The Shadow, the Darkness by Thomas Ligotti

[@weirdfictionfan6664]

Awesome reading! It's so interesting how the Tsalal is such a powerful recurring element in Ligotti's weird tales of woe! It makes his works feel much more interconnected.

[@alphonseelric5722]

Tsalal is his best short story tbh. And I think he realizes that.

[@BertramShord]

@@alphonseelric5722 Masquerade of a Dead Sword in combo with Spectacles ... leans in a similar direction dont you think? Anima Mundi - Tsalal?

[@alphonseelric5722]

@@BertramShord Tsalal I think is Ligotti's metaphor for metamorphosis. Anima Mundi seems closer to the demiurge. I can see how he might have developed from there though, but Ligotti's first 2 collections are less personal.

[@BertramShord]

​@@alphonseelric5722 Good thought on that. Doesn't feel appropriate to just say: Yes you're right, or no, thats wrong. But you wouldn't expect that , i guess. So certainly no offense meant in that. Identifying the two with those concepts - metamorphosis and the demiurge - still leaves room for the question of how the two would/could/should be understood or put in relation to each other. Honest gratitude for the input. Fine thing, that such a hasty comment as mine (no excuse, no stepping back from what i said. No half-assery intended), has lead to a interesting little exchange. Especially with Ligotti's topics, i sometimes fear that the "i want to be a edgy nihilist- crowed" is lurking somewhere in the comment section. His work is fascinating and certainly far more than just horror-entertainment, "verbose nonsense" (as someone called it) or a crutch for edgy kids, looking for a new identity. But i'm side tracking. Basically: Thanksy, you eased my heart!

[@alphonseelric5722]

@@BertramShord Appreciate it. To throw a relatively outrageous theory out there, I don't think Ligotti classifies Tsalal as evil in any way. You have read Spectacle (and likely other Ligotti books too), you would have noticed that Ligotti is not exactly a fan of this "degenerating" existence; we see it in spectacles when the glasses seem to reveal the hidden divine universe lurking beneath the material. It is weird and everchanging which is what, I believe, Ligotti prefers. Tsalal is an agent for exactly that.

[@Infamous41]

Thomas ligotti message should be a warning to all of us

[@janthony721]

the thing that attracted me to this story was, for reasons that I can neither explain nor defend, is how many times he said "GrossVogel".

[@tombingus3984]

Idk if this explains it, but in German it means "Big bird."

[@onlynormalperson]

It's because you are a successful organism, using your sense organs as determined by the shadow, the darkness.

[@PolaHarlow]

One of the best Ligottis stories!!!

[@michaelgarcia6400]

Listening to this during a pandemic upped the horror considerably

[@davidvalenciavillamizar9199]

What is being spread as an infectious disease (not only an abdominal pain) is the unreality, the pervasive shadow, the darkness...

[@grimscribe6454]

I like the idea, too, that the Tsalal itself is an idea. Behind that is something truly unimaginable. What I like about ligotti is there doesn’t seem to be some ultimate evil or driving force. The universe is just chaos and whatever seems to be in charge is actually just as confused as it’s victims.

[@vosteove]

One of my favorite thing about this story is that, with Ligotti’s worldview in mind, it technically has a happy ending

[@NakM290]

Great reading. Thank you for taking the time to do these.

[@DerangedchildofGod]

I sure hope you do more of these, bud. Big Ligotti fan here. These are great to fall asleep to at night.

[@mikemashburn155]

Really enjoyed this, great presentation style.

[@hibbardrt]

Impressive reading style. Really enjoyed this.

[@reubenlloyd9178]

Thank you for this reading. Please keep it up.

[@bellezavudd]

Grimscribe and T. Ligotti have me listening to things I would not listen to. 🤤😲

[@shoresofpatmos]

Lots of Schopenhauer in here. The shadow the darkness being the Will that drives everything forward without exception. And the experience of the narrator isn’t at all unknown to man. Some have experienced that loss of self and total annihilation of subject-object distinction. Living as an organism in its purest form, free from all that made it „human“ what ever that is supposed to mean.

[@mikebott6940]

Would you say that what happens to the narrator is ego death ?

[@randomotaku5500]

@@mikebott6940isn’t that the theory of god dying in the Old Testament?

[@mikebott6940]

@@randomotaku5500 Not at all. What it is is the experience of the loss of subjective personality, or at least knowing explicitly that that personality belongs to a transient being.

[@randomotaku5500]

@@mikebott6940 Seems pretty interesting! Mind to pointing me to some literature on it?

