"Far Below" / A Lovecraftian Story of the New York Subway
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- Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
- "Far Below" is a short story by the American author, Robert Barbour Johnson. The story, which first surfaced in the June-July 1939 edition of Weird Tales, tells of dreadful creatures burrowing up into the New York subway.
00:00 - Introduction
00:44 - Far Below
36:21 - Further Listening
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Narrated by Ian Gordon for HorrorBabble
Music and production by Ian Gordon & Jennifer Gill
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This is an ORIGINAL HorrorBabble Production. - Розваги
A tale that's actually "Lovecraftian" without just relying on titles of forbidden books and names of primal entities. Excellent narration, too, Ian. My thanks for introducing me to yet another obscure author, one I'll be watching out for.
I mean, how else do you explain why a Metrocard is $127 a month?
Now THAT was a story Lovecraft would have been proud of.
Of what
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Pickman's Model and The Lurking Fear are inspirations for this story.
Also worth checking out Clark Ashton-Smith's The Charnel God.
Great choice!
I also think it's a great example of "lovecraftian" done well, without being derivative of Lovecraft's writing style or naming as many obscure books and gods as possible.
I'm so glad to hear it get the HorrorBabble treatment.
As much as I love the ideas and concepts in Lovecraft's work sometimes I find them extremely lacking in suspense or excitement
@@shollister3009 just something about them being mostly massive exposition dumps that while I enjoy them I litterally always fall asleep within 15 mins pahaha
@@shollister3009 No. Lovecraft is just highly overrated. Old = scary, big = scary, fish = scary, math = scary is his whole thing, but none of those really work.
@@shollister3009 Except I'm not in this case. Seriously, Lovecraft writes like a 6th grader with a new thesaurus. I can't help notice it is likewise mostly high school kids and undergraduates who think he is anything special.
@@christosvoskresye Sounds like you're just a boring and unimaginative hylic.
I feel like this could be described as both a combination of, and inspiration for, both Midnight Meat Train and C.H.U.D.
Accurate! Both of those stories came to mind
C.H.U.D. is based on a true story.
Yes!
@@guycalgary7800😂 what makes you say that?
I like stories like this, that expand on the Mythos without adding entities of their own: take an established monster, and tell a tale of its effects on the world. Magnificently written and read.
I love that it shows how humanity can deal with the creatures, but can't fight off the effects of being around them. Somehow makes it more terrifying when there's a fighting chance
You can tell this guy was a Lovecraft fan, he matches the style perfecly, and if that wasn't enough he even added a reference mid book.
This one was a bit of a departure from the standard, and I feel bad for those that toil unseen, slowly suffering in the darkness, so that others may live in the light of ignorance. Yes, a different sort of tale indeed.
By all accounts the pay is amazing, though.
I am kicking myself right now for I have in storage in my Brother's basement a half dozen tubs of books and in one is a hardcover of Far Below by Robert Barbour Johnson. The book is an anthology of Weird Tale authors with Far Below as the title story. The publisher is Fax or Faxx. I am pretty sure it's on Arkham or Grant and it's from the 70s. There is a steer skull on black cover.
There is an adaptation episode of Monsters, the tv anthology( from the creators of Tales From the Dark Side) from the last 80s.
@Britton Tallaksen After you've listened to this story it's not likely you'll want to go down to the basement to retrieve that book. You might hear dreadful chuckling and growling or see two green eyes peering at you from the darkness ! 😨 Just saying ! 😊
@@gerry5134 😱😱😱Yeh its gonna be frightful down there😌
The inexplicable accounting of Warrens demise is wholeheartedly unfounded. He is simply self isolating for ten days hence.
Keep up the good work fella and stay safe.
This is one of many short stories that should have been a novel. Instead of an interview with a guy explaining the premise, how about the protagonist be the guy giving the interview and we can see the secrets of the horror progressively revealed over the decades.
