"Dear Ruth", A Hallucinatory Nightmare Retold Through Drawings & Writing, c. 1936
A curious overlap of dreamwork and outsider art in a naive deco style, with wonderful gothic horror tropes, and themes that one could interpret as esoteric pulp & queer/gay erotica.
Info- A hallucinatory nightmare retold through an illustrated letter from one friend to another. 4 sheets (6 pages), Three illustrated pages, two of which contain portions of the written nightmare on reverse. The fourth page is a single sided sheet written by the recipient.
Description of letter- In Sarah’s nightmare, an “evil mist” fills her room and her bed transforms into a coffin. From the “evil mist” emerges a cast of ghastly creatures with rotting flesh & a terrifying & beautiful undead woman. Beside the coffin appears a candle that not only illuminates the unearthly beings, but also seems to serves as protection from them. The author, then claims that the experience permanently curled her hair!
Medium - Ink and colored pencil on cream colored paper
Size - 8 × 10 ½ inches (each page)
Dated - January 26th, 1936
Condition - Very Good, some wear to punch-holes original to notebook pages, 2 of the 4 pages have punch-hole reinforced labels (for they were once in a binder), some toning to paper from age
Transcription of letter :
(?) = represents illegible words
PAGE 1 REVERSE -
Dear Ruth 1/25/36
“As you said things out of the nite & of the nite crept ever closer in closer — for it seems I had hardly laid down when the darkness of the bedroom thickened and then slowly a mist seem to gather in swirl waves than slowly with undulating in sinuous motions weave in & out and ever upwards — flecked in streaked with colors that weren’t clean in bright but colors of things long dead and suddenly I seem to feel more than see my bed has changed or rather was changing to a coffin — I was laying in it helpless, suddenly then through the swirling mist there appeared a face that was (?) pretty of a woman in despair her sightless eyes staring seeing to see horrors unseen by me — her face mottled as flesh long dead while a creature in dark robes shuffled lurid with staring eyes — a grimace on it’s repulsive face — but suddenly I noticed a candle by my coffin a candle for the dead dimly lighting us the features of a grunt greenish face whose waving hair — no! — no! — not hair — but weaving snakes, asps who laughed in demoniac glee & points to me while the woman from the grave of the dead seem to bend over me — eyes intense — lips — oh so red — her hands eager — but can it be that the glow of the candle kept her back? Then too the face of a woman whom one might think beautiful — if one could overlook the intense staring eagerness of her eyes — or the cruel eager red, red lips — the flaring nostrils of passion while unearthly colors played over her pale face — her hair seemed to be part of the waving evil mist with incandescent luminous colors playing in her hair — colors that were the unclean colors of things long rotted in their graves — colors of the lowest depth of hell — but slowly the waving mist seemed to draw those figures of evil back while others came to take their places
PAGE 2 REVERSE -
As you said you hoped I’m not easily scared at nite — because — well of creeping horrors — and as you said —things of the nite and out of the nite (ugh!) come — they crept — in crept — creeping — every closer till I could feel the hair raise on the of my neck — and I hid my eyes (look on other side) but it didn’t do any good — they kept coming in coming (hope you can read this when you’re all alone too —)
eyes —eyes of a vampire — the eager eyes of the woman come back from the grave — red eyes of the two creeping earthworm (did you hear that story over the radio —you showed of — I hated the ending) the satanic gleefulness of the animated death’s head — yes I could hear the feet shufflin’ — almost feel the grasping hand — all spotted with the greens, yellows & purples of a thing loathsome & long dead —(Ho’ Hum I hope I don’t affect my dreams tonite) I can hear the low ominous growls — (or was it someone saying Brrrrr!)
but —
PAGE 3 FRONT -
as you said — it was only Floyd coming home from work (so it was him saying Brrrr! wasn’t it?) — but — my hair — is altho naturally wavy is now permanently curled — also notice how then I’ve drawn myself — well my dear Ruth I’ve lost pound n’ pounds going thru all that — I woke up so weak — that my hair hasn’t settled — & the “things out of the nite & of the nite” are just fading —thanking you for a very interesting evening I’m still just myself
1/24/36
PAGE 4 FRONT -
Dear Sarah:
I hope you’re not afraid at night — because to-night, a thing out of the night and of the night, will come creeping in!!!! Creeping — creeping — creeping — eyes — staring — hair tousled — hands groping — feet shuffling — but don’t be afraid dear, it will only be your husband — home from work
“Me”
A curious overlap of dreamwork and outsider art in a naive deco style, with wonderful gothic horror tropes, and themes that one could interpret as esoteric pulp & queer/gay erotica.
