dognovel Chapter 80: The Horror Masterpiece "The Human Chair"
Chapter 80: The Horror Masterpiece "The Human Chair"
After returning from Beijing, Luo Jinnian stayed in his rented room for three days. Not to rest, but to copy manuscripts.
The deadline for writing "Records of Strange Things in the Tang Dynasty" is approaching.
After hanging up the phone, he pondered for a while and decided to seek advice from Edogawa Ranpo, a master of suspense and thriller from the island nation and an important mystery novelist in the history of Japanese literature, who is also the origin of Conan's name.
"Human Chair" is his next work to be released.
Edogawa Ranpo's most famous work, Luo Jinnian had read it more than once in his previous life, remembering every twist and turn and every detail clearly. However, this time it was different from his previous word-for-word works. He decided to change the Japanese context to a Chinese one, change the background of the chair craftsman to a carpenter who fled famine from the countryside to the Shanghai Concession during the Republic of China period, and change the setting of the story from a Japanese mansion to an old house in the French Concession.
As long as the original framework remains unchanged, simply changing the flesh and blood won't significantly affect the story's appeal. There's a reason why Luo Jinnian added this unnecessary detail.
Given the current situation, it's better to set the story domestically.
-
Yoshiko, a famous and beautiful writer, receives many letters from readers every day.
That day, a thick letter caught her attention. At the beginning of the letter, a chair maker who described himself as "ugly and cowardly" began to tell an unbelievable story:
This craftsman was highly skilled, but insecure. He made a batch of luxurious leather chairs for a high-end hotel, and in one of the chairs, he secretly created a private space to live in.
"A man as ugly and cowardly as me can only live a shameful and miserable life in a place full of light. But once I change the world I live in, and am curled up in the narrow space of this chair, I can get close to beautiful women who I can't talk to or even get close to in the world of light, listen to them talk, and touch their skin."
The chair maker hides in the chair not only to conceal his existence, but also to escape the gaze of others while simultaneously hoping to achieve a simulated relationship. His impulses and pleasures stem from a desire to remain undiscovered, yet also a yearning for intimacy.
As the chairs were used in the restaurant, the craftsmen went from initial panic to enjoying the theft, and then to indulging in an even more perverse hobby—sensing the body temperature and weight of the person sitting on them through the leather.
Months later, the hotel auctioned off a chair, and the one the craftsman had hidden was bought and sent to a diplomat's residence. He was overjoyed to discover that the lady of the house was none other than his idol—the writer Yoshiko. He adjusted the chair as if by magic, just to make her more comfortable.
In the dark cocoon, he fell madly in "love" for her.
"This is too perverted." Luo Jinnian had read this story countless times, but he still felt the same way. Although it was wrong to speculate about the author based on the text, Luo Jinnian always had doubts after reading so many of Edogawa Ranpo's works.
The ending has a surprising twist.
After reading the letter, Yoshiko realized that the scene described by the craftsman was strikingly similar to her own experience. Perhaps, this person was hiding in the chair she was sitting in right now!
Yoshiko was terrified.
But just as she was filled with terror, a second letter arrived, with handwriting exactly the same as the first.
The letter explained that he was a huge fan of Yoshiko and a literary enthusiast, so eager to receive his idol's approval that he wrote and directed this "chair-hiding-man" prank. The attached file was his novel, "The Human Chair."
Whether this explanation is true or false, and whether there was actually anyone in that chair, the novel leaves the answer unanswered, creating a chilling open ending.
As a mystery novel, *The Human Chair* is filled with chilling elements, making the word "horror" insufficient to encompass its entirety. We can say that this novel dissects various things that people consider terrifying and bizarre, allowing readers to gain a completely new understanding of the uncanny.
It's hard to imagine that this story was written in 1925, and the chair maker's state of mind is still very relatable to urban dwellers after the turn of the millennium.
Luo Jinnian opened the document and quickly typed on the keyboard.
In less than two hours, the first draft of 12,000 words was completed.
He doesn't need to devise a plot, choose his words carefully, or even think about what to write next—everything is like an open book, and he just needs to copy it down.
Then he read it through once and made preliminary changes to a few words that were clearly not in line with the context of the Republic of China.
Next came some more in-depth revisions, but not too much, as he was afraid that too many changes would affect the original text's structure.
After finishing everything, I opened my email and sent an email to "Records of Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty".
Email subject: "Human Chair", short story, by Luo Jinnian.
The main text contained only one sentence: "Dear editor, please review my latest short story."
Drag the attachment in and send.
After finishing, he closed his laptop and took an ice-cold can of Coke from the refrigerator. As he pulled the tab, carbonated bubbles rushed out, and he bent down and licked his hand to avoid spilling it. Then he leaned back in his chair and stared blankly at the ceiling for a while.
He was calculating something—once "The Human Chair" was published, the payment would be about 300 yuan per thousand words, and around 3,000 yuan for 12,000 words. This amount of money was nothing to him now, as contracts with Early Spring Culture were worth tens of millions of yuan, but Luo Jinnian still habitually preferred to earn royalties, finding it more reliable.
The editor's reply came quickly; it was as if Luo Jinnian's first mentor, editor Jia Bei, lived online.
"Boss, I've finished reading the manuscript for 'The Human Chair.' The story is excellent, especially the chilling twist at the end. The editor-in-chief asked me to inquire whether you agree to feature this manuscript as next month's cover story."
"Cover recommendation is fine, thank you for your approval, editor-in-chief and editors."
"Okay. The payment is 300 yuan per thousand words, totaling 3,600 yuan. It will be transferred to your account at the beginning of next month."
Luo Jinnian replied with "Okay, thank you," and then saved the screenshot of the email to a folder.
He turned off his computer, lay down on the bed, and started thinking about the next thing—the contract for "The Hidden Corner" was signed, 35 million plus 12% of the revenue share. Wang He finally relented and gave an extra 5 million, on the condition that Early Spring Culture would give priority to cooperating with Kiwi on follow-up projects of the Mist Theater.
They held a small meeting and quickly made a decision on this matter.
For Luo Jinnian, all that's left is to wait for "The Hidden Corner" to air.
While waiting for the broadcast, he planned to copy another short story and submit it to Science Fiction Vision.
What should I write about?
It would be going too far to copy Lao Liu's work again.
Ok……
The later years of "Science Fiction Vision" were so bad that even Luo Jinnian, a long-time customer, stopped subscribing because he was disgusted by it. However, the quality of "Science Fiction Vision: Translation Edition," which published foreign science fiction, remained consistently high.
It gives the feeling of an invincible extraterrestrial demon.
Works like "Memory Called Empire," "Stars," "Lord of All Things," and "The Library of God"... show that the editors at Science Fiction Vision have a knack for science fiction.
It's just domestic science fiction...
It's alright, Luo Jinnian has arrived in this life.