Robert E. Howard - Cold Opens

 A cold open is a dramatic technique generally referred to in television and film, where an exciting scene is presented before the opening credits or title. It's a way to immediately engage the audience and introduce the story.

This term can also be used when referring to the first sentence or first paragraph of a story.

Robert E. Howard wrote mainly short stories for pulp magazines, and, like most writers, knew the importance of a good opening line or paragraph. Many of his cold opens put us in the midst of action.

Opening lines in short stories can be crucial, as they must immediately capture the reader's attention and entice them to continue reading. A good opening to a story should intrigue the reader and convey that this is going to be a good ride.

I could fill a blog with fantastic quotes from Howard's work, but here I will focus on his "cold opens".

Rotath of Lemuria was dying. - The Curse of the Golden Skull

I have seen where other writers have used this, perhaps at the beginning of a chapter. James Michener comes to mind as I remember him using it at least twice. Howard liked this so much that he used it again in the opening line from The People of the Black Circle: The King of Vendhya was dying.

"At midnight the king must die!" - By This Axe I Rule   

The bare plank walls of the Golden Eagle Saloon seemed still to vibrate with the crashing echoes of the guns which had split the sudden darkness with spurts of red. - The Vultures of Whapeton 

Fear? Your pardon, Messieurs, but the meaning of fear you do not know.  - Wolfshead

Lightning dazzled the eyes of Turlogh O'Brien and his foot slipped in a smear of blood as he staggered on the reeling deck. The clashing of steel rivaled the bellowing of the thunder, and screams of death cut through the roar of waves and wind. The incessant lighting flicker gleamed on the corpses sprawling redly…    - The Gods of Bal-Sagoth

Red Ghallinan was a gunman. - "Golden Hope" Christmas

"Landlord, ho!" The shout broke the lowering silence and reverberated through the black forest with sinister echoing.  - Rattle of Bones

A sinister quiet lay like a shoud over the ancient city of Valusia.  - Swords of the Purple Kingdom

The folks on Bear Creek ain't what you'd call peaceable by nature, but I was kind of surprised to come onto Erath Elkins and his brother-in-law Joel Gordon locked in mortal combat on the bank of the creek. But there they was, so tangled up they couldn't use their bowies to no advantage, and their cussing was scandalous to hear.      - A Gent from Bear Creek                                                                                                

A cannon-ball for a left and a thunderbolt for a right! A granite jaw, and chilled steel body! The ferocity of a tiger, and the greatest fighting heart that ever beat in an iron-ribbed breast! That was Mike Brennan, heavyweight contender.   - The Iron Man    

The roar of battle had died away; the shout of victory mingled with the cries of the dying.          - The Scarlet Citadel

Torches flared murkily on the revels in the Maul, where the thieves of the east held carnival by night. In the Maul they could carouse and roar as they liked, for honest people shunned the quarters, and watchmen, well paid with stained coins, did not interfere with their sport.        - The Tower of the Elephant

The dagger flashed downward. A sharp cry broke in a gasp. The form on the rough altar twitched convulsively and lay still. The jagged flint edge sawed at the crimsoned breast, and thin bony fingers, ghastly dyed, tore out the still-twitching heart. Under matted white brows, sharp eyes gleamed with a ferocious intensity.            - Kings of the Night    

 I came to Dagon's Cave to kill Richard Brent. I went down the dusky avenues made by the towering trees, and my mood well-matched the primitive grimness of the scene.  - People of the Dark                                                                                     

1.     The horror first took concrete form amid that most unconcrete of all things—a hashish dream. I was off on a timeless, spaceless journey through the strange lands that belong to this state of being, a million miles away from earth and all things earthly; yet I became cognizant that something was reaching across the unknown voids—something that tore ruthlessly at the separating curtains of my illusions and intruded itself into my visions.  - Skull-Face

Egyptian darkness! The phrase is too vivid for complete comfort, suggesting not only blackness, but unseen things lurking in that blackness; things that skulk in the deep shadows and shun the light of day; slinking figures that prowl beyond the edge of normal life.  - Black Hound of Death

The blades crossed with a sharp clash of venomous steel; blue sparks showered. Across those blades hot eyes burned into each other — hard inky black eyes and volcanic blue ones. Breath hissed between close locked teeth; feet scruffed the sward, advancing, retreating.       - The Blue Flame of Vengeance

Across the red drifts and mail-clad forms, two figures glared at each other. In that utter desolation only they moved. The frosty sky was over them, the white illimitable plain around them, the dead men at their feet. Slowly through the corpses they came, as ghosts might come to a tryst through the shambles of a dead world.          - Gods of the North      

Only the age-old silence brooded over the mysterious ruins of Kuthchemes, but Fear was there; Fear quivered in the mind of Shevatas, the thief, driving his breath quick and sharp against his clenched teeth.  - Black Colossus

Steve Brill did not believe in ghosts or demons. Juan Lopez did. But neither the caution of the one nor the sturdy skepticism of the other was shield against the horror that fell upon them…         - The Horror from the Mound

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