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Book of Shadows: Grim Tales and Gothic Fancies
For those who hunger for small bites of horror sweetened with black humor, this collection of Grim Tales and Gothic Fancies offers a satisfying repast: morbidly playful riffs on the faerie tales of the Brothers Grimm; darkly exquisite Gothic fables in both prose and verse; and hell-raising evocations of beings both demonic and diabolic. A rich feast of horrors leavened with wit, Book of Shadows offers a delicious glimpse into the decadent heart and mordant mind of Manuel Arenas.
In “The Sanguinary Saga of Morbidezza Vespertilio, Vampiress,” Arenas inverts “Sleeping Beauty” with more than a touch of Gothicism in the style of Hammer horror. With “Rosaire, Master of Wolves,” he shows us the dark genesis and bloody destiny of a born werewolf. A lighter touch is used in “Gothilocks,” a playfully sardonic update on “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” The dread demon of Christmas makes an appearance in “Greetings from Krampus,” and in “Nativity in Black: An Anti-Christmas Story,” we are presented with a dark celebration featuring all creatures great and infernal in a pageant—quite literally—from Hell.
This volume is sumptuously illustrated by Dan Sauer, whose surreal images heighten the effect of the dark fantasies contained herein.
In “The Sanguinary Saga of Morbidezza Vespertilio, Vampiress,” Arenas inverts “Sleeping Beauty” with more than a touch of Gothicism in the style of Hammer horror. With “Rosaire, Master of Wolves,” he shows us the dark genesis and bloody destiny of a born werewolf. A lighter touch is used in “Gothilocks,” a playfully sardonic update on “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” The dread demon of Christmas makes an appearance in “Greetings from Krampus,” and in “Nativity in Black: An Anti-Christmas Story,” we are presented with a dark celebration featuring all creatures great and infernal in a pageant—quite literally—from Hell.
This volume is sumptuously illustrated by Dan Sauer, whose surreal images heighten the effect of the dark fantasies contained herein.
90 pages, Paperback
Published September 12, 2021
10 people want to read
About the author
Manuel Arenas
24 books14 followersManuel Arenas is a writer of verse and prose in the Gothic Horror tradition. His work has appeared in various anthologies and journals including Spectral Realms, and Penumbra. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona, where he pens his dark ditties sheltered behind heavy curtains, as he shuns the oppressive orb which glares down on him from the cloudless, dust-filled sky.
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August 24, 2023
A fun, spooky mix of poetry and short stories. Fans of gothic, horror, fairy tale retellings, and the macabre will definitely find these and more aplenty. Some of my favorites include Morbidezza, an atmospheric vampire story, Belladonna, a creepy story about the consequences of attaining beauty, and the poem, Greetings from Krampus. Book of Shadows: Grim Tales and Gothic Fancies is full of creepy goodness.
Displaying 1 of 1 review