Hellebore: Yuletide Hauntings 2023

Hellebore Zine

by Maria J. Pérez Cuervo (Editor, Contributor), Verity Holloway (Contributor), Edward Parnell (Contributor)

Spectral Roman armies wading across newly built motorways, grey ladies roaming the corridors of stately homes, phantom coaches driven by headless squires. Britain is a haunted land, with layers of history crawling between the shadows.

Inspired by the old tradition of telling ghost stories for Christmas, our Yuletide Hauntings special is a collection of essays evoking a time where there was “not a village in England that had not a ghost in it, the churchyards were all haunted, every large common had a circle of fairies belonging to it, and there was scarce a shepherd to be met with who had not seen a spirit”—a time that may well represent the essence of Britain itself.

Words by Verity Holloway, Edward Parnell, Maria J. Pérez Cuervo, John A. Riley, Julia Round, Katy Soar, and Alice Vernon. Cover by Courtney Brooke. Art direction by Nathaniel Hébert. Edited by Maria J. Pérez Cuervo.

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Folklore, History, Gothic, Occult

96 pages, Paperback

First published December 21, 2023

Reviews

[historic_chronicles · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Our forefathers looked upon nature with more reverence and horror, before the world was enlightened by learning and philosophy, and loved to astonish themselves with apprehensions of witchcraft, prodigies, charms, and enchantments. There was not a village in England that had not a ghost in it, the churchyards were all haunted, every large common had a circle of fairies belonging to it, and there was scarce a shepherd to be met with who had not seen a spirit." - Joseph Addison, 1712

With my introduction to Hellebore, I was absolutely thrilled with this special edition dedicated to ghosts and hauntings relating to the festive season.

From ghostly apparitions of Roman soldiers to the most haunted house in Britain, the outpouring of Spiritualism linked to the tragic expedition of the HMS Erebus and Terror to the horrifying experiences of parasomnias, this intricately designed Yuletide edition peaked my love of the uncanny and macabre to make perfect fireside reading on a dark winter night.

While this may have been the first edition of Hellebore that I have read, as you can see, I have already begun to purchase more of the previous editions as I engulfed this latest publication so quickly I couldn't wait to get my hands on more! From now on, Hellebore will be a welcome addition to my reading collection.

[aja · Rating 3 out of 5]

not an uninteresting collection, but i think i would have liked this more if it were longer so all our articles could dig deeper into the material & rly breathe; as it is we mostly touched at the surface level of things. i found the articles all interesting! & learned some fun stuff, & appreciate the sources & breadth of material we covered. the art direction for this magazine is gorgeous, tho (in fact it inspired the artistic design of a photoset i posted to tumblr the other day lol), & i'm very happy to have been able to support an indie project such as this.

[Magdalena Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love ghost stories for christmas and that festive, spooky atmosphere we feel when the days are shorter and the nights are colder, and Yuletide Hauntings was a perfect little read for this time of the year! The artwork is perfection and the articles brilliant: from the Stone Tape theory, the Spiritualism and the expedition of HMS Erebus and Terror to sleep and hallucinations, this special from Hellebore is strange and wonderful!

[Tim Rideout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read on the winter solstice. I am a huge admirer of Hellebore and was not disappointed by this Yuletide edition. Subject matter, style and presentation are all perfectly judged for those of us who like our Christmases served with more than a touch of the uncanny and the macabre.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic issue.
I loved all the articles in this one. Particular favourites are: Spirits of Stone, Our Friend of the Mist and The Borley Enigma.

I couldn't put this down, I devoured it in a few hours this afternoon.

Brilliant throughout with stunning retro-inspired visuals as always.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my favourite issue of Hellebore yet! This is the special 'Yuletide Hauntings' issue from 2023 (so I am only just over a year behind in my backlog - whoo hoo!) Whilst Hellebore is pitched as a zine of folk horror and the occult this zine for the Winter Solstice of 2023 is focussed on ghosts and spirits.

As always the art direction is beautiful and the articles are scholarly, rather than sensational and fully referenced with a tight editing to ensure they are accessible.

My highlights of this issue are, 'The Ghosts of Roman Britain' by Katy Soar documenting Roman ghost sightings. What's interesting is that there is a legend of ghostly legionnaires quite near where I live. I am not sure of the source of the legend but in the 1950's there was a Roman supply centre dug up nearby which would certainly place Roman soldiers in the area. What I loved about the piece was the suggestion that Roman ghostly soldiers only started appearing in the 20th century, perhaps from when people actually had a shared understanding of what Romans look like. What really made me smile is that right now I am sharing a collaborative fiction story set in York and we are up to a bit where an old Roman temple has been dug up and of course I have thrown in some ghosts - the timing couldn't have been better!

