The King in Yellow

The King in Yellow, the forbidden play which induces despair or madness in those who read it. A book of short stories first published in 1895 by Robert W. Chambers, is named after a fictional play with the same title which recurs as a motif through some of the stories. The book has been described by as a classic in the field of the supernatural. There are ten stories in total, including the first four, "The Repairer of Reputations," "The Mask," "In the Court of the Dragon" and "The Yellow Sign." It is the book that inspired many, including H.P. Lovecraft, up to the recent HBO series True Detective.