This is an easy favorite. Takes the spirit of Lovecraft and transplants it into a more grounded setting that is so much easier to imagine than impossible geometry and strange architecture. Its all the more frightening when an adhd brain like mine can effortlessly imagine everything going on in frightening detail.
This is absolutely the best ghoul horror story I've yet to hear. It's written and read in such believable terms
What a wonderful story! This is a truly awesome one!
As many have said, this one is very Lovecraftian. I like how the friend talks about Lovecraft in the story.
I will not sat any more, so I do not give anything away!
Great job!
They did an adaptation of this on the Monsters tv show from 1990
Damn, that was a good story. When a story can captivate my ADD brain for its entirety, I know it was a good story.
Absolutely amazing story! So rich and elaborate it would have made a marvelous book or movie! I loved how this gave the "Lovecraftian" idea without using the tried and true ideas of ancient curses, demon books or the extra dimensional gods. (and I loved the mention of Lovecraft being in the know of this secret, and patterning his stories after the monsters in the subway. The basis of the story actually makes sense: like if you just twisted reality just a little, this could really happen. Wonderfully written, building an entire world background and history in only a few pages. (that is something that a lot of authors can't do in entire books.) This had to have been written by someone who knows the NYC subway. I liked how it took place in the modern age. This story reminds me a great deal of the R.E Howard story "Worms of the Earth". This is a marvelous story, well written and beautifully narrated. Really excellent!
A subway story about burrowing creatures that "surfaced" in 1939. :D
Republican voter origin story..
@@mostlydead3261 Gruberite.
@@mostlydead3261 please let us enjoy a story without political correctness commentary...in short pretend its the pre-internet 20th century
Ruined it you suck
@@josephperkins4080 Political correctness is not mild criticism, dude. Nobody cares that you think things were better when people had fewer rights. It’s tragically common.
Lovecraft meets the subway: perfect working through this story. And to think I’ve rode the New York Subway plenty of times!
The flip between accents is fantastic. Salute, Sir.
Ian that was absolutely fantastic! The ending absolutely hit me in the chest. Im not sure if your familiar with the video game called bloobourne or the film midnight meat train. But I believe this story very well.may have been the inspiration for those pieces! Thankyoi for posting this and doing what you do best. I'm grateful a fellow fan of Lovecraft can share this all the way from the U.K.
Wonderfully told I expect nothing less than the chills from a narrator of this caliber
The more I listen the more I enjoy and appreciate. So good!
absolutely masterful. the ghoul stories always jump out at me far more horrifically than any other, this one became an instant favorite. fabulous narration, thank you!!! i'll have to look the author up...
That was actually really good, seems to be very inspired by Pickman's Model, a bit loaded in vocabulary but considering the insanity of the narrator it works in conveying the gloomy, contemplative and broken nature of the undercover cop/investigator. I loved the description of the signal board and how it sets the suspense and thick atmosphere when one road lights up not from a train but from an incursion of ghouls.
Thank you Ian. Beautifully done, as usual. More pro sound than many Audible books.
I have been on a weeklong Horror Babble binge for at least a week 24 hours a day. I play it when I sleep. I've loved this channel from the second I heart it. This is horror with plenty of rancid meat on it.
Perfect American accent btw
I know conspiracy theories are a disease of the age but if there's a Secret Subway Unit keeping us safe and ignorant of Lovecraftian horrors at the gates I am all for it.
Anything with Ian's American accent impression is a winner in my book.
That's every day now in New York, except with the shuffling of Timbs and whispers of "deadass" from the shadows
ong - you can speak amurican. that’s really great. you’re amazing. not many actors from Britain can do that. lots of southern accents done in England. LOL 😋🌷✨
Okay, another reason to stay off of the subway! 😬
Time for my nightly bed time story.
I love stories of the underground world of old cities.
I love a ghoulish tale. Delightful! 💀
Ooo a lovely birthday present - thanks Ian!
Happy Birthday, Michael!
