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Adam J.B. Lane's avatar

I believe you're something of a horror buff, so I'm surprised you haven't mentioned HP Lovecraft here, whose spectral presence looms over this post. The concept of a damned (and damning) codex pops up again and again in his writing - usually styled as the Necronomicon, but he imagines others also. I hadn't heard that nugget about de Sade's intentions before, but Lovecraft was well-read, so perhaps he knew of the background to 120 Days and drew inspiration from it. Of course his are tomes of necromancy rather than a bluffer's guide to sexual depravity, but the two concepts are not unrelated, and to cite just one example I believe comics master Alan Moore has explored the magic-perverse practices connection in some of his more lurid work. Turning back to your own efforts, the transformation of Phillip into an otherworldly aquatic creature appears to directly echo Lovecraft's famous (and quite decent) novella "The Shadow Over Innsmouth". The conceit of discovering one's horrifying transformation through an unfortunate glance in the mirror features prominently in that story too, in the denouement. So I'm left to wonder if Lovecraft's ouevre is rattling around inside your head with its influence merely unstated, or if perhaps you are unfamiliar, or not a fan...

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Psit Jewellery's avatar

Yours is one of the newsletters I've subscribed, actually read AND enjoy every time!

Thanks for the song, I hadn't heard it. And the article sounds fun, I saved it for later.

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