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The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs
After moving into a new home and giving birth to her first child, a woman worries that a supernatural force is haunting her child’s nursery, and has corrupted her husband into a creature intent on harming them both.
Emma is excited to start a family in her new home, but after her child’s birth she finds her world turning upside-down. The infant cries like it’s scared of something, or someone, and Emma’s sleepless nights quickly drive a wedge between her and her husband, who seems uncharacteristically detached. When Emma begins to see strange things in the house, the line between reality and fantasy blurs and her grasp of what’s real and what’s not becomes even more clouded. Is something unnatural haunting the nursery? And what if it also affected her husband, who ventured up into the attic when they first arrived...
Inspired by the works of Shirley Jackson and Ira Levin, Celine Loup’s The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs weaves a tale of horror and suspense that captures the isolation of postpartum depression, while exploring the very real fears associated with new motherhood.
For Mature Readers.
Emma is excited to start a family in her new home, but after her child’s birth she finds her world turning upside-down. The infant cries like it’s scared of something, or someone, and Emma’s sleepless nights quickly drive a wedge between her and her husband, who seems uncharacteristically detached. When Emma begins to see strange things in the house, the line between reality and fantasy blurs and her grasp of what’s real and what’s not becomes even more clouded. Is something unnatural haunting the nursery? And what if it also affected her husband, who ventured up into the attic when they first arrived...
Inspired by the works of Shirley Jackson and Ira Levin, Celine Loup’s The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs weaves a tale of horror and suspense that captures the isolation of postpartum depression, while exploring the very real fears associated with new motherhood.
For Mature Readers.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published September 24, 2019
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497 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
February 13, 2020
Isn't that a great title and cover? Dark, sophisticated, noir. A short story told and drawn by Celine Loup that she says was inspired by gothic suspense queen Shirley Jackson and Ira Levin . Like Jackson's work, it is atmospheric, suspenseful, and like Levin's Rosemary's Baby, it deals with what Loup admitted herself stem from her own anxieties about childbirth.
Emma gives birth to her first child, but then perceives some supernatural force entering her new, beautiful (but dark, gothic, of course) house, and maybe also her baby and husband. So much screaming, this baby does, that it seems to be terror, not colic! Emma can't sleep; is she going a bit crazy, is it postpartum depression? Is she seeing things? Why is her once sweet and supportive husband spending so much time in the attic? I like the line Loup draws between health and horror. It's a short story, with a surprising conclusion. As with Jackson, it is always the house. . . or is it? Unanswered questions at the end. It's good, promising, not yet great work, imho.
Emma gives birth to her first child, but then perceives some supernatural force entering her new, beautiful (but dark, gothic, of course) house, and maybe also her baby and husband. So much screaming, this baby does, that it seems to be terror, not colic! Emma can't sleep; is she going a bit crazy, is it postpartum depression? Is she seeing things? Why is her once sweet and supportive husband spending so much time in the attic? I like the line Loup draws between health and horror. It's a short story, with a surprising conclusion. As with Jackson, it is always the house. . . or is it? Unanswered questions at the end. It's good, promising, not yet great work, imho.
February 21, 2022
I didn't even realize this was supposed to be horror until the end. I just thought it was about a mother suffering from postpartum depression like The Yellow Wallpaper. The horror angle was completely lost on me. I didn't think it was conveyed well at all.
December 5, 2019
An unsatisfying sketch of a story. The back cover mentions it is inspired by Shirley Jackson and Ira Levin, but this postpartum depression tale seems to lift pretty directly from Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, by way of The Twilight Zone perhaps.
November 13, 2023
A slim slight effort that feels it necessary to explain the premise on the back cover rather than using the available pages to tell the story. Yes, I was confused.
No spoilers ahead. While reading this I kept thinking back to the graphic memoir Dear Scarlet: The Story of My Postpartum Depression which is much more touching and immediate.
This volume is fiction and tries very hard, but much of it was confusing and obscure.
I'm sorry for the 2 stars, but this very short book has 11 editors credited (eleven!) yet still the word "eligible" is misspelled.
No spoilers ahead. While reading this I kept thinking back to the graphic memoir Dear Scarlet: The Story of My Postpartum Depression which is much more touching and immediate.
This volume is fiction and tries very hard, but much of it was confusing and obscure.
