Public reader discussion about The Willows by Algernon Blackwood.
By window_verse
I just wanna say I love this! Also, quick heads-up for anyone who doesn’t know—Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities is on Netflix now, and it’s got two H.P. Lovecraft stories as episodes: “Pickman’s Model” (with Crispin Glover as Pickman!) and “Dreams in the Witch House.” Really great series, honestly.
By ivycreek
I’ve seen some debate about what the “first” cosmic horror story even is. Did Lovecraft invent the whole subgenre, or were there earlier examples? People often point to “The Willows” as the beginning, and Lovecraft himself apparently really liked it—so I get why it comes up. Cosmic horror, to me, is basically the fear of stuff we can’t really understand: humans feeling tiny, getting involved with things they absolutely shouldn’t, ancient alien-type forces or cosmic entities, and then the whole slide into madness if you get too close. And yeah, “The Willows” definitely has a lot of that. There are weird beings, there’s this sense of humans poking into places they should leave alone, and the scale feels wrong for humans. Madness is there too. But I don’t think it fully counts as true cosmic horror. The weird part is that the outside threat is kind of blurry. In Lovecraft’s stuff, even if you don’t fully comprehend everything, there’s at least a clearer sense of what the beings are. With “The Willows,” it feels more vague than what you get later. Also, the madness doesn’t really seem to stick the way it usually does in cosmic horror. It’s more like a reaction in the moment, not this lasting, world-shattering mental break. The characters don’t come off like they’re permanently broken by the experience, or like their whole understanding of reality collapses. So I’d call “The Willows” more of a forerunner than the real thing—like all the key ingredients are there, but they’re not developed as fully, and maybe only Lovecraft really hammered the concept into shape.
By LilacMarket
I’m really into books that feel kind of calm and cozy, especially ones with talking animals. Like The Moomins, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Watership Down (at least some parts), and Wind in the Willows—no idea why, but those are usually my favorites. Most of these kinds of stories seem aimed at kids, though. Does anyone know if there are similar books for adults? I mean not in a “graphic/sex/violence” way—just more mature overall. And since Animal Farm is one of my all-time favorites, I’d also love suggestions where talking animals are used for darker, more tragic themes. Also, The Last Unicorn is already on my to-read list.
By HawkBirch2001
He wrote a ton of supernatural short stories, and from what I can tell almost all of it’s in the public domain, so it should be easy to find. If you’re going to check anything out, I’d start with “The Glamour of the Snow,” “The Man Who Found Out,” and “The Willows.” Lovecraft apparently called “The Willows” the best weird tale ever, which is a pretty big deal.