Episode 89 - The Trap

[Bob Lovecraft]

Yeah, the whole backwards thing was just stupid. But I always thought that the objects would just corrode right where they exited the mirror, which would have been right there in the room the mirror was in.

Bob

[old book]

Yeah, I guess that's right, they should just appear where the mirror is. Still, I would expect little piles of ancient books-and-corpses-and-furniture dust or something. Not to mention that over the centuries there should be a hell of a lot of mosquitos, flies, gnats, windex, dish rags and wedding rings in there. Maybe an elk or two, too. Probably a fair amount of water vapor as well.

See, what they could've done--and I'm not saying I could do it any better, because I can't--is explore symmetry as such. They could've played around with temporal symmetry, time running backwards, as well as spatial and chromatic. Maybe they could've explored reversing the spin on the particles inside the mirror... no, I guess they couldn't do that after all. It does sort of bring to mind the idea of a black hole, of a singularity at the center of a teeming vortex.

I don't know anything about the reverse image mirror trope in literature, but the story itself iirc mentioned Alice in Wonderland. I read somewhere the guy who wrote that knew something about psychedlic drugs, although it sounds unlikely given the date. Mushrooms were mentioned specifically.

Sich and Chard brought up the essential point: how the hell did the sorceror think he was going to have a good time spending eternity with some mute slaves, a few books, a writing table and a few other items? I think he had something else going on in there. This story has a lot of 'splainin' to do.

[Genus Unknown]

I never even heard of this story until this episode.

Sounds like I haven't missed much.

[kulain]

Maybe an elk or two, too.

this made me imagine a forest scene with unicorns and elks prancing past a giant mirror with a periwig on it propped against a tree.

Sich and Chard brought up the essential point: how the hell did the sorceror think he was going to have a good time spending eternity with some mute slaves, a few books, a writing table and a few other items? I think he had something else going on in there. This story has a lot of 'splainin' to do.

i thought it was bc the sorceror was dying and wanted to draw out his last moments by living eternally elsewhere.

[Mike J.]

I think the sorcerer wanted to live forever (plus 300 years ain't bad):

"He had aspired to enjoy something like eternity..."

And he was rather successful at luring other people into the mirror:

"Among the earliest particulars which Robert gave, was the fact that he was not alone in his confinement."

Robert
Fat Guy
Little Blond Girl
Slave 1
Slave 2
Young Man 1
Young Man 2
Young Man 3
Young Woman
Small Child

That's ten people to mess with. Make them thumb-wrestle each other for your amusement.


-MJ

[Ruth - CthulhuChick]

My cousins & I were discussing the story (best cousins ever) and we couldn't figure out precisely what one would do...even with company and servants...in a mirror for 300 years. Food, clothing, shelter, and such are all out of the running. The only amusements are what he brought with him. Could he even do normal magic in there?

[TheMediocreYoungishOne -Tom-]

My cousins & I were discussing the story (best cousins ever) and we couldn't figure out precisely what one would do...even with company and servants...in a mirror for 300 years. Food, clothing, shelter, and such are all out of the running. The only amusements are what he brought with him. Could he even do normal magic in there?

The most EPIC "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock" tournament EVAH!

[godwinshelley]

Wasn't there some tale by another author about buying an antique paper weight and discovering a black imp inside?

I believe H G Wells had a story called "The Crystal Egg" that had a cut glass paperweight/egg that was a window on another world/dimension and, windows being two way, provided these unworldly things a view of our world as well.

[Mike J.]

You could stage saucy puppet show versions of every work of literature known to man!

[Miskatonic Philologus]

My favourite bit was the made-up reason why the student was missing!  It sounded like something out of The Simpsons!

Right! Anthing - the kid was lost in the woods for 10 days - was better that this "alibi".

[old book]

Wasn't there some tale by another author about buying an antique paper weight and discovering a black imp inside?

I believe H G Wells had a story called "The Crystal Egg" that had a cut glass paperweight/egg that was a window on another world/dimension and, windows being two way, provided these unworldly things a view of our world as well.

I guess I was thinking of a different one. I vaguely remembered it was by a Gothic tale author, but couldn't find it anywhere. Turns out it was a CBS Radio Mystery Theater episode:

http://www.cbsrmt.com/mp3/CBS%20Radio%20Mystery%20Theater%2074-04-04%20e0069%20The%20Thing%20Inside.mp3

The Thing Inside

Plot: A couple buy a curious paper weight made from glass in a curio store. The artist husband soon gets obsessed with it and the wife suspects his involvement in the death of an avaricious developer. She also thinks he is being controlled by an evil spirit.

Episode: 0069

Air Dates: First Run - April 4, 1974 Repeat - December 8, 1974

I suppose there's no way Lovecraft could have penned a pre-quel to that in 193x if CBSRMT writer Robert Newman only wrote it in 1974. Unless...

[bkd69]

This story strikes me as yet another case, like Cool Air and Erich Zann, where HPL is teling the little story instead of the big story.

See, here we have an old timey Luciferian sorceror, and when treating with the devil, the traditional price is your soul, collectible on your death. Hence, the sorceror's interest in putting that off for as long as possible.

Now with this particular spell, he's inaccessible to the devil, and since everybody else in there with him has already outlived their natural lifespans, until the boy goes in, he has nobody to call on to go after the man in the mirror. Now, while HPL doesn't really have any interest in judeo christian supernatural tales, this makes for a great setup for a 'deal with the devil' story.

[Ruth - CthulhuChick]

This story strikes me as yet another case, like Cool Air and Erich Zann, where HPL is teling the little story instead of the big story.

See, here we have an old timey Luciferian sorceror, and when treating with the devil, the traditional price is your soul, collectible on your death. Hence, the sorceror's interest in putting that off for as long as possible.

Now with this particular spell, he's inaccessible to the devil, and since everybody else in there with him has already outlived their natural lifespans, until the boy goes in, he has nobody to call on to go after the man in the mirror. Now, while HPL doesn't really have any interest in judeo christian supernatural tales, this makes for a great setup for a 'deal with the devil' story.

Only in Cool Air and Erich Zann, I like the little story better. Especially in Erich Zann...where he hints really well at the mystery.

Here, I think it could use, at the very least, hints of what you're describing. Guess you'll have to write it.

[old book]

But that means Old Nick is slightly less intelligent than the boys' school teacher in Connecticut who figured out how to open the mirror and extract the contents: you have to hit it with a hammer. Not exactly Mickewicz's Pan Twardowski here

[Ruth - CthulhuChick]

But that means Old Nick is slightly less intelligent than the boys' school teacher in Connecticut who figured out how to open the mirror and extract the contents: you have to hit it with a hammer. Not exactly Mickewicz's Pan Twardowski here

Maybe it's an incorporeal being? Hammers are hard without hands.