I'm sorry for the 2 stars, but this very short book has 11 editors credited (eleven!) yet still the word "eligible" is misspelled.
October 11, 2019
Nice short creepy story of post-partum depression.
November 13, 2023
This thin graphic novel packed quite a punch, that effectively tied postpartum depression with a creepy noir vibe.
Set in what looks like the French countryside, a young married couple purchase a charming old home, in preparation for the child they are expecting. During move-in day, the husband is carrying supplies to the attic when his wife hears a huge crash. Panicked, she is about to start upstairs when her husband Thomas comes down the attic stairs stone-faced, insisting that he simply tripped and everything is fine. Her water breaks at this moment.
The next scene is set in the near future as they are home with their new daughter Roslin who seems to have a bad case of colic, and she cries incessantly. Emma’s husband seems strangely detached, never complaining of the baby’s never-ending crying, yet not the playful man we first met at the beginning of the story. Not surprisingly Emma is at her wit’s end and doesn’t feel connected to her child. The pressures of new motherhood, an eerily changed husband, and her worries about her child’s health weigh heavily on her. Afraid of being perceived as a bad mother, she lashes out at some neighborhood women when she feels judged by them.
While speaking to a psychiatrist about her postpartum depression and her suspicions about what happened to her husband in the attic, a shocking revelation is revealed. The ending is deliberately ambiguous, so you don’t know quite what to believe.
Rendered in black and white, the artwork is atmospheric and sinister. The drawings gave a real sense of time and place, plus Emma’s unending housework will give you a sense of claustrophobia. I found the story reminiscent of Emily Carroll’s Through The Woods and Shirley Jackson’s short stories (as coincidence would have it, a month ago I read The Lottery and Other Short Stories by Jackson). Comparing Celine Loup to these other two women authors is praise indeed, so I will seek out future work by her.
his review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2020/05/2...
Set in what looks like the French countryside, a young married couple purchase a charming old home, in preparation for the child they are expecting. During move-in day, the husband is carrying supplies to the attic when his wife hears a huge crash. Panicked, she is about to start upstairs when her husband Thomas comes down the attic stairs stone-faced, insisting that he simply tripped and everything is fine. Her water breaks at this moment.
The next scene is set in the near future as they are home with their new daughter Roslin who seems to have a bad case of colic, and she cries incessantly. Emma’s husband seems strangely detached, never complaining of the baby’s never-ending crying, yet not the playful man we first met at the beginning of the story. Not surprisingly Emma is at her wit’s end and doesn’t feel connected to her child. The pressures of new motherhood, an eerily changed husband, and her worries about her child’s health weigh heavily on her. Afraid of being perceived as a bad mother, she lashes out at some neighborhood women when she feels judged by them.
While speaking to a psychiatrist about her postpartum depression and her suspicions about what happened to her husband in the attic, a shocking revelation is revealed. The ending is deliberately ambiguous, so you don’t know quite what to believe.
Rendered in black and white, the artwork is atmospheric and sinister. The drawings gave a real sense of time and place, plus Emma’s unending housework will give you a sense of claustrophobia. I found the story reminiscent of Emily Carroll’s Through The Woods and Shirley Jackson’s short stories (as coincidence would have it, a month ago I read The Lottery and Other Short Stories by Jackson). Comparing Celine Loup to these other two women authors is praise indeed, so I will seek out future work by her.
his review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2020/05/2...
July 17, 2020
The artwork was haunting and the anguish was palpable. However, this needed to take it's time and build the suspense. I feel like I was missing out on a lot of the house's history and it's impact on the characters. It seemed like it was going to play a larger role and then it was dropped. I read some Junji Ito shorts and this premise could have been the start of an Ito story. Wish it was more finished, felt more complete. It felt like a fragment.
January 9, 2018
Beautiful, textured art that really adds to the period feel of the story. Really connected with the emotional honesty of the story and thought the horror element was perfectly calibrated to the real-life trauma it represented. Looking forward to reading more of Loup's work.
November 4, 2021
Don't believe the hype and if you do it only takes about 15 minutes to read this and most people spend that and more vapidly looking at instagram or like social media.
December 5, 2019
When your tale of domestic horror is only 44 pages, you've got to stick the landing. The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs does not. The clever twist shifts abruptly from surprising to weird and inexplicable.
