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Episode 438 - The Canal (Patreon)

Published:
2019-02-10 00:09:13
Imported:
2026-06
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We're kicking off Creature Feature February with vampire tale The Canal by Everil Worrell!

Special thanks to our excellent reader Kari Goetz!

PLEASE don't read versions of this story online, because they've all been man-edited by absolute D-BAG August Derleth.

Next up: The Kill by Peter Fleming

Comments

Eric Sroka

I just don't think Derleth should be bashed as much as he is - we can all agree that his writing suck-diddly-ucked, and he basically paid the bills off Lovecraft's back (eg posthumous "collaborations") but still, I'm pretty sure without him none of this - the podcast, certainly most of us HPL fans, would not be here. Of course, I haven't listened to the episode yet, or read the story, so maybe I'll have something to add after. Reminder: I am emphatically NOT defending his writing; just his dedication to keeping HPL popular.

Rick Hound

Probably the best analogy for it is if they had post stroke Brom Stroker writing Part 2 of Infinity War

Rick Hound

Hmmm Avengers Part 2 Lair of the White Worm hmmm

Richard Horsman

Me: alright, new episode ChadChris: that version of the story you read was bullshit Me: *pauses, goes to get the better text* People, the life of us "read every story" types: it's intense.

Forrest Rush

nice piece, but I didn't think anybody would be able to beat HP's use of solitary. I was a little surprised guys at no riff or at least explanation of "pleasure" camps? An internet search produced results I'm still deleting now before the boyfriend sees.

Sanjay Mathew

Dear god the comparison of the two endings. I hadn't read the original before (although I've now purchased the anthology) and now that strange swerve into bad 1940s two-fisted prose is explained!

Sweatin' to the Great Oldies

Really enjoyed this one! I'm not sure that the text fully supports a plan to take over the world - "The world is mine!" is something said by a ton of university students tasting freedom - but the Breaking Away side-path surely suggests the Cutters aren't gonna be content to win the Little 500.

Bret Kramer

You guys are making me rethink my plan for the August Derleth Literary Podcast.

Rafe Ball

Having read through both versions now, I think there might be something a bit more insidious going on with Derleth’s hackery in his ‘edit’ of the story. Apologies, this is a little lengthy! It struck me that - apart from being nowhere near as well written as Worrell’s - the ending of Derleth’s version smacks of something closer to an older, more traditional Victorian tale. Instead of sacrificing himself to save society from a terrible fate, it becomes a tale of reasserting mascuilinity over rogue femininity. Rather than begging for shelter from the storm from a couple in their tent, the vampire in Derleth’s edit instead seduces a lone man. Whereas previously (retained from Worrell’s version) Morton was struggling “with all that was wholesome” in his nature to resist her, he now does a volte-face and becomes jealous - “When my terrible love crept into the tent of that other man, I knew that, abhor her as I might, I could not live without her.” Instead of an act of self-sacrifice and atonement, we get something similar to the Arthur-Lucy dynamic in Dracula. Morton determines that only he will have his love’s terrible kiss - “I will have that from her” - and then, like Arthur stymying Lucy’s wanton vampiric/sexual acts, he will penetrate her with his wooden sword and restore the ‘correct’ patriarchal order of things. In this context, Derleth’s changes to the earlier parts of the story then start making sense. Instead of trying to warn the occupants of the tents, Derleth’s Morton realises that such hysterical behaviour would be pointless (and ‘unmanly’ besides). The earlier expunged parts of the story imply that Morton’s own inherent weakness is to blame, rather the wanton, seductress vampire who must then be brought to heel. Take these three expunged sections: “Never in my twenty-two years had I felt love before. My fancies had been otherwise directed - a moss-grown, fallen gravestone was more dear to me to contemplate than the fairest face in all the world” “How little, how little I knew, that night, that dread forces were tugging at my soul, were finding entrance to it, and easy access through the morbid weakness of my nature!” “My lady of the night! No woman of wholseome flesh and blood and odd perverted tastes that matched my own, but one of the undead.” These sections could imply that it is Morton’s fascination with the dead, his self-confessed “odd perverted tastes” that open him to the vampire’s influence - that he is drawn to her because some part of him realises she is a dead thing from the start. Like having to invite the vampire over the threshold, it is Morton’s voluntary submission of his oath that gives her power over him. That weakness doesn’t fit with Derleth’s ‘reimagining’ so in the bin they go. Unfortunately, with those changes Derleth also threw out the elements that made Worrell’s story Lovecraftian, and what I think drew Lovecraft to the tale. It becomes the tale of a man versus a vampire seductress rather than versus a lurking, otherwordly threat that can only be overcome through an self-sacrificing act that will seem like madness to others. It also excises from the tale the Lovecraftian theme that it is the protagonist’s own corruption that seals his fate - be it a tainted bloodline , or obscene obsession leading them down a dark path to madness, or in this case their “perverted nature”. Then again, if you wanted to be harsh you might say that Derleth took many of the Lovecraftian elements out of his own Mythos stories too...

Mandy Reznor (She/It)

Oh, I'm not gonna argue against the Derleth-bashing. (Do go on with it, please.) However, I do suggest you cover a single, last Derleth tale at some point: "The Lamp of Alhazred." It's the only good tale of his that I know of, and it's rather touching in fact. I feel it's important to read it because, to me, it shows the Derleth that could have been, rather than the one we're stuck with.