Info- A hallucinatory nightmare retold through an illustrated letter from one friend to another. 4 sheets (6 pages), Three illustrated pages, two of which contain portions of the written nightmare on reverse. The fourth page is a single sided sheet written by the recipient.
Description of letter- In Sarah’s nightmare, an “evil mist” fills her room and her bed transforms into a coffin. From the “evil mist” emerges a cast of ghastly creatures with rotting flesh & a terrifying & beautiful undead woman. Beside the coffin appears a candle that not only illuminates the unearthly beings, but also seems to serves as protection from them. The author, then claims that the experience permanently curled her hair!
Medium - Ink and colored pencil on cream colored paper
Size - 8 × 10 ½ inches (each page)
Dated - January 26th, 1936
Condition - Very Good, some wear to punch-holes original to notebook pages, 2 of the 4 pages have punch-hole reinforced labels (for they were once in a binder), some toning to paper from age
Transcription of letter :
(?) = represents illegible words
PAGE 1 REVERSE -
Dear Ruth 1/25/36
“As you said things out of the nite & of the nite crept ever closer in closer — for it seems I had hardly laid down when the darkness of the bedroom thickened and then slowly a mist seem to gather in swirl waves than slowly with undulating in sinuous motions weave in & out and ever upwards — flecked in streaked with colors that weren’t clean in bright but colors of things long dead and suddenly I seem to feel more than see my bed has changed or rather was changing to a coffin — I was laying in it helpless, suddenly then through the swirling mist there appeared a face that was (?) pretty of a woman in despair her sightless eyes staring seeing to see horrors unseen by me — her face mottled as flesh long dead while a creature in dark robes shuffled lurid with staring eyes — a grimace on it’s repulsive face — but suddenly I noticed a candle by my coffin a candle for the dead dimly lighting us the features of a grunt greenish face whose waving hair — no! — no! — not hair — but weaving snakes, asps who laughed in demoniac glee & points to me while the woman from the grave of the dead seem to bend over me — eyes intense — lips — oh so red — her hands eager — but can it be that the glow of the candle kept her back? Then too the face of a woman whom one might think beautiful — if one could overlook the intense staring eagerness of her eyes — or the cruel eager red, red lips — the flaring nostrils of passion while unearthly colors played over her pale face — her hair seemed to be part of the waving evil mist with incandescent luminous colors playing in her hair — colors that were the unclean colors of things long rotted in their graves — colors of the lowest depth of hell — but slowly the waving mist seemed to draw those figures of evil back while others came to take their places
PAGE 2 REVERSE -
As you said you hoped I’m not easily scared at nite — because — well of creeping horrors — and as you said —things of the nite and out of the nite (ugh!) come — they crept — in crept — creeping — every closer till I could feel the hair raise on the of my neck — and I hid my eyes (look on other side) but it didn’t do any good — they kept coming in coming (hope you can read this when you’re all alone too —)
eyes —eyes of a vampire — the eager eyes of the woman come back from the grave — red eyes of the two creeping earthworm (did you hear that story over the radio —you showed of — I hated the ending) the satanic gleefulness of the animated death’s head — yes I could hear the feet shufflin’ — almost feel the grasping hand — all spotted with the greens, yellows & purples of a thing loathsome & long dead —(Ho’ Hum I hope I don’t affect my dreams tonite) I can hear the low ominous growls — (or was it someone saying Brrrrr!)
but —
PAGE 3 FRONT -
as you said — it was only Floyd coming home from work (so it was him saying Brrrr! wasn’t it?) — but — my hair — is altho naturally wavy is now permanently curled — also notice how then I’ve drawn myself — well my dear Ruth I’ve lost pound n’ pounds going thru all that — I woke up so weak — that my hair hasn’t settled — & the “things out of the nite & of the nite” are just fading —thanking you for a very interesting evening I’m still just myself
1/24/36
PAGE 4 FRONT -
Dear Sarah:
I hope you’re not afraid at night — because to-night, a thing out of the night and of the night, will come creeping in!!!! Creeping — creeping — creeping — eyes — staring — hair tousled — hands groping — feet shuffling — but don’t be afraid dear, it will only be your husband — home from work
“Me”
A curious overlap of dreamwork and outsider art in a naive deco style, with wonderful gothic horror tropes, and themes that one could interpret as esoteric pulp & queer/gay erotica.
