"The Shadow at the Bottom of the World" is a horror short story by American writer Thomas Ligotti, first published in his 1991 collection Grimscribe: His Lives and Works .
Told in the first person, from the perspective of an unnamed narrator, "The Shadow at the Bottom of the World" focuses on the inhabitants of a small village who encounter a mysterious black mass which appears to emanate from the bowels of the Earth. Soon after its arrival, odd droning noises reminiscent of the chattering of insects begin to fill the air, the weather becomes unnaturally warm, and the vegetation begins to exhibit strange, unearthly colors. Various inanimate objects, including a scarecrow, appear to come to life and move of their own accord, and even the human inhabitants begin to fall under its malevolent influence, spelling doom for any hapless travelers unfortunate enough to stumble upon the accursed place. [1] [2]
Shadow the Hedgehog is a character who appears in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. He was created by Takashi Iizuka and Shiro Maekawa and first appeared in Sonic Adventure 2 (2001). Within Sonic's fictional universe, Shadow is an anthropomorphic black hedgehog created by Professor Gerald Robotnik, the grandfather of the series' antagonist Doctor Eggman. After witnessing the death of his best friend Maria Robotnik, Shadow initially seeks revenge, but later vows to keep his promise to her that he would protect the world from danger. An antihero, Shadow has good intentions but will do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals, putting him at odds with Sonic the Hedgehog.
Pierre Cardin, born Pietro Costante Cardin, was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical. He founded his fashion house in 1950 and introduced the "bubble dress" in 1954.
Thomas Ligotti is an American horror writer. His writings are rooted in several literary genres – most prominently weird fiction – and have been described by critics as works of philosophical horror, often formed into short stories and novellas in the tradition of gothic fiction. The worldview espoused by Ligotti in his fiction and non-fiction has been described as pessimistic and nihilistic. The Washington Post called him "the best kept secret in contemporary horror fiction."
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, bassist Johnny Christ, and drummer Brooks Wackerman.
Kamelot is an American power metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed by Thomas Youngblood in 1987. The Norwegian vocalist Roy Khan joined for the album Siége Perilous, and shared songwriting credit with Youngblood until his departure in April 2011. On June 22, 2012, Youngblood announced on their website that their new vocalist would be the Swedish singer Tommy Karevik, who was first featured on Kamelot's album Silverthorn as the main vocalist, co-songwriter, and lyricist.
Shadows Fall is an American metal band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1996. Although Shadows Fall has experienced several line-up changes, for most of its recording career, Shadows Fall has been composed of Jon Donais, Matt Bachand, Paul Romanko (bass), Brian Fair, and Jason Bittner (drums).
Trivium is an American heavy metal band from Orlando, Florida, formed in 1999. The band comprises vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy, guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paolo Gregoletto, and drummer Alex Bent.
All the Pretty Little Horses (TheInmostLightItself) is an album by English band Current 93. It forms the second part of the Inmost Light trilogy; the first being 1995's Where the Long Shadows Fall (Beforetheinmostlight) and the last being 1996's The Starres Are Marching Sadly Home (Theinmostlightthirdandfinal). Unlike its bookends, All the Pretty Little Horses is a full-length album. Like the earlier Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre, All the Pretty Little Horses contains several songs based on repeating melodic themes. Lyrically, the album revolves around the ideas of pain and death, specifically as reflected in Patripassianist philosophy, along with the overarching concept of the "inmost light", or soul. In contrast, the music itself is some of Current 93's most traditional, relying heavily on acoustic guitar. Exceptions appear in the form of two spoken-word tracks: the ominous, drone-based round "Twilight Twilight Nihil Nihil", and "Patripassian", backed mainly by a heavily treated loop of Carlo Gesualdo's Miserere.
A Cthulhu Mythos anthology is a type of short story collection that contains stories written in, or related to, the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction launched by H. P. Lovecraft. Such anthologies have helped to define and popularize the genre.
