about Warren...
If I could be so presumptuous as to make a request here: I'd love to hear a reading of the Lovecraft collaboration "Medusa's Coil". Thanks for another great reading!
We may indeed record that one eventually.
Wow ,great climax , free head
it's nice to see Charon getting some love for a change, he tends to take a backseat to Ancient Greece's more debauched characters.
I found myself fighting to keep my own eyes closed during this lol
Medusa gets all the attention,her sisters Stheeno and Eurale must be getting jealous after all the years of indifference
listening from the uk wales 2021❤️
The gorgon scared the crap outta me when I was a kid!🤦♂️
So you've seen it too! Tell the story...
@@medicalmisinformation it was in a movie....Jason and the argonauts? Or one of those films! Medusa terrified me for some reason. I think it was the snakes!🤪
@@mikemhoon Yes! That was claymation or stop frame animation...something like that. And she was NOT beautiful in that one! Scared me too. 😳
@@mikemhoon ...& to think she has two sisters!!!
👍
Machen would be proud
Poor Warren
Better send Warren to investigate the disappearances.
Any relationship between Medusa and King Midas would have been doomed from the outset.
Mmm, I dunno. I'd ship it
These are so good…..how many of these stories are left for you to do?
Thanks! By Smith, you mean?
@@HorrorBabble no in general
LOTS!
Just so you all know Warren is buried in my backyard 🤷
Warren be hangin’ wid’ Elvis.
You are on spotify as well?
We are indeed! Just search for The HorrorBabble Podcast.
You know. There are easier ways of getting stoned...
Oops! Gotta go. The Ghouls were pekish, and have discovered Warrens body! Shoo! Shoo!
Now I have to redo his make up for the viewing later. So much for tea...
I always wonder who is Warren ?
th-cam.com/video/LLW3TO927TA/w-d-xo.html
The Statement of Randolph Carter just been re-recorded by HorrorBabble...not that there was anything wrong with the first one :) Randolph Carter is in the Silver Key stories which vary wildly...I'd check out Statement and leave them for later.
Thank you ^o^
@@KimchiYeo I'd go The Abominations of Yondo and The Hound, too. Nice short ones. Clark Ashton-Smith is Lovecraft if he could write better but less deep ideas.
Who would downvote you?
Goes with the territory, Stef!
@@HorrorBabble Well you in no way deserve it. Thank you for what you do, you've helped me so many nights with insomnia💘
Medusa.
I want to make a joke but it would be unbecoming and lower the tone.
Ha, and you call that scary, lol.
Yawn