The King in Yellow is a book of ten short stories by American writer Robert W. Chambers, first published in 1895. The book is named after a fictional play with the same title which recurs as a motif through some of the stories. The first half of the book features highly esteemed weird stories, and the book has been described as a classic in the field of the supernatural. The first four stories mention The King in Yellow, a forbidden play which induces despair or madness in those who read it.