Search Results for: cat and the skull

The Cat and the Skull

A draft. This is a variant of ‘Delcardes’ Cat’. Thulsa Doom is described by Howard in “The Cat and the Skull” as having a face “like a bare white skull, in whose eye sockets flamed livid fire”. He is seemingly invulnerable, boasting after being trampled by one of Kull’s comrades that he feels “only a slight coldness” when being injured and will only “pass to some other sphere when [his] time comes”.

Delcardes’ Cat

Thulsa Doom first appeared (as Thulses Doom) at the end of the short story “Delcardes’ Cat” by Robert E. Howard, which featured the character Kull as the protagonist. Howard later edited the text to include foreshadowing/references to Thulsa Doom (as he had been rechristened) throughout the story and changed the title to The Cat and the Skull to reflect this.

Thulsa Doom is described by Howard in “The Cat and the Skull” as having a face “like a bare white skull, in whose eye sockets flamed livid fire”. He is seemingly invulnerable, boasting after being trampled by one of Kull’s comrades that he feels “only a slight coldness” when being injured and will only “pass to some other sphere when [his] time comes”.

Delcarde’s Cat (draft)

The Draft for Delcardes’ Cat. Thulsa Doom first appeared (as Thulses Doom) at the end of the short story “Delcardes’ Cat” by Robert E. Howard, which featured the character Kull as the protagonist. Howard later edited the text to include foreshadowing/references to Thulsa Doom (as he had been rechristened) throughout the story and changed the title to The Cat and the Skull to reflect this.

Thulsa Doom is described by Howard in “The Cat and the Skull” as having a face “like a bare white skull, in whose eye sockets flamed livid fire”. He is seemingly invulnerable, boasting after being trampled by one of Kull’s comrades that he feels “only a slight coldness” when being injured and will only “pass to some other sphere when [his] time comes”.

Untitled story (The sun was setting. A last crimson . . .)

“Exile of Atlantis” is an untitled story by Robert E. Howard, featuring Kull, a character who later becomes the King of Valusia. This story delves into Kull’s early life, providing insight into his personality, values, and the world he inhabits. Set against the backdrop of the rugged and wild Atlantis, the narrative explores themes of tradition, freedom, and the clash of civilizations.

Originally an untitled story, starting with (“The sun was setting. A last crimson . . .”). Later titled EXILE OF ATLANTIS by Glenn Lord.

The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune

“The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune” is a fantasy short story by American author Robert E. Howard, one of his original short stories about Kull of Atlantis, first published in Weird Tales magazine c. 1929. It is one of only three Kull stories to be published in Howard’s lifetime.

Set in the fictional Prehistoric Thurian Age, it deals with a disillusioned King Kull questioning the meaning of existence, leading him to seek the assistance of a two-faced wizard.

Exile of Atlantis

“Exile of Atlantis” is an untitled story by Robert E. Howard, featuring Kull, a character who later becomes the King of Valusia. This story delves into Kull’s early life, providing insight into his personality, values, and the world he inhabits. Set against the backdrop of the rugged and wild Atlantis, the narrative explores themes of tradition, freedom, and the clash of civilizations.

Originally an untitled story, starting with (“The sun was setting. A last crimson . . .”). Later titled EXILE OF ATLANTIS by Glenn Lord.

The Hyborian Age

“The Hyborian Age” is an essay by Robert E. Howard pertaining to the Hyborian Age, the fictional setting of his stories about Conan the Cimmerian. It was written in the 1930s but only partly published during Howard’s lifetime. Its purpose was to maintain consistency within his fictional setting.

The essay sets out in detail the major events of Howard’s pseudohistorical prehistory, both period before and after the time of the Conan stories. In describing the cataclysmic end of the Thurian Age, the period described in his Kull stories, Howard links both sequences of stories into one shared universe. The names he gives his various nations and peoples of the age borrow liberally from actual history and myth. The essay also sets out the racial and geographical heritage of these fictional entities, making them progenitors of modern nations. For example, Howard makes the Gaels descendants of his own Cimmerians.

The Footfalls Within

The story opens with Kane coming across the body of a young black woman. The corpse is fresh, and there are marks where whips and shackles have torn her flesh. It doesn’t take long for Kane to catch up with the slavers who killed her. He sees a train of blacks being led away by a group of armed Arabs and other blacks who have allied with them. They’re taking their captives to a slave market. They’re also driving them hard, neither giving them rest breaks nor providing them with ample water.

First published in Weird Tales, September 1931.

The Cairn on the Headland

A short story with elements of fantasy and horror. As often in Howard’s stories, there is a link to the Cthulhu Mythos, in this case, mixed also with elements of both Norse Mythology and Catholic Christianity.

It has a rather convoluted history, being in effect an adaptation of Howard’s earlier story Spears of Clontarf, a historical adventure story by Howard focusing on the Battle of Clontarf (1014) and featuring Turlogh Dubh O’Brien or Black Turlogh, a fictional 11th Century Irishman created by Howard. Howard later rewrote “Spears” as “The Grey God Passes”, which was very similar to Spears of Clontarf, but with added fantasy elements. Howard failed to sell the story in either version during his lifetime.