T.E.D. Klein

[Stu]

Klein was in The Real Ghostbusters? I would've loved to have seen that episode. :lol:

Matt -- Katy and I bumped into Gene at this year's WHC . Lovely bloke. He emailed Katy afterwards via the HWA boards but unfortunately she's had problems responding. If you get a chance could you let him know thta we're not ignoring him, we just haven't been able to reply. Oh, and that Gary Greenwood and all the rest of the WHC Brit pack say hello. Cheers.

[matt cardin]

Stu -- I'll be sure to pass along your message to Gene. Like you, I first met him at a WHC. The first one I attended, back in 2001, was the last one at which the HWA held their Stoker Awards banquet, and I ended up sharing a dinner table with Gene and his wife Kay. We also hooked up at the following two WHCs and have conducted an intermittent correspondence ever since. I hope you and your wife do end up establishing email contact with him.

Dr. B -- Many, many thanks for the update on the Klein and Ligotti volumes. The news is most encouraging, although I shall continue, on principle, to doubt the tone of imminency in Subterranean's response to your query. My seven or so years of experience with small horror presses, while admittedly scant compared to the length of time that many others have been involved with them, have led me to the conclusion that whenever a publisher hints at the imminent release of some new project, one should prepare for a very lengthy wait indeed.

[eldritch00]

Great thread, folks! I've had Klein on my mind lately, as The Ceremonies was the second-to-last novel I read.

It was my first time to do so, and I've found it such a great read that I want to read it again someday in the hopes of "annotating" it in some odd way, perhaps starting with Jeremy's reading list (and sometimes funny but always insightful comments on them) but also dealing with all the various references Klein makes to weird fiction writers of the past.

(I've also wanted to do something similar to the film theory portions of Theodore Roszak's Flicker.)

I've read very very few of Klein's already-scant output. In order, they were "Growing Things" (which I rather liked), "Black Man with a Horn," and The Ceremonies. I'm dying for a copy of Dark Gods (I read "Black Man..." in New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos).

Anyway, thanks for posting about Klein, especially Joshi's comments on him, which I was interested in. I was surprised to learn that Klein viewed religion in that way as the odd Christian denomination presented in The Ceremonies struck me as quite a well-formed characterization.

Yes, they were odd and even irritating a few times, but there was an attraction I found to how their lifestyles were depicted. I guess this is an indication that despite a certain attitude to religion, Klein's a good enough writer that his depictions do not turn into cardboard caricatures set up for mockery. I personally am sick and tired of cheap shots at religion in a lot of fiction (if you're going to criticize, criticize well with good characterization!).

Finally, yes, a matter transmitter, Slawek. Please. My heart aches at the fact that not only have I only had around three copies of Twilight Zone magazine but that those copies are also missing now.

[bendk]

Nice to see so many Klein fans. I have only read a couple of his short stories, so I will definitely be getting that new book. I just stumbled over the description on the Shocklines site. (Thanks for the updated info, Dr. B., although, like Matt, I'm not going to hold my breath). I know Joshi admires "The Events of Poroth Farm" and I think he likes "Ladder." I skimmed over that part of the essay because I haven't read it yet, and I didn't want know what happens. Speaking of which, I wouldn't advise anyone to read Joshi's essay until after they read Klein's stories as it would spoil the surprise value of them. I get the impression that Joshi doesn't think too highly of Klein's other short stories, but everyone should, of course, make up their own minds about that. I read THE CEREMONIES prior to Poroth, and I think that is the way to go too, but they are significantly different so I guess it really doesn't matter. I have the Necronomicon Press book they did for that story with illustrations by Jason Eckhart. Nice book. What got me thinking about Klein was that Lovecraftian Horror Calendar I bought recently. There is a wonderful Illustration by Eckhart for "Children of the Kingdom."

The Twilight Zone Magazine was a great mag. Klein made some interesting comments after he left. He stated that when he worked there he included stories by big name writers, even if the stories were only marginally good, for circulation purposes. But he said that most fan mail praised those stories more than the others, and that fame had obviously influenced their judgement. I think Des was on to something with Nemonymous, even if it is not wholly appreciated yet.

In addition to Dagon 18/19, some interesting info on Klein can be found in DISCOVERING MODERN HORROR FICTION I, by Robert M. Price and edited by Darrell Schweitzer and FACES OF FEAR Encounters with the Creators of Modern Horror by Douglas E. Winter.

I can't remember where I read this, but when asked by aspiring writers about 'how to write horror' Klein said that he advises them to 'read outside the genre.' I find this interesting because a great deal of Klein's horror stories don't involve horror at all. I think half of "Petey" could have been written by John O'Hara. Klein lulls you into the uneventful business of everyday life - but when the horror finally comes, it can take you completely off guard and send a shiver down your spine.

G.S. Carnivals & The Silent One, I thought "Black Man with a Horn" was a great story - and truly scary. I can see where most story ideas can originate from, but Klein has got me on this one. I would love to know how he came up with such a bizarre concept. An excellent story and highly unusual.

Aetherwing, that class you took in college sounds great. That was a really cool thing your professor did by sharing those letters by Klein. I never had a college experience remotely similar to that. There were only a few classes that I took in college that I didn't absolutely detest.
Collect Call of Cthulhu, lol .

[Aetherwing]

One more observation on Mr. Klein.

My favorite story from DARK GODS is BMwaH. That said, I adore all of the stories in the collection.

One thing I must say. I have a VERY strong stomach. Not much that I see, much less read, can make me feel nauseous. In the story 'Children of the Kingdom", however, I must say that Klein succeeded in literally making me ill. The abominable reproductive processes of the horrors in that tale....ugh.

Ugh.

-Aether

[G. S. Carnivals]

The mystery (which I'm surprised has gone unquestioned) is solved. Mr. Klein's full name is Theodore Eibon Donald Klein. I hope that his first "middle" name was inspired by Clark Ashton Smith (cool parents), and is not an affectation taken on later to avoid the monogram TDK. ("Are they talking about me or magnetic tape?")

[Aetherwing]

IT would seem that Mr. Klein is involved in this endeavour:
http://www.avianwelfare.org/aboutus/volunteers.htm

Eibon. What a cool middle name! Thanks, Phil! (Your fictional name shall be Geis'fyll, btw. :wink:

-Aether

[matt cardin]

Interesting about the "Eibon" in Klein's name, G.S. Where did you get that info? I have it on good authority that "T.E.D." is actually nothing more than a playful affectation; more specifically, that it's a simple modification of "Ted" that Klein adopted in order to make his authorial name seem more in the line of the horror writers who have preceded him, as in H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, and so on.

[G. S. Carnivals]

Matt, I figured that "T.E.D." was a clever contrivance. My source was Homeville:

http://users.ev1.net/~homeville/isfac/s139.htm#A2516

Mr. Klein's parents were probably cool anyway....

[symbolique]

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