The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is the chilling tale of a doctor’s wife being driven mad. The tale is set during an era when conditions like depression were treated with extended periods of bed rest and a pronounced lack of stimulating activities. It’s not hard to fathom how this could have caused many people to fall into a state of psychosis. The story reads as journal entries that become progressively disturbing. This short story is highly recommended for those who like a darker, moody, creepy tale.
English: American feminist poet and writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
so I kept still and watched the moonlight on that undulating wall-paper till I felt creepy. The faint figure behind seemed to shake the pattern, just as if she wanted to get out.
This is the 33 word selection for the Trifextra Challenge. The challenge this week is a bit different than usual and has lots of instructions and rules so, if you want to learn more please follow the challenge link above.
Misanthropic Muse 
Checking it out… thanks.
Awesome. It’s a pretty quick read too. It only has 6,000 words. So, it’ll be good for one of those days when you have a little bit of time to kill.
I have to check this out. Wonder if its on my e-reader.
Well, that was super fast. Gotta love technology. I know what I’m reading tonight. Sounds so very interesting. Thank you for the recommendation.
Let me know what you think after you read it 🙂
Oooh! I haven’t read this one.. Will check it out.
Awesome! I’m glad I’m turning so many people on to a story that has been etched into my brain for years.
This is one of my favourite pieces of literature.so happy to see you writing about it.thank you!
Happy to tell others about it. It’s a short story that’s stayed with me since I first read it at eighteen and that was nearly a lifetime ago…
Hi, my first visit to your blog. i will be following, (even though I don’t do well with horror, I like you..so…)
I haven’t heard of this book, but it has intrigued me. My grandmother actually had PPD that turned into schizophrenia after repeated “tries to make her normal” after the birth of her last baby. She was a gentle crazy, but that she was. I wonder if reading this book would be a look into her mind.
in any case, it was a good choice, thanks for the link.
have a great weekend
“Hi, my first visit to your blog. i will be following, (even though I don’t do well with horror, I like you..so…)”
Why thank you for the compliment. I do horror but I rarely do gore. I like more subtle horror. I hope that makes it a bit easier to deal with in flash fiction sized chunks 🙂
“I wonder if reading this book would be a look into her mind.” I have two paranoid schizophrenics in my family. It’s weird how two people can have the same thing and be so differently afflicted by it. I can’t say if it will be a look into her mind but it certainly does a good job of depicting a person’s plummet over the edge,
I read this years ago and loved it. I need to read it again.
Yes, you do. It’s free online. Google it 🙂
creepy
It is. Truly. I’m not the only one in my family that remembers this creepy gem of a story and I think the others only read it once.
This sounds like a book that I would live to read. It’s the kind of thing I enjoy reading.
You should. It’s free online and only 6000 words. What’s there to lose? 🙂
Very true! I will check it out!
I recently listened to this story dramatized on Classics Radio. A chilling tale. Nice quote.
Never heard it on radio but I heard there is a movie about it… I wonder how much they changed it. Hollywood these days is all into ‘the gross out’ instead creepiness or fear so I kind of dread to see what they came up with.
Interesting. I’m going to look into this.
Awesome. It’s a good read.
Great choice! One of those pieces I read in high school and has always stayed with me.
Me too 🙂
ahahahah i LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. what a great read and a great choice of words.
You too? Sweet. Thanks for the compliment on the choice of words, I was going to do the ending but I didn’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t read it…
I love her personification of the paper and the creepy tone. Like the others, you have convinced me to look into this one. Good 33!
Cool. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
A little creepy is a lotta good! Thanks for such an inspired choice of quote and book.
I agree a little creepy *is* a whole lotta good. 😉
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Is this an attempt at horror or surrealism ? You have chosen an excellent line to whet one’s curiosity.
Shakti
“Is this an attempt at horror or surrealism ?” I guess you’ll have to read it to find out 😉
Creepy. Definitely my kind of story. Gotta check it out sometime (:
If you like creepy then you’ll be glad you did.
Oh whoa! This sound really really good!
It’s as good as it sounds, believe me 😉
This sounds so good 😀 I think I will read it too 😀 Especially if it is a shorter story (although that makes me sound really really lazy hahah 😀 )
Yeah. I know what you mean. I have two little kids and a touch of ADD so reading long books can take me awhile. I love short stories 🙂
I’m reading “The Yellow Wallpaper”, maybe tonight. I’m going to a friends for dinner, so it kind of depends. You might like “The Victorian Chaise Longue” by Marghanita Laski. It’s kind of hard to find. I bought it from Persephone Books, but Albris might have it. Let me change that… you will like it.
I just read the synopsis. It does sound like it’s right up my alley. I’m going to have to try and get my hands on a copy.
We just finished a reading of ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’. It was delicious. So subtle. Interesting reading about Miss Gilman and the import of her work. Have you seen the movie?
No. I have not seen the film. I have conflicting feelings about it. Part of me wants to see it and the other half of me sees the words “based on” and realizes that they probably changed just about everything from the book in order to make it less subtle to suit today’s attention deficient audiences (and make it span 115 minutes).
Edited to add: I just looked up the movie on wikipedia and found these under “cast”
Margie Mack as Rat Woman
Bob King as Rat Man
Earl Maddox as Burn in Hell Man
Yeah… they totally changed it for sure.
I was thinking the Masterpiece Theater one. The new one, I don’t think it made it into theaters.
Let me know if you can’t find the Longue.
I was unaware of the Masterpiece Theater one. I will have to look for it.
I’ll be reading this one.
Awesome!
Simply must read this now! What an apt description for such a malady!
All right. It should be an easy read at 6000 words. Let me know what you think once you get around to it. 🙂
Will do!
Very creepy and very cool!
It sure is! 😉
Never read this one, either!! Adding it to the list!
It’s definitely worth the read. You won’t regret it.
I read this story some years ago and it still pops to my mind whenerver I enter a wall papered room! It is so disturbing in it subtility. It stays with you and your mind keeps wondering back to it. Well it is the exact kind of horror that I like; great choice!!
“I read this story some years ago and it still pops to my mind whenerver I enter a wall papered room!” I know! Me too. After that story I would not be able to live in a house with yellow wallpaper. It would creep me out too much!
How horrific!A good choice -maybe I will go read it online this week:-)
Do. It’s one of those stories that gets right under your skin and stays there.
Seems so-let me see if I can make time:-)