Crom Cruach

by Valkyrie Loughcrewe

A family is found slaughtered in their home, yet their corpses still move; committed to the routine of their daily lives, heedless of their own grisly deaths. A local occultist commune is suspected of the crime. The bloody legacy of Catholicism and the dark roots of ancient paganism intertwine in the aftermath of a recent national revolution. Welcome to the Ireland of tomorrow.

Two ex-Gardai officers, a former Franciscan monk and a young trans woman race to determine the cause of the slayings before tensions in the community boil over and kick off a new Satanic Panic, driving the tenuous fledgling nation back into the arms of the Church.

CROM CRUACH is a distinctly Irish anxiety piece about the reluctant future and repressed past of a country trying to shrug off the shackles of colonialism, wrapped in the shiny black leather of Giallo and written in a poetic style fit for the fog-shrouded mysticism of the emerald isle.

Genres: Horror, Poetry, Queer, Fiction, Ireland, Novella, LGBT

Paperback

First published September 22, 2022

Reviews

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw munitions of hate, self-preservation and word of mouth attack and eviscerate until the bloody end. This one hits hard.

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tenebrous Press has earned a reputation for fascinating and bizarre works. After the success of Tim McGregor’s Lure just months ago, Tenebrous produces another winner from Valkyrie Loughcrewe. Crom Cruach is written entirely in verse, giving the reader the impression they are embarking upon an epic poem in the spirit of Ireland’s classic Tain.

Just with more necromancy and brutality.

You can read Zach's entire review at Horror DNA by clicking here!

[Lor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read anything quite like it. From Cruach is thrilling, poetic, grisly and electric, like a lightning bolt struck a cow and we're gleefully dancing around the flaming corpse.

[Benjamin Grim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid 4.5+
Setting poetic syntax against the grisly subject matter made this extremely engaging through and through.

[Cass (only the darkest reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A night of violence. A church burning to embers. A family felled, while a boy floats unconsciously through air. As the smoke and ash settle, the corpses rise. Simple murder or an occult ceremony gone wrong? Everyone and anyone a potential suspect as fear of the different fuels finger pointing and blame.

Is this an alternate reality Ireland or a foretelling of future conflict after new unrest?

Told in verse, I was impressed with Loughcrewe’s ability to build such a vivid world in so few words. Crom Cruach is cinematic and funny and brutally human. I’ve never heard the folklore around Crom Cruach before, but I have a new tale to fully engross myself in.

Absolutely one of the best things I’ll read all year. Thank you so much to @tenebrouspress for providing me with an arc. Crom Cruach comes out September 22nd.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Have you read any horror poetry? Tell me your favourites below!

I am using Crom Cruach for my White Cover prompt in #otdrfallbingo

[Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

There be a new type of reality for denizens of a village with a history for suffering and greed of ownership, hate, words and prejudices amongst the people of Catholic, Protestant, and Pagan beliefs, for what will traverse upon the land with histories of evil that men had done coming to fruition ungodly acts and ungodly remedy needed with some courage and love amidst mans attempt at destiny maker with the horrific results that transpired.

Starts with mention of power and parish burning and mass figures just idle not putting fire out, an old fierce pull of history and evil that men do and politics being laid down for the first instance with scene vivid a poetically potent prose with “Blasphemous orange blaze” and “deaths does stalk this night.”
Down the minutes you taken from mother and son with elevation and phantom hag tragedy with Boyles of Crookedwood and all sundry of macabre oddities and upheavals with crazy shit and foul language behaviour that may wake the life out of your solemn resting soul in mind bending horror journey with disturbed humans these evil meddling souls in an unforgettable poetical tale.

Finely crafted conjuring of words laid down, one on the edge, on that journey, not wanting turn eyes away from the narrative for worldly menial matters right to its final last word, poetically taken under the wings directed amidst the disorder with a poetical orchestration in a fine ballad of hypnotic mesmerisation of phantasmagoria with human despair and destinies needing correcting.