Always ready for a new tale to distract us through these long days. Thanks Ian and everyone.
Love this story.
Wow. Great story & narration.
Welcome back, Warren (and, farewell).
Hello
This one is a masterpiece to begin with, and as always when the reading is slow-paced, measured, first-person, Ian does a FANTASTIC job. Really his best work. Ooooooo so creepy!!!
I took the NYC subway for 40 years it's actually like this
Try grand central station at 3 am no living thing not even the rats wants to be there I drive everywhere now 😈
This had to have been some inspiration for the Midnight Meat Train by Clive Barker
Reminds me a bit of Howard’s stories about devolved troglodytes.
Who?
@@treboris Robert E. Howard a pulp writer with many amazing stories to his name.
@@treboris 😱😱😱
It’s been a while since I’ve listened to a HorrorBabble (had listened to your whole catalogue of stories and listened to most more than once due to your narrations being that bloody good). First one back from my hiatus and, as ever, it was exceptionally brilliant. Much love to you both.
Your eternal listener,
Tim
All the best, Tim!
@@HorrorBabble Love you guys 😃
This was great. Thank you for the reading. Also, congrats on the increasing number of views, you deserve them with such great work!
Thank *you*!
The mole people aren't the worst thing one might encounter riding a NY subway on a late night.
And now I kinda want to watch C.H.U.D. again.
John Heard? Daniel Stern? What is it? Home Alone 3: Lost UNDER New York?
@@HorrorBabble Homeless people who live underground are exposed to hazardous waste and change into man-eating mutants. A true cinematic masterpiece! Also thank you for all your hard work, you guys have really been pumping out gold this month!
If only Mr. Pickman had a brush and canvas on hand to do justice to such a narrative.
Love this one.
A Lovecraftian 'subway' story from Weird Tales? Narrated by Ian for HorrorBabble?? On a Friday in January??!? Woohoo 🥳
Wonderful reading - the story feels quite SCP-esque!
"Far Below" is a superior tale indeed and this exquisitely well-produced HorrorBabble adaptation highlights a unique HPL-esque story that helped spawn an entire genre of horror which continues to enjoy popularity to this day. One of many examples: the short film "Deep Clean", free on UA-cam's DUST channel. Excellent again, HorrorBabble!
(And no, I'm not connected in any way with "Deep Clean" other than being a fan and desirous of pointing it out to those who enjoyed "Far Below")
Btw, is the accompanying image not a bit of fan-art inspired by the video game Silent Hill? It certainly appears to illustrate one of the ubiquitous nightmare-nurses that populate the creepy hospitals in (at least) the first three Silent Hill horror video games.
That. Was. EPIC
I do think this is one of the best stories I've heard in awhile. Your narration was flawless. Thank you so much. Have an amazing weekend 💖
One of my favorites yet, absolutely loved it!!!!
So excellent as always!
What a fabulous story! Thanks for the read!
This has got to be one of my favourite stories so far! Absolutely brilliant!
Excellent video thanks Ian! ☺👍
Excellent, even more unexpected developments before the end... Always waiting for new stories told by you, thank you!
The hints of something unspeakable are welcome, but hinting can go only so far. "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick” is good story-telling advice. A story that is entirely monologue, but works, is “The Coming of the Ice”.
H.P. Lovecraft meets Dmitry Glukhovsky (Author of the Metro series)
Oh, that was just delicious. My sort of horror. Thank you so much, Ian
Thank you for this
Top notch!!
That was an amazing story, thank you 😁
Excellence...
Fantastic story and flawless narration
Thanks for listening!
Very much worth a second listen
and no doubt a another lengthier comment
That was excellent. I actually prefer it to Pickman’s Model. I’m gonna have to check out more of his writing.
Awesome! Haven't heard this one before, I'm going to write a Call of Cthulhu scenario based off of this I think.
