Irish Monsters in Your Pocket: A Tiny Little Book About Irish Dragons, Werewolves, Vampires, Banshees, Headless Horsemen, & Other Beastly Beings

by I.E. Kneverday

In the Ireland of myth and legend, "spooky season" is every season. Spirits roam the countryside, hovering above the bogs. Werewolves lope through forests under full moons. Dragons lurk beneath the waves. Granted, there’s no denying that Samhain (Halloween’s Celtic predecessor) tends to bring out some of the island’s biggest, baddest monsters.

Prepare yourself for (educational) encounters with the following Irish cryptids, demons, ghouls, goblins, and other supernatural beings, many of whom have a connection to Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival celebrating death and the coming of winter and

Aillén mac Midhna: fire-breathing monster from the Otherworld who would burn down the seat of the High King at Tara every SamhainThe Daughters of Airitech: a trio of wolfwalkers who would leave their cave every Samhain to go hunting in the Irish countrysideThe púca (pooka): a mischievous, shapeshifting monster known for pranking travelers and drunk people; Samhain was his sacred dayBalor of the Evil Eye: leader of the Fomorians (antagonists of the Tuath Dé Danann); he is a giant, one-eyed monster with a literal death-stare who was killed on Samhain by his grandson, the sun-god LughAnd before you even ask, yes, there are pictures of these monsters (and many others) in the book. Of course, there are pictures. All of the “tiny little books” in the Celtic Pocket Guides series include illustrations, photographs, and other graphics, and they’re printed in color.

But I digress.

Here’s a full breakdown of what you’ll find inside Irish Monsters in Your Pocket:

Chapter 1: Here Be Dragons: Five Kaiju-Sized Monsters From Irish MythologyChapter 2: Walking With Werewolves: How Ireland’s Lycanthropic Lore Still Inspires Modern StorytellersChapter 3: Abhartach Was Bram Stoker’s Dracula Inspired by a Celtic Chieftain-Turned-Vampire?Chapter 4: Banshee The Mythic Origins of Ireland’s Infamous Shrieking SpiritChapter 5: Ride of the Dullahan: Did the Irish Headless Horseman Inspire the Legend of Sleepy Hollow?Chapter 6: They Might Be Giants: Ten Colossal Celts of Irish Myth & LegendChapter 7: Who Is Balor of the Evil Eye? A Brief Biography of Irish Mythology’s ‘Big Bad’Chapter 8: Power of the Púca: How a Mischievous Little Monster Infiltrated Irish Folklore

156 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 4, 2022

About the author

I. E. Kneverday is a writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy, whose short fiction has been featured in publications and anthologies including Exoplanet Magazine, Drabbledark, and Chronos.

His short story “Fromagegoria” won first place in Zeroflash’s flash fiction competition in July of 2018. In April of 2018, his story “Codebreaker” was shortlisted in Sweek’s #MicroKey competition.

I. E. Kneverday’s first book, The Woburn Chronicles: A Trio of Supernatural Tales Set in New England’s Most Mysterious City, is available now in paperback as well as in the Kindle Store.

Say hi on Twitter (@Kneverday) and Facebook (facebook.com/kneverday) or get in touch via email (kneverday at gmail dot com).

You can also visit I. E. Kneverday’s Author Page on Amazon right here: amazon.com/author/kneverday

Reviews

[D. Peach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in Kneverday’s Irish pocket books, and one that I was most looking forward to reading. I suspected that there would be a great many Irish monsters, but the author chose to go deep on about eight varieties rather than broad on many more. As he did with the two previous books in the series, he approached his storytelling with a great deal of conversational humor that made this book another enjoyable read.

The book dives into Irish dragons, werewolves, vampires, banshees, headless horsemen, giants, the púca (a mischievous creature), and Balor of the Evil Eye. For each type of monster, there’s some history, a dose of speculation, and descriptive tales from Irish lore. Another highly enjoyable, pocket read for fans of Irish and Celtic legends.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

After Kneverday so recently released “Samhain in Your Pocket” I couldn’t believe my luck when the notification for this latest tome in the pocket series came out. Just when I was looking for a book to read on my phone while on a trip, too.

Still fitting with the Halloween theme, this pocket guide is a handy reference to identify all the supernaturals you might encounter while travelling Ireland with your aunt. Of course there are dragons, water horses, giants, werewolves, three headed beasts, and beasts with no heads at all. And we all know by now that Bram Stoker was Irish, right? I found the chapter/s on the vampiric legends of Ireland to be particularly enthralling, not to sound like Renfield or anything.

Again, I can’t oversell Kneverday’s charismatic presentation of his topics with an effortless storytelling style that nevertheless contains sharp critical observations. We may think we know about monsters/spirits such as the banshee, but Kneverday outlines how even these seemingly straightforward spectres consist of a surprisingly fluid set of legends, origins, and purposes. With tongue-in-cheek humour and engaging language, Kneverday unravels all the threads of mythology and legend, unmasking the monsters, so to speak.

Basically, I’m already at the point where I think I might just have to read this one again to thoroughly take in the catalogue of beasties and enjoy Kneverday’s version of the story of the Daughters of Airitech, who are Ireland’s most infamous werewolves… except they are daughters, so does that make them wifwolves? Maybe I’m getting Old English/Germanic languages too mixed up in this. Nevermind me, except to go and get this book.

If you ever had the impression that the scariest monster Ireland boasted was an evil leprechaun or two, this book will broaden your mind… and perhaps plant a few new fears in there as well.