Few Excerpts and review @ https://www.more2read.com/

[Ladz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read an eARC from the publisher
Trigger warnings: body horror, gore, blood, murder, homophobia, racism, transphobia, anti-traveller racism, animal death, Nazis, arson, vomit

A family is found murdered in their homes, but their bodies haven’t quite got the memo. Churches have been burned and locals are quick to accuse others of heinous crimes. Or commit them themselves. Is it a product of something folkloric or something disturbingly human?

With sharp lines, feverish and gross imagery, this horror novella feels like a nightmare with a deeply human cast.

The pacing of this novel-in-verse is absolutely feverish. Things escalate and quickly. It’s dark and gritty, but in a way that feels organic to the violence and hysteria that informed Satanic Panic. People are dead and those who remain are quick to accuse neighbors, especially those who don’t fit whatever supposed norm reigns in their village. It’s so darkly human.

The imagery as stated above is nasty, and the dialogue gets right to the point. The verses found here are so to the point, it makes it impossible to look away. The doubt that flourishes among every cast member drags the reader along by the throat. I fell into Crom Cruach and came out it feeling like I’ve just experienced a sordid dream.

What also fascinates me is how quickly and effectively Loughcrewe gets at the uncomfortably quotidian reasons people join cults and deftly depicts how quickly things can go to shit. One moment there’s a community, next it’s mass murder and keeping a corpse alive. The approach to folklore and meddling with the supernatural beyond everyday understanding works impeccably here as well, adding to the discomfort as much as the nastiness depicted.

Definitely strange, absolutely a wild ride mired in folklore and paranoia.

[Paul Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read a story that just felt special? That made your heart cheer, saying “YES!! This is art! This is taking story telling to a new level.” Plus you are a horror lover and it has gore, death, and religion. Crom Cruach is a pagan god of pre-Christian times in Ireland in case you were wondering. There were human sacrifices made in his honor.
CROM CRUACH is written in verse. It is lyrical, it is poetic, it is also gruesome, humorous and exciting.
“…about to burst in and see
the eyeless body of a murder victim
flop down onto the couch,
spilling shreddies everywhere,
and fumble for the remote control
like he was never even killed.”
Don’t worry that it might be Shakespearean and difficult to comprehend. It’s not. There were stanzas that I reread, but that is because I wanted to. It was beautiful and it was shocking. For me, this was a new reading experience and I welcome more surprises like this into my life.
“Man, are you kidding me?
We’re not fucking necromancers,
Well…we are, technically, but—
Like—
This shit doesn’t happen.”

[Briar Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few books ever that I'd describe as simultaneously "fast-paced, fun splatterpunk" and "extremely ambitious". I don't think I've ever seen a novella of this length attempt to tackle so many complicated spiritual, social, and political themes at once, let alone try to do it while following a cast of maybe two dozen characters, let alone try to do it in verse, let alone incorporate numerous illustrations and mock-ups of in-story artifacts. It all works a lot better than you'd think it would, though I thought several of the many characters came off as inevitably underbaked, ciphers, difficult to distinguish from each other, etc. (Not all; Oisin, Cora, and Saorise are all quite well-drawn, and I found a few moments with these characters really shocking/sad, in a way that went beyond "oh my god that's sick" or w/e, because I'd formed an attachment.)

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard fucking core. A return to the era when brutal massacres were written as epic poems. Feels like the kind of thing Laird Barron would read while swigging whiskey and watching the shadows twitch.

[Michael Allen Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something strange has happened in Ireland to shake it to its political, religious, and cultural foundations. When an occult ritual goes awry, the finger of blame gets pointed in every direction as corpses pile up, many of which still seem to be moving around of their own accord.