I also loved Julia Round's piece on the 70's horror comic for girls called 'Misty'. I really want to read Misty! It was aimed at pre-teen girls and perhaps encapsulated the concerns of girls growing up. It also was a reflection on society and changing expectations for girls and women, with a very mysterious edge. Of course, with it being the 70's and aimed at children it didn't spare them from any of the shocking stuff of the era. I love kids media in the 70's - it was so much better than today and trusted that they could deal with mature themes. I am glad the author referenced Scarred For Life: Volume One: The 1970s as I found that invaluable in learning more about comics of my youth and earlier. I recommend this site for more information https://mistycomic.co.uk/Welcome.html

The best piece (as is often the case) is Verity Holloway's. I love her historical pieces and this one is no exception. It is the story of two British ships called 'HMS Erebus' and 'HMS Terror' which went missing in the mid-19th century trying to navigate the North West passage in Inuit lands to connect the sailing passage between the Atlantic and Pacific. I'd never heard the story before and it is one of Imperial ambition and rumour. Even though only a few years later the truth of what happened started became to be known, a number of expeditions to find the ships took place (the ships were only found in the last decade or so). What is interesting in this article is how the wife of the captain often commissioned mediums to find out what had happened, or had the findings of mediums relayed to her. What is so notable here is how the mediums, often illiterate and poor, perhaps due to knowing nothing of arctic conditions relayed the Imperial attitudes of the time in perhaps farcical ways to a modern audience but plausible to a Victorian one. I was so fascinated by this story and more information is here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankli...

Can't recommend Hellebore enough!

[Mad Medico · Rating 3 out of 5]

The magazine is set out beautifully, with excellent illustrations and typography - the content often doesn’t live up to its packaging, although as Hellebore is intended as much as an arts showcase as it is genuine reading material, I was not too surprised. There’s plenty of decent write-ups of ghostly events and parapsychology, with the sociological look at Roman ghosts (which only began to appear as knowledge of the Roman occupation became more widely disseminated according to the article) and the account of the vain attempts to recover HMS Erebus and Terror through mediumship being particular highlights. The article on the link between sleep and haunting and the Stone Tape analysis are particularly lacking, with the latter completely misinterpreting the theory of commodity fetishism in a typically juvenile film student way, embarrassing for a professor… The magazine would be better served by cutting the academic element, as the articles are too short and too focussed on general readers to be really insightful, and pay more attention to more of the storytelling which it does quite well (in ‘Spirits of the Stones’, ‘News of Those We Counted Dead’ and ‘The Borley Enigma’ in particular).

[Kevin Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the great tradition of Christmas ghost stories, these Hellebore annuals offer up some spookological excavation that resonates with the season, even if sometimes the connections aren't direct. The layout and art is gorgeous, the articles of uniformly high quality, and the content perfect for these short, dark days.

[Bill Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another beautiful issue of HELLEBORE, this one a special number dedicated to ghosts and hauntings, appropriate for the Yule season. Every issue is a welcome arrival in my mail box, a perfect mix of design and erudition and one of the brightest lights in the field of journal publishing today.

[Scott Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic collection of reading and art.

The Hellebore zine and its specials are always a happy addition to the book shelves, full of interesting subjects, that you lead you to further subjects to delve into!

[Arthur B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically an extra issue of Hellebore, rather than a bumper-sized affair like the Christmas annuals of yore, but fun enough. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...

[James Greening · Rating 5 out of 5]

For once, someone actually approaches Folk horror, legends, and mysteries with a true academic presence while at the same time an open mind. Often times, it is too much of one or the other, but Hellebore balances the approach perfectly, and I absolutely love anything they do!

[Kevin L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evocative and well written and researched.

My favorite entry was To Capture a Haunting by John A. Riley which examines both The Stone Tapes offerings by Kneale and Strickland respectively.

[Tam · Rating 5 out of 5]

HMS TERROR MENTIONED. FIVE STARS.

[Ned Netherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a real treat for my festive season, thank you

[Kevin Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another superb issue of Hellebore. This one is a special Yuletide edition filled with ghostly happenings.

This zine is so well written with fantastic contributors.

I can't wait to read more.

[Michael (Horror Gardener) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent issue

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acabo de descubrir a Misty y estoy living

[Robin Sid Juniper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first issue of the hellebore zine I've read and I really enjoyed it. The first thing you notice is the spot on graphic design, which I loved. Plus, I found the bite-size articles about mysterious events and ghost stories interesting and spooky. Even if I had already heard some of the stories presented, it was nice to re-encounter them in this format, as well as read about other mysteries I didn't know about.

Also, I appreciated the authors' sceptical lenses towards the events. They gave me the idea of being reliable and showing the facts instead of trying to sensationalise what happened, leaving room for doubt.

Perfect read for Yuletide!