Still, the rest of this quick read is atmospheric and agonizing. The images of a baby screaming, page after page, really do get to you as if an actual baby's cries were rattling around your head. This is mostly thanks to Celine Loup's beautiful black-and-white art. She draws great emotions. Conclusions, less so.
Still, the rest of this quick read is atmospheric and agonizing. The images of a baby screaming, page after page, really do get to you as if an actual baby's cries were rattling around your head. This is mostly thanks to Celine Loup's beautiful black-and-white art. She draws great emotions. Conclusions, less so.
October 10, 2019
I really enjoyed the art and the spooky atmosphere- very Shirley Jackson in feel, with a nice Lovecraftian vibe. But! I wish I had known going in that it was only 48 pages. It feels much too short (think Emily Carroll short story short) and I want more, I NEED more! So overall unsatisfying as a complete story, but you better believe that I'll be picking more up by this author if/when she releases anything else.
October 9, 2019
Ummmmmmm. Somewhere between a 2 and a 3 star rating for this one.
February 23, 2022
This book is pretty well just pages and pages of the baby crying with some screaming and pooping thrown in yet somehow it was kind of terrifying. This is the type of story were you get to the end, learn the twist, and immediately go back to the beginning and read it again.
March 6, 2022
um conto assustador em forma de quadrinho. traço belíssimo.
November 9, 2019
What a creepy little book! This is the story of a woman who is filled with hope and promise for the future. Her husband just bought their dream house, she is expecting her first child, and is happily living the dream. But it quickly disintegrates into a nightmarish prison of horror, exhaustion, and suspicion. I also loved the stark artwork and cover design, illustrating her isolation and imprisonment.
The story is filled with vague fears: is the baby okay? What was that noise in the attic? Why won't the baby stop crying? Why has her husband been acting so strangely? Why won't the baby stop crying? What was that thing she thought she saw sprouting from her husband's face? WHY WON'T THE BABY STOP CRYING?!?
The story is filled with vague fears: is the baby okay? What was that noise in the attic? Why won't the baby stop crying? Why has her husband been acting so strangely? Why won't the baby stop crying? What was that thing she thought she saw sprouting from her husband's face? WHY WON'T THE BABY STOP CRYING?!?
March 7, 2021
A short, pointed and harrowing tale that shows how the greatest horrors are the ones that settle within our own head and heart, nestling inside of our grief and despair until we fracture from its relentlessness. Superbly well done, both in terms of narrative and art, and with an outstanding afterword that reaches out to readers in distress.
October 28, 2023
this book did absolutely nothing for me. it left me with questions in all the wrong ways. bonus star for the above average illustrations.
November 3, 2019
Atmospheric and about a worthy topic, but also confusing and unsatisfying. I had trouble pinning down the time period, which the author establishes in her notes at the end of the book. But the time period she mentions doesn't make sense because this couple would have had servants then, and their absence is never explained. Ending is abrupt and bewildering.
August 2, 2022
Psychological horror, mystery, supernatural horror. Compare to Henry James, Shirley Jackson, Junji Ito. Very compact story and extremely well executed (atmospheric, oppressive, disturbing). Excellent art. The short length makes it seem like it was intended for a magazine or larger collection. Ending feels a little too loose for such a brief piece.
January 30, 2020
This was a quick read that I was able to find on Scribd. It left me feeling really underwhelmed with what I was promised. It has such beautiful art but not a satisfying resolution.
February 8, 2020
Either I completely missed something, or this was just a pointless cliffhanger of a story. Waste of time.
October 19, 2019
It’s October so it’s the perfect time to dig into some books and comics on the creepier end of the spectrum. Celine Loup’s slim graphic novel - graphic novella? is that a thing? - “The Man Who Came Down The Attic Stairs” certainly qualifies but it’s also an elegant and thoughtful examination of post-partum despression. Just, you know, with, like, demons and ghosts and shit.
Emma is a new mother, frazzled and insecure, pushed nearly to her breaking point by her baby who spends virtually every waking moment screaming inconsolably, more out of fear than out of any basic wants or needs. The man who came down the attic stairs in “The Man Who Came Down The Attic Stairs” is her husband and, possibly due to her harried mental state or perhaps due to some sort of possession, Emma becomes convinced that he’s no longer the man she married. The book’s low page count means action and answers are both pretty limited but Loup does a lot with a little, establishing an atmosphere of dread that never really lets up. Her artwork has a lovely post-war European style to it and her use of lettering and sound effects shows just how often those essential elements can be overlooked. It’s a nifty little package that’ll leave the reader delightfully anxious.