Lyrical, visceral, propulsive, what a cool book and a cool concept. On first glance you might call this poetry, but it's written with a prosaic style and a nod toward narrative that I found pretty engaging.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loughcrewe plunges their readers head first into a skilful mix of folkloric, speculative and human horror. CROM CRUACH left me breathless at every turn, afraid to turn the page, afraid not to. It's not hyperbole to say I finished this novella with my mouth hanging open, my heart alight with horror and my mind afire with possibility. An incredible read.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book's cover art wins the (totally not made up) award for Is it a black metal album or is it a horror novel?

* * *

Yeah, so, this is a book. Things happen, folks get hurt, some people get angry, and others run screaming. But into battle, or away from the madness? You'll have to read to find out.

I don't think I've read another book quite like this one. It's antifascist, queer, brazenly Irish, and completely in verse. And it's occult horror. Needless to say, that checks A LOT of boxes for me.

For a new world to arrive,
the old one must first die.

The book primarily follows two ex-cops who still think they're cops, a young trans woman who is in a relationship with an occultist, and a former Franciscan monk who once was married to a pagan high priestess. They all have their own roles to play in uncovering the motive behind a recent string of murders ... wherein the dead don't stay dead. Was it the pet scapegoat (the group of occultists everyone assumes are satanists) or someone/something else entirely?

I feel like the multiple perspectives were handled very well even though they would frequently swap in the middle of chapters. The omniscient point of view was not difficult to follow for me, and in the end I actually found it to be thematically fitting for the narrative. Either way, the characters were truly the highlight of the novel for me, especially when it came to their dialogue. I went into this thinking that the dialogue might suffer due to the poetic format, but Loughcrewe balances it all very well since they chose the flexibility of free verse as their poetic form. The dialogue is some of the most organic I've read in some time, yet it was also quite funny in some places when needed to release tension. I found each character to also have a distinct voice, not only in their spoken language but also in their body language. How Loughcrewe chose to position their characters in different situations and settings added so much to my understanding of their social dynamics. Very, very well done.

As for the plot, it is (for me) harder to follow in the verse format, but I think that's simply because I'm not used to it in horror. Following background happenings while keeping track of present horrors became tougher the further I got into the book, but when I truly got something, it was always fucking awesome. This just isn't a book you can read lazily--you really have to pay attention. The core of this novel is a community on the brink of Satanic Panic, and the antifascist pagans are preparing for the worst. It's truly gripping, especially for someone like me who grew up in fear of Christians because my family was pagan. The background we get from the clippings throughout the novel is also a nice touch--it bolsters the reader's understanding of the tensions abound in the community of County Cavan. Lastly, the plot twists actually felt like knives to the gut because I really cared about the characters.

Basically, this is a jolly lil trip through the pleasant Irish countryside. Have fun!

For fans of: The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle, The Changeling by Victor LaValle, The Salt Groes Heavy by Cassandra Khaw, Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark, The Low Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado, Dead & Buried (1981)

[Patrick Loveland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it says a lot about this book that I finished it, then immediately started again and reread the first few chapters—now knowing what was coming.

I'll keep it brief, as the book does. Part of its power is in its presentation and brevity. I'll never forget reading Vonnegut's CAT'S CRADLE and being struck by how quick and short a lot of its "chapters" are—but quickly got into the rhythm of it and realized it was intentional, and very effective.

That's how this book feels to me—any worries I may have had about its epic poem-like presentation melted away a few pages in. The writing made me forget the structure almost immediately. And it made for a very streamlined, greased lightning read due to page shape, in screenwriting terms. ha

Also, there's a bit of a mean streak feeling to the lack of plot armor these characters have by the end, but it's also effective. And yeah, this book is splatter-leaning in its violence, and it is used well. Nothing gratuitous, but full of mean gruesomeness. [I saw at the end that there are content warnings in the back of the book, and while I don't look for those, I totally understand why many would benefit]

Due to some personal issues the last few years, I've mostly been reading manga, short stories, articles, etc., but not really tackling a lot of novellas or novels. Been wanting to work my way back to reading more, and this was a great way to get that kick-started (hopefully).

