THE CASTLE OF TERROR

This Bill Sienkiewicz painting doesn't actually have anything to do with "The Castle of Terror," but NOBODY has done art of this story.

People like to talk shit online about the title of this story, calling it generic. I'm not going to say they're wrong, but I'm a big fan of old horror movies and I have to say that I've seen dozens of horror movies from the 50s and 60s with titles just as generic that were really fun. 

I always enjoy when Conan stories focus on the horror, and while this story is a lesser one, I thought it was decent, if forgettable. I think anime fans would refer to this one as a "filler episode."

"The Castle of Terror" was written by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter in 1969. It follows directly from "The Vale of Lost Women" as Conan is headed back toward cities out of the jungle when he finds himself on a massive grassland. Forced by pursuing lions to seek respite in a creepy castle on the plain, Conan stays the night astrally-projecting and sort of communing with spirits.

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The astral projection part is unique. Conan is suddenly privy to knowledge without knowing how he knows it, and it adds some suspense as we hear the intentions of a thousand and one ancient ghosts which mean to do him harm, but first have to manifest physically. Matters get complicated when Stygians show up, also seeking shelter from a storm. We get a bit of a standoff where Conan is deciding whether to try his luck with the Stygians or focus on the blob of ancient ghost stuff. The descriptions feel gothic and menacing, which add some Howardesque (Howardian?) prose to the narrative. We also get numerous references to the castle being as old as King Kull of Valusia, and that's always welcome in a Conan story.

This story features almost no dialogue. I only realized about halfway through that I didn't think Conan had actually said anything so far (after all, it was just him, lions, and ghosts so far), but he hadn't so much as opened his mouth to take Crom's name in vain. The whole thing is almost completely silent until a Stygian starts screaming at the end. It kind of reminded me of an issue of Amazing Spider-Man I read as a kid called "Nuff Said," which didn't have a single word in it.

Gary at Sprague de Camp Fan, who I enjoy reading along with many of these posts, notes that Conan comic GOATs Roy Thomas and John Buscema were both very uninspired by this portion of Conan's career. Same. For this story in particular, it's mostly just lacking flavor.

​Conan's path is generally one that's headed north. We'll still be in Kush next time in "The Snout in the Dark."

★★☆☆☆