Jason Van Hollander is an American illustrator, book designer and occasional author. His stories and collaborations with Darrell Schweitzer earned a World Fantasy Award nomination. Van Hollander's fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Weird Tales, Interzone, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The New York Review of Science Fiction and other publications.
"A Walking Song" is a poem in The Lord of the Rings. It appears in the third chapter, entitled "Three is Company". It is given its title in the work's index to songs and poems. There is a companion poem near the end of the novel.
"Lot No. 249" is a Gothic horror short story by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published in Harper's Magazine in 1892. The story tells of a University of Oxford athlete named Abercrombie Smith who notices a strange series of events surrounding Edward Bellingham, an Egyptology student who owns many ancient Egyptian artefacts, including a mummy. After seeing his mummy disappear and reappear, and two instances of Bellingham's enemies being attacked, Smith concludes that Bellingham is re-animating his mummy.
Joseph S. Pulver Sr. was an author and poet, much of whose work falls within the horror fiction, noir fiction / hardboiled, and dark fantasy genres. He lived in Germany, and died from COPD and other issues in a German hospital on April 24, 2020.
The Thomas Ligotti Reader: Essays and Explorations is a collection of essays on American horror writer Thomas Ligotti and his works, edited by Darrell Schweitzer. It was first published in trade paperback in April 2003 by Wildside Press, with a hardcover edition from the same publisher following in July of the same year.
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is a 2014 American action thriller film based on the character Jack Ryan created by author Tom Clancy. It is the fifth film in the Jack Ryan series and the second reboot thereof. Unlike its predecessors, it is not an adaptation of a particular Clancy novel, but rather an original story. Chris Pine stars in the title role, becoming the fourth actor to play Ryan, following Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck. The film is directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars alongside Kevin Costner, and Keira Knightley.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a 2014 action-adventure video game developed by Monolith Productions and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. An original story based on the legendarium created by J. R. R. Tolkien, the game takes place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings film trilogies. The player controls Talion, a Gondorian Ranger who bonds with the wraith of the Elf Lord Celebrimbor, as the two set out to avenge the deaths of their loved ones. Players can engage in melee combat, and use wraith abilities to fight and manipulate enemies. The game introduces the Nemesis System, which allows the artificial intelligence of non-playable characters to remember their prior interactions with Talion and react accordingly in subsequent encounters.
Teatro Grottesco is a collection of short stories by American horror author Thomas Ligotti. This is his fifth collection, containing tales written throughout his career. The book was first published in 2006 by Durtro Press as a limited edition hardcover: another hardcover edition was released on November 30, 2007 by Mythos Books, and a paperback edition was released on July 10, 2008 by Virgin Books.
Charlotte Cardin is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has been nominated for 14 Juno Awards. In 2022, she received four awards for Artist of the Year, Single of the Year for her song "Meaningless", Pop Album of the Year and Album of the Year for her 2021 debut album "Phoenix". Her second album 99 Nights was released in 2023.
Grimscribe: His Lives and Works is a 1991 collection of short stories in the horror genre by American author Thomas Ligotti. The book was Ligotti's second short story collection to be published, following Songs of a Dead Dreamer. In 2015, Penguin Classics republished Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe together in one volume, making Ligotti one of just 10 living authors to be published by the imprint.
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror is a 2010 non-fiction book by American author Thomas Ligotti. Better known as a horror fiction author, with Conspiracy Ligotti offers a series of essays exploring his philosophical pessimism, nihilist and antinatalist views. Among other sources, Ligotti cites Peter Wessel Zapffe's essay "The Last Messiah" and the writings of Emil Cioran (1911–1995) and Philipp Mainländer (1841–1876) as inspirations for his philosophical outlook. The book is noted for its repeated usage of the phrase "malignantly useless," as well as for the manner "in which philosophical thought and literary analysis converge" in his writings. In 2018, the book was re-released, with a new preface.