Can't wait to read more from this author ^_^

EDIT—I guess I wasn't that brief after all ha

[Eve Harms]

A brilliant and surreal subversion of the epic poetry format, Crom Cruach reveals an intimate world as enchanting as its verse. Lovers of the strange and beautiful deserve the work of Valkyrie Loughcrewe.

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

you will not read a book like this. wholly in verse ?! the premise, the format? this is what all books that label themselves as unique/subversive/whatever WANT to be.

[Carson Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenging? Yes. Striking? Absolutely.

Crom Cruach is one of those strange genre experiments that don't happen every day. It's a story steeped in regionalism as much as it is in the language of horror. The toolbox is opened and Loughcrewe selects their tropes carefully and with consideration as the building blocks to a personal, savage, and experimental tale.

Recommended for anyone who loves folk horror, the Weird, and the annihilation of injustice.

[Marcella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love trying to find the weirdest books in the bookstore and then finding them weird.

[Leo Otherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I will note this: the book is written in verse. I say this first because my brain is wired slightly differently and anything in verse form equals me having to work a little harder to understand it. IN case anyone else's brain is wired the same way, this note is for you. The book is written in verse, however, that should not deter you. This book is amazing. Crom Cruach had me invested from the beginning and my main annoyance at the end was that there wasn't anymore. But that is a feeling I'm getting used to having at the end of books from Tenebrous Press. Every single one has left me wanting more and Crom Cruach is no exception. Walking corpses, old gods come to collect, and small town fears collide in the best possible way to make a chilling and nightmarish tale that will keep you turning pages. I definitely recommend this book, as I do anything from Tenebrous Press. You will not be disappointed.

[Qonita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because of the unique title and high rating, and it was lying around on my Everand algorithm. I don't read enough horror to rate the novelty of the idea, but living corpse is pretty new to me. The verse-like presentation is also quite interesting but the quality is not consistent. Sometimes it reads like poetry, sometimes it really could just be a paragraph. In the latter case, the enters don't even add to the experience. The formed visual is just whatever, and the beat and rhyming don't improve. Story-wise, it's just okay too. Maybe I should've read it in one go and focused more on being immersed. Would that change anything? Maybe, maybe not.

[Syn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crom Cruach by Valkyrie Loughcrewe is a dark and tumultous tale. A story of a family murdered that yet lives on. No eyes or head necessary, which is a weird paranormal enigma unto itself. The mystery of this leads into a story which gives off some 'Hot Fuzz' vibes but of a much darker sort.

When two ex-cops discover the horrific anomaly of this gory family gone wrong they open up a pulsing can of worms... Who is behind the murder of the undead and why are these dead not dead? The town is thrown into the horrificness of reality turned upside down and inside out.

A wild and sheerly terrifying tale of the cracked underbelly of things. A creeping evil of man and things unleashed. Weirdly gripping and fantastically dark. Crom Cruach rears its' head with a fierceness that will leave you haunted with its terrors.

Truly enjoyed the story, although I had no idea how to pronounce half the names, the pronounciations I imagined in my head are probably horribly wrong.

Also for those who may be sensitive to certain topics. There are several trigger warnings that are listed in this book which includes transphobia, homophobia, racism, and animal death.

[Life Imitates · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but I did not like it at all. I love violence, death, and queerness, but they didn’t save this book for me. There were too many characters, and their personalities were not discernible enough to warrant it. People were killed left and right, and I didn’t care. Every character in this book was unlikable (except maybe Cora). For most of the book, I was confused about who I was supposed to be rooting for because the Morrighannains were so annoying. I want to root against fascism, but then the queer characters were the ones who set shit off and fucked the town… Yikes. The ending was very abrupt, and one of the final scenes being Saoirse and Cora parting ways didn’t feel deserved. I didn’t care about their relationship, and maybe that’s because Saoirse came across as a prick to me. I hope Cora gets far away from that place.