I usually think of these stories from a ttrpg perspective, and this one would be an absolute banger of a game =D
@@rileymoore2967 I have not run it yet, but I have started putting together a Delta Green type scenario based off of this. Investigators will probably be police officers who have yet to understand what is truly going on.
These ghouls and the little people of these stories are the best REH and LC really made it interesting.this author as well.the shining pyrimid .if anyone knows of others please let me know
I dont think i will ever be able to ride the subway here in ny ever again without thinking of this story and these monsters with green glinty eyes, ever again.
Ghouls.
Wow.
Well done Lovecraft ghouls.
Liked this one.
Richard Upton Pickman would be proud. 💀📚
Midnight Meat Train , and Bleeders, if you want more of this.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster," Frederick Nietzsche.
"She who fights monsters should always keep a spare anti-tank missile handy."
Buffy.
@@Eris123451 hahahahaha 🤣🤣
Love all of your readings, Ian.
Please consider more Clark Ashton Smith stories. My favorite is "The Colossus of Ylourgne".
For sure, Joseph!
"... flickering past like bits of film on a badly connected projector machine." I love that description of the subway cars flying past the platform!
I've thought about that very thing in the deep recesses of my mind, that part that records emotions like loss and nostalgia without breaching full consciousness. That's where I've thought about those fleeting glimpses into individual realities, stolen away by the void in an instant....
Reminds me of a story by Clive Barker - Midnight Meat Train. I think that's its title.
Warren is getting quite a following! I notice the comments of his fans when I read thru the comments of most narrations. It is a signature opening that grew on me. Now I am wondering if that is from a story, or would that the revealing a "literary" secret?
One has to dig pretty deep to find 'Warren' without resorting to Google...
Listen to "The Statement of Randolph Carter". You'll have your answer.
According to Google, "you fool, Warren is dead" is an absolute banger of a song by "the darkest of the hillside thickets"
Cold self forfeiting
slow metamorphosis
fearlessly given
to scientific
inquisitiveness
Reminds me of that Clive Barker story about the midnight meat train
What was that? I have a vague memory of that.
That was our impression, too.
Where's Geralt when you need him?
Doesn't sound like they have a very good pension plan.....LOL. GREAT JOB! as always.
This was made into an episode of Monsters. It sounded familiar and it's under the same name.
Intriguing...!
@@HorrorBabble it's available on UA-cam.
Wonder if Jeff Long (author of one of my fav novels, The Descent.. unrelated to the movie) read this one ..
"Far Below"
Monsters: Season 2, Episode 19
Next stop! Atlantic Avenue
Next stop! Christopher Street
Next stop! Transfer to the A, C or E! and watch out for the Ghoulies don't ya see?!? ;)
Damn good story bro-ski. Loved the twist at the end
This is the type of homage to H.P. I adore. He sows a seed and an appreciative writer is inspired and extends the idea. I am sure Robert Barbour Johnson loved “The Beast in The Cave”? Practically a diptych.
ua-cam.com/video/6LbQ0eY8lns/v-deo.html
It seems these days, a character need only be noted eating calamari, and so many trill,
“Lovecraftian!”
This was a superb. I too, felt suitably subterranean having had my eyeballs injected today and barely being able to see, nor tolerate light. Great way to relax and shut my eyes. Yes; I feel the change coming.
Love subterranean horror💀💀💀💀👻👻👻❤
Ian, I have always loved your stage American accent. May I ask is there a particular state or city you aim for?
Please do not say Providence, Rhode Island! 😊
Anyone else not getting alerts when they post (luckily I check every night😂)
Warren is what he was called before his transition. That Warren really is dead. But Wilma is doing just fine.
I never got an invite to Warren’s funeral
a subway every 2 minutes?????!!!!!! wow! there are times and areas where, if you miss one, you have a 15-20 minute wait! boy, that was a long time ago - the early 1930’s. LOL
"Horrible creatures on the New York subway?" You mean the street performers? Or the panhandlers?