New Mexico Book of the Undead: Goblin & Ghoul Folklore

American Legends

by Ray John de Aragón

New Mexico is a land of shadow and mystery. From the old coal mines near Raton and the isolation of Isleta Pueblo to the peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and beyond, ghouls and spirits lie in wait. Witches transform into vampire bats, werewolves howl and the undead rise with the light of the moon. La Llorona walks the banks of rivers and roads, her legendary and mournful cries terrifying any who cross her path. They are stories passed down by the fearless Comancheros, devoted Franciscan monks, fierce ciboleros and others to the present day as warnings of the evil in the world. In a captivating exploration of New Mexico's most fearful tales, Ray John de Aragon recounts stories from the state's rich and spine-chilling cultural folklore.

Genres: Paranormal, Horror, Folklore, Nonfiction

130 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2014

Reviews

[Wendy Lohr · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This review can also be found on my blog, The Never-Ending TBR Pile: https://wendylohr.wordpress.com/2019/...

Folklore, myths, legends... there are so many out there, some seen in multiple cultures and some unique to one particular culture. This book focuses on New Mexico and the Spaniards that settled there in the sixteenth century up until today.

Everything from La Llorona to Bloody Mary is explored in this story collection. And I liked how the author wove Spanish and English throughout, providing some verses in Spanish before giving the English translation. There is also a nice mix of New Mexico history provided to give a backdrop to the stories and superstitions.

The only negative is I would have liked a little more historical/cultural background for some of the stories in this book. He did that well with some and not with others. And the layout was a little confusing, but not enough to deter from the individual stories.

Overall, a great introduction to New Mexico and Spanish folklore. If you're looking for something more detailed, this isn't it. But this book gives enough to whet the appetite to do more research on particular stories that intrigue the reader most.

[Mystic Miraflores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the stories were compiled by one author, there was a great variety in quality. Some stories were good, while others were only okay. The ones I particularly liked were “La Guajona—Vampire Witch”; “La Llorona”; “Dead Ringer”; “Knock, Knock, Who’s There?”; and “La Muerte Pays a Visit”.

[Abbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I enjoyed this book, it felt disjointed. Many chapters had multiple stories in them that were blended together to make one story. I also felt like the author was using the postcards/pictures/prints as inspiration for some of his stories and trying to make the story for the images. I like to see where on the map some of these places are located, and one story has two locations 4 hours (by car) away from each other but these characters were walking and it took them a short time. It just didn't make sense.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting but a little disjointed. would have liked more historical information

[Michal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only very scant historical context, origin, and general description of the tales. It's mostly the tales themselves without a lot of introduction, so I didn't learn much from this, sadly.