The Curse of Yig
Encyclopedia
"The Curse of Yig" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft
and Zealia Bishop
in which Yig
, "The Father of Serpents", is first introduced.
magazine. It was published first in the November 1929 issue (volume 14, number 5) on pages 625-36.
It was the first of three tales Lovecraft wrote for Bishop, the others being "The Mound
" and "Medusa's Coil
".
The husband and wife go through rituals to keep Yig away, but in the end it fails and in fear the woman kills her own husband in the dark, thinking he is Yig. She is taken to an asylum, and dies there... But not before giving birth to a half-snake creature.
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
and Zealia Bishop
Zealia Bishop
Zealia Brown-Reed Bishop was an American writer of short stories.Her stories appeared in the magazine Weird Tales. However, they were extensively revised by H. P...
in which Yig
Yig
Yig is a deity in H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. He appears as a serpent man, serpent with bat-like wings, or as a giant snake....
, "The Father of Serpents", is first introduced.
Background
Bishop supplied the story idea and some notes, paying Lovecraft to flesh it out in 1928. It could be said the tale was "ghost-written"; however, others class it as a "collaboration". Bishop then sold the story under her own name to Weird TalesWeird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
magazine. It was published first in the November 1929 issue (volume 14, number 5) on pages 625-36.
It was the first of three tales Lovecraft wrote for Bishop, the others being "The Mound
The Mound (short story)
"The Mound" is a novella H. P. Lovecraft wrote as a ghostwriter from December 1929 to January 1930 after he was hired by Zealia Bishop to create a story based on the following plot synopsis:...
" and "Medusa's Coil
Medusa's Coil
"Medusa's Coil" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop. It was first published in Weird Tales magazine in January 1939, two years after Lovecraft's death....
".
Synopsis
Based in Oklahoma around 1880, a newly arrived couple learn about the local legends surrounding a "Snake God", Yig, who takes vengeance on anyone who kills a serpent by killing them or turning them into a half-snake monster. The husband has a snake phobia which isn't helped by the wife disturbing a nest of rattlesnakes.The husband and wife go through rituals to keep Yig away, but in the end it fails and in fear the woman kills her own husband in the dark, thinking he is Yig. She is taken to an asylum, and dies there... But not before giving birth to a half-snake creature.
Republication
The story has appeared in a number of horror anthologies, including:- A Treasury of American Horror Stories, ed. Frank D. McSherry, Jr., Charles G. Waugh & Martin H. Greenberg, Bonanza/Crown BooksCrown BooksCrown Books Corporation was a bookseller headquartered in Lake Arbor, an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, near Largo and Upper Marlboro. It was founded in the Washington, D.C., metro area by Robert Haft in 1977...
1985, ISBN 0-517-48075-1
- Tales of the Dark #3, ed. Lincoln ChildLincoln ChildLincoln Child is an author of seventeen techno-thriller and horror novels. He often writes with Douglas Preston. Many of their novels have become bestsellers, and one, Relic, was adapted into a feature film...
, St. Martin's PressSt. Martin's PressSt. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
1988
- The Horror in the Museum and Other Revisions, H. P. Lovecraft, Arkham HouseArkham HouseArkham House is a publishing house specializing in weird fiction founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to preserve in hardcover the best fiction of H.P. Lovecraft. The company's name is derived from Lovecraft's fictional New England city, Arkham. Arkham House...
1989