Ligotti & Illnesses

[unknown]

(another one of my astute observations :wink: )

I've noticed Ligotti has a thing with illnesses...not mental illness (well, yeah that too), but physical illness. I found this most notably in the Teatro Grottesco stories of TNF. Teatro Grottesco and Gas Station Carnivals (I believe) involve intestinal illnesses. I'm sure there are other stories that involve illness.

Your thoughts/opinions/comments on this? Discuss

[Aetherwing]

I am like you...I am sure there are some, but they elude me at the moment.
Have you have you have you read Matt Cardin's GOD OF FOULNESS? If not, do so without pause.

Then, when through, go bathe and get a check-up. Then bathe again, while inspecting yourself for the Stigmata of the Maker.

Saved through Pox & Plague,
-Aether

PS- Lovecraft died of intestinal cancer.....

[barrywood]

A story I read by Ligotti about the main character giving out treats to kids on Halloween night is about a man who slowly goes insane. At least that is that I think the story is about. It's haunting and clearly indicates insanity of a mailman. I can't remember the name of the story, but tonight I'm tired and I'll blame it on being middle-aged. Someone else might know the name of the story I've referring to.

[unknown]

I am like you...I am sure there are some, but they elude me at the moment.
Have you have you have you read Matt Cardin's GOD OF FOULNESS? If not, do so without pause.

Then, when through, go bathe and get a check-up. Then bathe again, while inspecting yourself for the Stigmata of the Maker.

Saved through Pox & Plague,
-Aether

PS- Lovecraft died of intestinal cancer.....

Yes, I did read it and weeped over it's beauty numerous times and at the thought that I will never be able to reproduce anything nearly as cogent or intelligent as that.

[matt cardin]

I'm glad you enjoyed my novella, Michael (and Jimmy).

Barry -- The Ligotti story you're describing is, I believe, "Conversations in a Dead Language." (My hesitancy is due to the fact that it's been five or six years since I read that one.)

As for Ligotti stories that involve illness, the following come to mind:

"The Troubles of Dr. Thoss" (mental/spiritual illness)
"Dr. Locrian's Asylum" (mental/spiritual)
"Vastarien" (mental/spiritual)
"The Cocoons" (combined mental/spiritual/physical)
"Mrs. Rinaldi's Angel" (mental/spiritual)
"His Shadow Shall Rise to a Higher House" (spiritual/physical)
"The Shadow, The Darkness" (spiritual/physical)

And then, of course, DEATH POEMS deals with physical illness and decay throughout.

When Tom first read my THE GOD OF FOULNESS a couple of years ago, he wrote back to me to express his appreciation at the way I had directly identified something he has often thought and intuited. He referred specifically to the passage where the character Mitch claims that "a healthy body is like a dirty pair of eyeglasses," since it prevents you from seeing the truth. Tom said that he has often gone through a cycle where he will feel pretty good for awhile, physically and mentally speaking, and will then tip over and descend into the depths once again, at which point he feels like he is coming to his senses and regaining a more accurate awareness of the way things really are.

I think this base level attitude -- that it is only from the vantage point of what are commonly called illness and derangement that any of us actually confronts and perceives reality as it really is (at least as far as this is possible for us) -- permeates Tom's oeuvre throughout.

[unknown]

yeah...he kind of hinted at that in Teatro Grottesco when the protagonist falls ill and he goes on to explain that when ill, you are able to see things more clearly and such

[matt cardin]

Thanks for pointing me to that story, Michael. As with "Conversations in a Dead Language," it's been awhile since I read "Teatro Grottesco." I knew there was a exact or near-exact quote in one of Tom's stories that expressed the idea I was getting at, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

[unknown]

I read it yesterday...hence the freshness in my mind