Mark Saunders

I found the original 1927 Weird Tales version on SFFAudio’s site. They have all kinds of free pulp scans. They have Lovecraft, Poe, Bloch, Howard, Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells and many others. Really great site that all you guys should really check out.

Chris

From the point of view of innovating on existing genres and tropes, Worrell's choices really nudged the Victorian vampire (is it spirit or substance, it's gonna kill you but hey you might like it, etc) into the Weird a la REH with the suggestion of some superior race that presumably preyed upon man and was sealed away by folks with magic. Also from a writing perspective, she did something really cool with adding so many things to suggest back story. I picture the father helping her hide in the boat, staring out at the mob searching for them, not realizing he's in there with a starving vampire. It was definitely better than having him be a renfield.

Jon Hancock

I've been told that Derleth's regional writings are quite good; and of course his championing of Lovecraft and Manly Wade Wellman can be applauded. His weird fiction and, particularly, this sort of butchery, however... Who knows how badly Worrell and others were affected by it, professionally and personally?

Allison Albright

This story is awesome. Derleth sucks. It would be great to have more by Worrell in the future please if possible. I feel like this story is some wish fulfillment about calling the scrub who tried to tie you to a life of servitude and mundanity a fool and then releasing your horde of undead minions on him and also humanity as a whole. Maybe that's just me though.

Bugberry

I really do not enjoy listening to Derleth being constantly brought up. I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve it, but brining it up constantly throughout the story doesn’t do anything for me but distract from the story. You can just bring up his relevance and that’s it, but constantly taking the time to complain about him just isn’t enjoyable.

JD Starkman

I am SO looking forward to the 2 of you doing podcasts on 1) The Diary of Mr Poynter & 2) The Novel of the White Powder!!! And I'd like to also recommend to you 3 other stories (by MR James): The Ash Tree, Casting the Runes and The Tractate Middoth. The latter 2 have some suspenseful "action" even (sort of like in Lovecraft's Shadow Over Innsmouth); the 1st is because it's spooky. =o) I would also like to know if either of you 2 (Chris or Chad) are aware of the podcast for MR James called A Podcast for the Curious with hosts Will Ross and Mike Taylor? They credited you with the inspiration to start this. And you can learn a lot of background about the different MR James stories. I don't suppose you 2 are ignoring them are you?

JD Starkman

Just for giggles, you really ought to try out MR James's "An Evenings Entertainment", where you can get a dose of James being uncharacteristically kinky.

Sellers Burgener

Is there no end to Derleth's treachery? This isn't as bad as drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa, but it's getting there. What an amazing story! And it's wonderful to have such a mastery of weird fiction, written by a woman in those times. Maybe this is the lens of identity politics talking, but I cannot help but wonder whether Der's re-writing of this woman's work was his way of "sticking it" to her, literally. This is a woman whose writing he could completely control without actually having the talent to duplicate. I think rewriting the ending was his way of having the man exert his will more literally, to the vampiress personally. It makes you wonder whether he was settling some discomfort of his own that he felt towards the author.

JD Starkman

One more suggestion, Chris & Chad: Let me also recommend you both consider a LeFanu story that is TRULY weirdly disturbing, which is Schalkin the Painter. This one really creeped me out, even as it had the most surreal plotline. Give it a try and see what you think of it.

G. Monaldo

The original story has the hypnotic romantic quality of Carmilla along with a number of memorable, descriptive turns of phrase. The "edits" by Derleth are therefore a bit of a backwards compliment, as he usually only steals from the best.

Jason Thompson

In addition to it being a good story, I'd take Lovecraft liking "The Canal" as evidence of his attitude to sexuality. He's not going to be all out there lustily embracing women all macho-like like a Derleth or Howard hero, but he wouldn't *mind* walking around at night morbidly thinking of gravestones and running into a hot vampire

Timothy Owen

After reading the Derleth version of this story I thought it was a good goth vampire story with weak ending. After listening to the podcast, I realized that I've been Derleth'd! Now I want nothing more than to punch him in his gibbering, pudding-like face. Thank you fine gentlemen for teaching me the truth!

James Dunn

I first thought of Derleth's edits as being as bad as the Star Wars Special Editions. Then I realized it was more like Homer Simpson's re-edit of the end of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. By making dumb changes to please just himself, Derleth shows what a hack writer he is. Also great show as usual. I could listen to you guys discuss a phone book and still be enthralled.

Mr_Dr_Spooky

I made sure to read a print version (in the Vampire Archives collection) but it turned out that it had been Derleth'd as well! I really appreciated your description of the excellent original story. It's amazing that Derleth's edits probably removed most of the things that Lovecraft enjoyed most about the original.

David Halstead

Unrelated. I was watching an interview with Hitchcock and he brought up a story by Lord Dunsany, "Two Bottles of Relish". It looks like Dunsany had several stories that found their way into magazines and short story collections relating to Hitchcock. Derleth also had stories presented in Hitchcock related collections. I'm going to look into this some more as I'm curious if any WEIRD fiction got printed in these and people got introduced to it by way of Hitchcock.

David Halstead

Obviously Hitchcock gets connected to HPL by way of Robert Bloch through Psycho.