Info- A hallucinatory nightmare retold through an illustrated letter from one friend to another. 4 sheets (6 pages), Three illustrated pages, two of which contain portions of the written nightmare on reverse. The fourth page is a single sided sheet written by the recipient.
Description of letter- In Sarah’s nightmare, an “evil mist” fills her room and her bed transforms into a coffin. From the “evil mist” emerges a cast of ghastly creatures with rotting flesh & a terrifying & beautiful undead woman. Beside the coffin appears a candle that not only illuminates the unearthly beings, but also seems to serves as protection from them. The author, then claims that the experience permanently curled her hair!
Medium - Ink and colored pencil on cream colored paper
Size - 8 × 10 ½ inches (each page)
Dated - January 26th, 1936
Condition - Very Good, some wear to punch-holes original to notebook pages, 2 of the 4 pages have punch-hole reinforced labels (for they were once in a binder), some toning to paper from age
Transcription of letter :
(?) = represents illegible words
PAGE 1 REVERSE -
Dear Ruth 1/25/36
“As you said things out of the nite & of the nite crept ever closer in closer — for it seems I had hardly laid down when the darkness of the bedroom thickened and then slowly a mist seem to gather in swirl waves than slowly with undulating in sinuous motions weave in & out and ever upwards — flecked in streaked with colors that weren’t clean in bright but colors of things long dead and suddenly I seem to feel more than see my bed has changed or rather was changing to a coffin — I was laying in it helpless, suddenly then through the swirling mist there appeared a face that was (?) pretty of a woman in despair her sightless eyes staring seeing to see horrors unseen by me — her face mottled as flesh long dead while a creature in dark robes shuffled lurid with staring eyes — a grimace on it’s repulsive face — but suddenly I noticed a candle by my coffin a candle for the dead dimly lighting us the features of a grunt greenish face whose waving hair — no! — no! — not hair — but weaving snakes, asps who laughed in demoniac glee & points to me while the woman from the grave of the dead seem to bend over me — eyes intense — lips — oh so red — her hands eager — but can it be that the glow of the candle kept her back? Then too the face of a woman whom one might think beautiful — if one could overlook the intense staring eagerness of her eyes — or the cruel eager red, red lips — the flaring nostrils of passion while unearthly colors played over her pale face — her hair seemed to be part of the waving evil mist with incandescent luminous colors playing in her hair — colors that were the unclean colors of things long rotted in their graves — colors of the lowest depth of hell — but slowly the waving mist seemed to draw those figures of evil back while others came to take their places
PAGE 2 REVERSE -
As you said you hoped I’m not easily scared at nite — because — well of creeping horrors — and as you said —things of the nite and out of the nite (ugh!) come — they crept — in crept — creeping — every closer till I could feel the hair raise on the of my neck — and I hid my eyes (look on other side) but it didn’t do any good — they kept coming in coming (hope you can read this when you’re all alone too —)
eyes —eyes of a vampire — the eager eyes of the woman come back from the grave — red eyes of the two creeping earthworm (did you hear that story over the radio —you showed of — I hated the ending) the satanic gleefulness of the animated death’s head — yes I could hear the feet shufflin’ — almost feel the grasping hand — all spotted with the greens, yellows & purples of a thing loathsome & long dead —(Ho’ Hum I hope I don’t affect my dreams tonite) I can hear the low ominous growls — (or was it someone saying Brrrrr!)
but —
PAGE 3 FRONT -
as you said — it was only Floyd coming home from work (so it was him saying Brrrr! wasn’t it?) — but — my hair — is altho naturally wavy is now permanently curled — also notice how then I’ve drawn myself — well my dear Ruth I’ve lost pound n’ pounds going thru all that — I woke up so weak — that my hair hasn’t settled — & the “things out of the nite & of the nite” are just fading —thanking you for a very interesting evening I’m still just myself
1/24/36
PAGE 4 FRONT -
Dear Sarah:
I hope you’re not afraid at night — because to-night, a thing out of the night and of the night, will come creeping in!!!! Creeping — creeping — creeping — eyes — staring — hair tousled — hands groping — feet shuffling — but don’t be afraid dear, it will only be your husband — home from work
“Me”