[Trips Starlake · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book that I absolutely never would have read of my own volition! Thanks to my book bowl reading project (and I guess past me) for including this.

While my experiences are not the same as those that have grown up in Ireland, I have seen firsthand how tiny town mentality can rip communities to shreds.

Loughcrewe expertly tells a tale of anxiety and unease in a small town in a not-so-distant future Ireland. The story is told in verse, has a bit of mixed media, and really gripped me from start to finish.

Horror is never going to be my favorite genre. However, I've never read anything like this, and I don't think I ever really will read anything like it, I'm really glad to have read this striking piece of art.

[Noora Masyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A modern spin on the epic poetry sagas of antiquity, the entire book is written in verse - challenging at times, but an honestly incredible commitment to brevity and form. The book is a gory, nightmare-fuelled murder mystery set in rural Ireland following a church burning and a double homicide where the murder victims get up and go to carry on about their daily routines. Investigating are two rent-a-cops, a young trans woman and a former Franciscan monk; the book is a fearless dive into the bloody legacy of Catholicism, paganism and revolution. It's the kind of book I feel like I need to re-read immediately afterwards, to soak up the magic it overflows with. Really really excellent.

[Cathal Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

A horror novella in verse where the n@zis die at the end! We love to see it.
I’ve not read anything quite like this before and it was incredibly grisly and cool, and it didn’t feel like anything was forced into being poetic by being written in verse which is something I sometimes find with longer form poetry or novels in verse. Everything happens very quickly and brutally but it’s not hard to follow at all. I personally was a big fan of the ending. Happy IDAHOBIT.
Rep: Queer/trans SCs, WLW SC relationship
TW/CWs: Death/murder, horror/gore, torture, alcohol, slurs, car accident, fascism, anti-Semitism, racism (inc. anti-Traveller), transphobia/homophobia, animal injury/death, gun violence

[Thomas Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. I loved it. I loved the layout of the prose on the page, the author eschewing blocks of narration for something more creative, passages of wonderful descriptive language and authentic dialogue. The setting is great as well, with the author slowly introducing us to a post-war Ireland, still struggling to shake off the shackles of British rule. Then there is the matter of the weird deaths of a family whose bodies refuse to rest, and what may be possessing them. The pacing, the characters, the layout, it is all amazing and I loved it. Immediately sign me up for everything Loughcrewe writes.

[Wyrd Witch · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a few months now, I’ve been saying that the indie scene is making the best horror out there now. Indie authors and publishers refuse to play it safe. Often, their efforts create the most ambitious and beautiful works of art being made right now.

Crom Cruach by Valkyrie Loughcrewe is an excellent example of this phenomena! Long have I anticipated this release, and it’s managed to meet every single one of my expectations.

Read the rest of the review here.

[Clairissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’ve never read anything like this. it’s a phenomenal exploration of folklore and mystery and trans identity and killing nazis. a family murdered still going about their daily tasks? amazing. I really loved how this book was written. In some ways the verse made the story and in others it broke it. I felt confused about the choices to linebreak in certain places. I felt like some characters didn’t get to reach full development, though not all. it was a great read regardless

[Mindy Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

delightfully grotesque undead corpses, fascists who enjoy taking "the law" into their own hands, religion, murder, a community of pagans dabbling in the occult, a terror-stricken trans woman caught in the middle of all this bullshit who goes through a beautiful evolution from cowardly to courageous.. and the whole book was one long poem. this was so fucking cool and genuinely like nothing I've ever read before. some of the prose made me feel like I'd been hit by a truck. highly recommend. 4/5.

[David Swisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crom Cruach is essentially a crime novel mixed with necromancy, folklore, religion and vengeance. Written in verse and told poetically the book starts running right from the start and does not let up. A great read from Valkyrie Loughcrewe and Tenebrous Press. Especially recommended for people looking to read something original