If you like moody, slow burn horror, “The Man Who Came Down The Attic Stairs” is a can’t miss pick. If you’ve ever read Emily Carroll’s comics and thought, “I wish she’d do one of these for Heavy Metal magazine,” this book will scratch that itch. If you just like Halloween and autumn and creepy comics, Celine Loup has got you covered.
Emma is a new mother, frazzled and insecure, pushed nearly to her breaking point by her baby who spends virtually every waking moment screaming inconsolably, more out of fear than out of any basic wants or needs. The man who came down the attic stairs in “The Man Who Came Down The Attic Stairs” is her husband and, possibly due to her harried mental state or perhaps due to some sort of possession, Emma becomes convinced that he’s no longer the man she married. The book’s low page count means action and answers are both pretty limited but Loup does a lot with a little, establishing an atmosphere of dread that never really lets up. Her artwork has a lovely post-war European style to it and her use of lettering and sound effects shows just how often those essential elements can be overlooked. It’s a nifty little package that’ll leave the reader delightfully anxious.
If you like moody, slow burn horror, “The Man Who Came Down The Attic Stairs” is a can’t miss pick. If you’ve ever read Emily Carroll’s comics and thought, “I wish she’d do one of these for Heavy Metal magazine,” this book will scratch that itch. If you just like Halloween and autumn and creepy comics, Celine Loup has got you covered.
January 5, 2020
A perfectly timed short-story graphic novel that serves as a metaphor for post-partum depression. When a young woman and her husband move into a house and she gives birth, Emma's life seems to get turned upside down. Her baby will not stop crying and her husband has started acting very different. Such frustrations bring her to a nervous breakdown, and her husband brings her to a psychiatrist. But is it really her husband? In the same vein of Emily Carroll's "The Nesting Place" or Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper, The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs plays on the same fears of domestic horror, the house being haunted with an unknown source of fear, and such horrors psychologically affecting the afflicted to means of potential institutionalization.
With gray colors and semi-realistic illustrations, Loup does a fantastic job of highlighting the horrific aspects of becoming so depressed despite some of the happiest events in one's life, the specific female horror of one's family not being what is expected.
Overall, this was a riveting, psychologically intense short story focusing on a topic that is frequently tabooed. Definitely worth reading, especially for those who want a short spurt of something spooky and downright weird.
Review cross-listed here!
With gray colors and semi-realistic illustrations, Loup does a fantastic job of highlighting the horrific aspects of becoming so depressed despite some of the happiest events in one's life, the specific female horror of one's family not being what is expected.
Overall, this was a riveting, psychologically intense short story focusing on a topic that is frequently tabooed. Definitely worth reading, especially for those who want a short spurt of something spooky and downright weird.
Review cross-listed here!
November 24, 2019
An expecting couple buys a new house. They baby is colic and won't stop crying. The mother becomes a bit unhinged, noticing weird things about her husband after he comes down from the attic one day. She goes to therapy. She finds out she's unwell in a way that's shocking and sad.
A beautiful and sad and a bit creepy story about postpartum depression. Recommended for those who like milk bottles, changing diapers, and strange noises from the attic.
A beautiful and sad and a bit creepy story about postpartum depression. Recommended for those who like milk bottles, changing diapers, and strange noises from the attic.
February 25, 2022
2.5 I’d say that the characterization is underdeveloped, but this graphic novel is quite haunting and I suspect that thoughts about it may linger with me for a while. Art was cinematic but not exceptional.
November 25, 2023
Heartbreaking and very real. Thank you for writing this and to everyone who reads it. Perinatal and postpartum depression are very real and needs to be acknowledged, discussed and addressed openly without shame.
December 19, 2019
This is a quick, <20 minute read, and it is haaarrrrrowing.
May 17, 2023
Adult
Graphic Novel
NSFW (nudity)
A disturbing look at motherhood and PPD (post partum depression).
Graphic Novel
NSFW (nudity)
A disturbing look at motherhood and PPD (post partum depression).
August 21, 2024
Needed more pages to figure itself out. Story is a little lackluster and definitely didint leave me with any sort of lasting impact. Art is gorgeous and haunting though
February 5, 2020
It built great tension but wish the ending was different
Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews