I still have my first-run copy of Amphigorey, which marks me as only a second- or third-generation Goreyphile. But I think he’d be perversely tickled at his “new” postmortem celebrity:
… [U]ntil the last few years true Gorey devotees were a secret society, wearing Gorey-philia like a Masonic ring. Now, however, their numbers have swelled. The writer Daniel Handler, better known as Lemony Snicket, said, “When I was first writing ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events,’ I was wandering around everywhere saying, ‘I am a complete rip-off of Edward Gorey,’ and everyone said, ‘Who’s that?’ Now, everyone says, ‘That’s right, you are a complete rip-off of Edward Gorey.’ ”
__
Tim Burton owes an obvious debt to Gorey, as do Rob Reger, creator of the goth gamine Emily the Strange, and Neil Gaiman, the author of the novella “Coraline.” Mr. Gaiman has an original Gorey drawing of “children gathered around a sickbed” hanging on his bedroom wall; he wanted Gorey to illustrate “Coraline,” he said, but he “died the day I finished it.”
__
Gorey illustrations are even becoming voguish as tattoos. Last year the ninth-season “American Idol” finalist Siobhan Magnus had a biceps tattoo of Death playing nanny to a flock of soon-to-be-doomed children, from “The Gashlycrumb Tinies,” Gorey’s grimly funny alphabet book.
AhabTRuler
I’ve been to the Gorey house.
I liked the cats.
Warren Terra
This topic seems to call for a link to Shaenon Garrity’s Edward Gorey’s A Trouble With Tribbles.
Warren Terra
Also, I’ve never seen a Gorey tattoo (not that I get out much, or look much), but about two years ago a checker at the Cambridgeport Trader Joe’s had the most bitchen Ralph Steadman tattoo covering most of one arm.
Mike Kay (True Grit)
Closeted homosexual GOP congressman (Trent Franks) wants to impeach obama for declining to defend DOMA.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_03/028256.php
Redshirt
ARGH! Dan Handler is one of nemesii! One of many, but one of the first! ARGH!
Parallel 5ths (Jewish Steel)
My family had the original books that were collected in the various Amphigoreys. I’m sure they helped develop in me an appreciation for the darker things in life.
Mike Kay (True Grit)
House GOP votes to retain funding to the “Bridge to Nowhere”
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_03/028265.php
WereBear
Gorey fan too!
I though Lemony Snicket rang a bell (kept buying them for my nephew when he got hooked on them years ago.)
Jim, Once
A is for Alice, who fell down the stairs.
B is for Basil, assaulted by bears.
C is for Clara, um, done in with an ax…?
Seanly
Not everyone knows about Edward Gorey? I grew up with a bunch of those books. That may explain why some people don’t get my sense of humor.
Next you’re going to tell me that people don’t give their babies Richard Scarry books anymore.
scav
@Jim, Once: D was Desmond? done-in? by tacks?
Alex S.
Seems I missed something, only 9 names in the contact list
eemom
omg, I remember the alphabet book from when I was in college. And the story about the “it” that showed up in the people’s house and wouldn’t go away.
“On Sundays it brooded and lay on the floor
inconveniently close to the drawing room door.”
That was like a thousand years ago. That I was in college.
Lemony Snicket is a most worthy descendant. The Unfortunate Event books freakin RAWK.
eemom
damn, now I really want me that alphabet book….
Seonachan
The pinnacle of obscure hip-dom can be found at the nexus of Edward Gorey and Dion McGregor
Jim, Once
@scav: That’s the one! Does anyone remember the title of the one about the little girl who’s abducted from her auto? The ending is magnificently horrible: “Then they stunned her, and stuffed her inside a kind of a pod, and then it was that Millicent Frastley was sacrificed … to THE INSECT GOD!”
Keith
Heh, I was practically raised on The Gashlycrumb Tinies (I could recite it up until my late teens). My mother was a big fan of both Gorey and uncensored Grimm Brothers and passed that on at an early age.
GeoX
That story is, naturally enough, called “The Insect God.” It’s in the first Amphigorey.
inkadu
I had an internet tradition questions.
What is the origin of the snowclone:
Fucking X, how does it work?
Commonly seen here in the form of:
Fucking Congress, how does it work?
Fucking evolution, how does it work?
etc.
Gorey is great. Makes me want to start buying books again.
Jay C
@Jim, Once:
K is for Kate who was struck with an axe.
L is for Leo who swallowed some tacks.
LOVE that Gorey…
Jim, Once
@GeoX: Of course it is. Now I’m embarrassed.
GeoX
For the record:
A is for Amy who fell down the stairs
B is for Basil assaulted by bears
C is for Clara who wasted away
D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh
E is for Ernest who choked on a peach
F is for Fanny done in by a leech
G is for George smothered under a rug
H is for Hector done in by a thug
I is for Ida who drowned in a lake
J is for James who took lye by mistake
K is for Kate who was struck with an axe
L is for Leo who swallowed some tacks
M is for Maud who was swept out to sea
N is for Neville who died of ennui
O is for Olive done in with an awl
P is for Prue tramped flat in a brawl
Q is for Quentin who sank in a mire
R is for Rhoda consumed by a fire
S is for Susan who perished of fits
T is for Titus who flew into bits
U is for Una who slipped down a drain
V is for Victor squashed under a train
W is for Winnie embedded in ice
X is for Xerxes devoured by mice
Y is for Yorick whose head was bashed in
Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin
AhabTRuler
@inkadu: The stupid douchebags that are Insane Clown Posse.
Jim, Once
@GeoX: Thank you! Reading those makes me feel young again. I can’t believe I used to be able to recite the entire alphabet.
kdaug
@inkadu: Here.
scav
Typical, I can’t immediately find it but I’ve got something of his that opens out like an accordion, so that you can look through it like one of those paper toy stages. Ring any bells?
GeoX
@Jim, Once: Even better: Here it is set to music.
fuzed
Is he derivative of Charles Addams?
Kirk Spencer
@fuzed: Not a derivative, but rather a contemporary of Mr. Addams.
With a somewhat similar twist of mind and talent of art.
colleeniem
@Warren Terra: That was just fantastic, thank you!
Crusty Dem
N is for Neville who died of ennui
Best line ever.
AhabTRuler
@Crusty Dem:
No, after thinking about it, I’ve decided that I’m still gonna go with the magnets line.
JGabriel
@fuzed:
Peer. More Gothic, Less Mutant.
.
Kelly
Anyone else have the Gorey Cats paper dolls book?
JGabriel
H is for Hector done in by a thug
is fairly amusing to those of us who enjoyed The Iliad.
.
scav
Ditto on Neville but are there any cheers for The Beastly Baby who is at least tied in my pantheon.
inkadu
@kdaug: Thanks. There goes my evening.
Cat Lady
It’s always disconcerting to see the Gorey house in such a cute classic Cape town. It’s like Emily Dickinson’s and Lizzie Borden’s houses – the architecture belies the barely controlled/uncontrolled madness. Must be the long winters here. It’s tried my equanimity for sure.
Kirk Spencer
From a 1996 interview:
JGabriel
@Warren Terra: Thank you. That was hilarious.
.
kdaug
@inkadu: Asked and answered. Respondent accepts no responsibility for response given, expressed or implied.
Litlebritdifrnt
Lookie here, Huffpo is following the Eagles
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-thalacker/raptor-resource-project-eagles_b_830649.html#postComment
Jim, Once
Madison judge rules that all protesters in rotunda are to be leave or be arrested. Milwaukee police are there, and police are completely surrounding the Statehouse. Will get link.
Jim, Once
@Jim, Once:
http://www.fox47.com/
Look at breaking news on the far right of the screen.
JGabriel
@Litlebritdifrnt:
I don’t want to click on anything about the Eagles. Why?
Because it’s not fucking 1977, that’s why!
(h/t Ricky Gervais)
.
PurpleGirl
Let’s not forget Edward Gorey’s opening sequence drawings for Masterpiece Theatre/Mystery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ge-Yr5vkYU
Darkish and charming.
Geeno
@Crusty Dem: Agreed Neville was always my favorite, and the accompanying picture is priceless.
Sebastian Dangerfield
Gorey tattoos? Why did I never think of that? I am so getting a gigantic Doubtful Guest — complete with his ahead-of-the-hipster-curve Chuck Taylors — covering the length of my left thigh! Lords black ink, plenty painful, but oh so worth it!
The Republic of Stupidness
@fuzed:
If no one else has said so, yes…
(Haven’t read all the comments yet…)
I’d say they were both influenced by Beardsley… too, also…
Sarah, Proud and Tall
You people disgust me. God is watching you as you revel in your hatred of children and your obsession with perversion.
@Mike Kay (True Grit):
He is a true American hero.
Geeno
Hmmmm – my innocuous comment is stuck in moderation.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
And now, apparently, my comment is awaiting moderation, so you people can continue living behind your smokescreen of sin and sodomy.
freelancer
Huckabee goes after Natalie Portman:
Erm, She’s engaged, fuckstick. Also, there’s coughBristolcough
PurpleGirl
@freelancer: Gee, didn’t we go through this once before with Murphy Brown (Candace Bergin) and that idiot VP.
There are lots of single women who decided to have a kid (or kids) without a spouse who are doing just fine because they do have good jobs.
And yes, Bristol Palin… the junior grifter.
Dee Loralei
Fuck Lawrence O’Donnell has that slimebag WI Rep Senator on for the third day in a row!! I quit O’Donnell! Is Keith back from purgatory yet?????
freelancer
@PurpleGirl:
The dogwhistle he’s blowing is “Boo Hollywood Elites!”, and the point he makes is a decent one. But if he wants to rail against things that are actually glorifying children out of wedlock (not that there’s anything wrong with that) or more importantly, teen pregnancy, why isn’t he taking a mallet and beating the hell out of MTV for shows like “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom”?
Jackie Ogburn
In high school and college, my parlor trick was reciting The Ghastlycrumb Tinys and various limericks aloud.
Joel
I’ll always remember Gorey for Mystery!
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@inkadu:
Must you use such profanity where young minds might see it?
Fuck U6: A More Accurate Measure of the Total Amount of Duck-Fuckery in the Economy
Sarah, Plain and Tall: Have you ever considered skull-fucking a duck?
scav
@Fuck U6: A More Accurate Measure of the Total Amount of Duck-Fuckery in the Economy: I was rather thinking that Sarah was the weirdest pet name for a joystick I’d ever heard.
Ash Can
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: LOL! ::applause::
And don’t let the moderation thing throw you. It’s been a little cattywampus today.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@Fuck U6: A More Accurate Measure of the Total Amount of Duck-Fuckery in the Economy:
I have several ducks on my farm – muscovy ducks, in fact.
They would be even more appalled by your language than I am – that is, if God had not made them innocent.
It’s a pity God didn’t make you a bit more innocent.
JGabriel
@Fuck U6: A More Accurate Measure of the Total Amount of Duck-Fuckery in the Economy:
You have been pseudo-trolled.
At least, I think Sarah’s a pseudo-troll. It’s so hard to know for sure, these days.
Maybe she’s DougJ.
.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@Ash Can:
I am surprised that my comment was printed on this web-site. Perhaps this “Anne Laurie” allowed it through so that you could all hear the truth out of the goodness of her heart.
I prefer to speculate that God touched her for a moment.
I don’t even know that word. You seem like a nice young person. Please tell me if that word was rude, so I can form appropriate views about you.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@JGabriel:
I am a troll. I troll the backwaters of the internet for fish who want to be caught in the nets of Jesus and be miraculously fed to the multitude.
JGabriel
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
Your ducks are commies? Traitor.
What’s wrong with a good old-fashioned patriotic American duck, huh?
.
scav
@JGabriel: The competent handling of both English and html syntax would suggest a non-authentic status.
JGabriel
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
I am in love! Duck me, Sara!
(Swoons)
.
Fuck U6: A More Accurate Measure of the Total Amount of Duck-Fuckery in the Economy
Sarah, darling, neither of us were made innocent, were we, hmmm?
I’ll still respect you, and, after all, it is certainly the way of nature, and even though, no, I don’t love you, I do feel an affection for you . . .
Ogden Nash
Nice. The kind of topic that makes me anticipate returning to Balloon Juice everyday.
Ash Can
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: When I was in third grade, a seventh-grader taught that word to me and assured me that it was a very good word. He was laughing as he said so, so it must be a splendid word indeed.
JGabriel
@scav:
Not to mention the largely correct spelling and use of capital letters.
.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@JGabriel:
Ducks cannot be communists.
Even if they were, every now and then I cut the head off one of them, gut them, grind them up and feed them to my grandchildren.
That sounds like the appropriate punishment for a communist, if you ask me.
JGabriel
Sarah, Proud and Tall:
I don’t think you’ll be getting many converts with the enticement of being served as the main course at a cannibal feast. I mean, eww.
.
JGabriel
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
Like the Jesus fish-people?
.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@scav:
@JGabriel:
I think it’s very rude of you to assume that strong minded old ladies can’t type and spell properly. I was taught to type before either of you were even a little bubble of light floating around heaven with the angels.
My nephew Charles taught me how to use a computer on an Apple Macintosh II. He’s a nice boy.
Omnes Omnibus
@JGabriel: You don’t know that. I don’t think it has ever been tried, so it is hard to say whether or not it will work.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@Fuck U6: A More Accurate Measure of the Total Amount of Duck-Fuckery in the Economy:
We were made innocent by god, then original sin stained us at our birth.
My sin, however, has been washed away in the tears of Jesus.
scav
Only very rude? I must be slipping. Do you grind up your very nice boy and feed him to your ducks in a strong-minded fashion?
Warren Terra
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
I am reminded of the splendid story, from the much missed Molly Ivins’s first book, Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She?, available for under $3 used:
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@JGabriel:
We will all come to the great slaughterhouse in the heavens. Some of us will be joyful before we are eaten by God, while others will scream for mercy but will find none.
JGabriel
Sarah, Proud and Tall:
Not me. Whenever I asked who my poppa was, my momma always told me I was the eternal child of the devil’s demonseed, conceived in the sparkly darkness of hell surrounded by Beelzebub’s minions. Then she’d give me a handful of black jellybeans and tell me to go out and play in the junkyard refrigerators.
Momma was a pip.
.
JGabriel
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
No doubt, but, really, it’s the after that kinda concerns me.
.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@scav:
No. Charles lives in Seattle now, with his friend Simon. They write every fortnight.
Omnes Omnibus
@JGabriel:Dad, you comment here too?
Joel
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: Ducks can be communists. See for yourself in this video, where they’re associating with Karl Marx himself.
kdaug
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
Ah-ha! There’s the tell! It should have said “‘Tis” rather than the devil’s “It’s”.
Begone, trollop, back to the spinning wheel from whence you came, lest we are forced to put you to the stake!
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@JGabriel:
Your mother sounds like a thoroughly responsible woman, even if she apparently played for “the other side”.
I used to give Charles the pink jellybeans when he was a child because he hated them most of all. I would say to him “Charles, every joy must be tempered with sorrow.” Now he seems to like the pink jellybeans.
By the way, I never let him play in abandoned refrigerators because we had servants to clean those sorts of things up.
You must have been very poor to live near a junkyard.
JGabriel
@Omnes Omnibus:
Stop calling me “Dad”. I’m tryin’ to pick up chicks here. Besides, didn’t I disown you?
.
cleek
‘ve been trying to find a really good image of Figbash to use as a tattoo, for a long time
JGabriel
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
I was raised poor in yard, but rich in junk.
.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@kdaug:
There is nothing wrong with contractions. I am not one of these people who complains when they write Xmas, and I don’t see why I should not use current idiom when typing.
I’m not entirely cut off from the world here. I don’t live a life of quiet desperation. I have croquet and lawn bowls. I read newspapers. I have heard of the word “It’s”.
Sodomite.
Omnes Omnibus
@JGabriel: Sorry, I’ll never mention it again. Can I come home for Easter?
Shoemaker-Levy 9
???
Seems like a gross overstatement to me. Or did I imagine thirty years of Masterpiece Mystery? Obviously everybody to the left of Limbaugh is a Gorey devotee, since we watch nothing but PBS.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@JGabriel:
I’m guessing that you were being rude there as well, although I can’t imagine how.
The filth just spills from the lips of all of you, like blood from the gnashing maw of god, doesn’t it?
scav
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
Baal Baal Blacksheep.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@scav:
That’s quite clever.
I hope that comforts you when demons are unpeeling your eyeballs.
JGabriel
@Omnes Omnibus:
In this family, we don’t celebrate the day the you came back — we celebrate the day they hung you up on a cross. Do you remember nothing of your upbringing? I swear, you’d think I fucking farmed you out to foster parents.
(pause)
Oh yeah, heh, I guess I did. Forgot about that.
Anyway, no. You can come in for Good Friday. When yer 3 days are up, back to Jerusalem you go.
.
JGabriel
(What? Too Charlie Sheen?)
.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@JGabriel:
There’s a young man who needs a good stoning.
scav
@Sarah, Proud and Tall:
I think he’s got that covered (past tense).
asiangrrlMN
Ah, Edward Gorey. I learned of him from an ex who handed me a book and said he thought I’d like Gorey. He was right about that. He was so, so, so wrong about Pulp Fiction and Titanic.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@asiangrrlMN:
A lovely movie. That Leonardo di Caprio reminds me of my nephew Charles.
cleek
@asiangrrlMN:
Pulp Fiction? that seems so easy to like.
Reservoir Dogs is the one that women typically despise.
asiangrrlMN
@cleek: Never saw that. Yes, Pulp Fiction. I knew I wouldn’t like it, and that’s why I hadn’t seen it in the theatres. He found it playing somewhere years after, and he insisted that I would like it. I have never been a typical–well, anything, really.
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: I like you. You’re funny.
Sarah, Proud and Tall
@asiangrrlMN:
I quite like you too, young lady, even if you have the same potty mouth as your angry friend. The kind of rage you two have is almost as good as faith.
You’re like Samuel Bates’ daughter. He’s the town undertaker and she was his youngest. A lovely girl, or at least we thought so.
However, she ended badly, so that’s probably not a very comforting comparison. Never mix amyl nitrate and electrical cords. That’s the lesson there.
Jim, Once
@asiangrrlMN:
Wpman here: I despised Reservoir Dogs. You really would like Pulp Fiction, though. Anyone who can wield a chainsaw like you …
ogdred weary
http://elephanthouse.tumblr.com/
PIGL
@Sarah, Proud and Tall: if he really loved you, he’d write every se’nnight. At least.
“Fortnight”, forsooth.