[@henryburby6077]

This is legitimately funny. Manny chuckles, some belly laughs. I feel like ligotti is a better writer than i previously assumed. He's FUNNY!

[@davidvalenciavillamizar9199]

Wow! Many thanks! Definitely one of the most ominous and insighful stomachaches ever

[@grimscribe6454]

Yeah, I actually had a stomachache towards the end of this when that part happened...i think it helped me get into character

[@ba_charles]

"A metaphysical swindle, Morty."

[@josephwagner2961]

It’s a pessimistic view of Ramana Maharshi’s teachings. Amazing.

[@jpinternalmartialarts3266]

This is kind of like if Zen and Carl Jung had a baby.

[@michaelgarcia6400]

Grossvogel Big Bird in German

[@tietjen666]

Well done! Keep working, please!

[@csj9619]

I very much enjoy your readings of Ligotti stories. "The Medusa" is a good one that I've not heard on YT yet. If you're so inclined, perhaps you could do a reading of it. In exchange, I will share great secrets of the universe with you.

[@grimscribe6454]

Actually in the process of recording it, so I guess you'll have to get those secrets ready.

[@fenjohrer]

pain is a black hole.

[@gametheorymedia]

Since it doesn't appear to have been done anywhere on here, yet (and you seem particularly well-suited for this!) have you ever considered doing a full read of 'The Conspiracy Against the Human Race'? :) Just a thought--

[@grimscribe6454]

Thanks a bunch. Conspiracy is quite a project but I've been wanting to tackle it for a while. One of these days

[@Wombats555]

@@grimscribe6454 I'm keen to hear you read it, too, but I'd be happy with more short ones :) I fall asleep at about half and hour! You have a great voice!

[@dethkon]

@@grimscribe6454I’m glad you did btw. You did a fantastic job.

[@a_strange_loop]

Are you going to narrate Severini and The Bungalow House? I'd love to have the full damaged and diseased collection.

[@grimscribe6454]

I used to be worried about treading water already navigated so well by John Padgett but....what the hell. Those might be next.

[@lancelot2900]

thank you so much!!

[@amritendughosal8924]

I find shades of U. G. Krishnamurti in this story. Ligotti has written about him in The Conspiracy against the Human Race.

[@Svankmajer]

Thanks. That was great.

[@randomotaku5500]

This makes me want to read the metaphysical unpublished treatise of the conspiracy of the human race never to be read

[@gda295]

he is wrong .......be pessimistic by all means but where is the evil?

[@falgalhutkinsmarzcal3962]

Hypochondriac anti-natalism and existential dread...but with an undercurrent of satire. Is Ligotti parodying himself here or is this story supposed to be read seriously? It seems like satire of his recurrent Emo theme. Wristcutters, unite!

[@grimscribe6454]

Well, it's like my brother said when we were talking about this, Ligotti is contradicting himself because he hasnt done any of the things he's advocated in this story, nor has he explained himself. In true detective Rust says "I tell myself I bear witness, and I lack the constitution for suicide." At least he acknowledges it.

[@falgalhutkinsmarzcal3962]

@@grimscribe6454 his work always seems to me to be Hamlet's indecision syndrome. "To be or not to be..." I also think he is grinding on the edge of suicide for shock value and sustaining a zombie state of ambivalence (like his hometown of Detroit). He has an inclination to lead himself to Plutonian waters to drink, but is a stubborn horse and, so, doesn't drink, but he does beat himself near to death over and over again in prose without fully committing. I thought maybe that he was acknowledging the absurdity of his position while taking a smoke break at the summit of a Sisyphean hill. He seems as mixed up as my metaphors. But I guess that is life.

[@awnaur0no919]

imo u endow ligotti wit entirely 2 much intellectual/philosophical intent tbh, he dont write tryna persuasively n logically convince ppl of da pointlessness & horror of xistence, he writes bc, when his anhedonia broken by hypomanic episodes, he feel compelled 2 create artistic confessions of his darkest n mos personal thoughts & fears n shit. peeps steadily comparing him to lovecraft, & altho they share analogous pessimistic sentiment & fascination wit da weird, ligotti far FAR more similar in both aesthetic worldview n irl character to legit disturbedass mentally ill dudes like poe or kafka

[@awnaur0no919]

& if u disagree, u musta while reading TCATHR missed tha million times he deadass straightup describes how it almost always futile 2 attempt actively n consciously "converting" ppl to pessimism

[@guitarboogieboogie]

Verbose nonsense.

[@bozomatt]

My favourite kind!

[@SyggNielsen-jg3hf]

It'll be your turn soon enough, and better written than the Old Testament.