Category: Book

Ghosts, Monsters and Demons of India

This trek through the dark corners of India’s cultural imagination gives a layered, textured view of the supernatural world.

/ September 12, 2023

Lunacy

As a carefully cultivated horror story that resonates in the fear-laden recesses of modern life, Lunacy is a book to savour. 

/ February 22, 2023

Vampire Cinema: The First One Hundred Years

A charming visual guide offers the convincing case that the vampire genre tells us more about who we are than we may think.

/ October 30, 2022

Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences

With sleek production and sheer enthusiasm peppered throughout, this is an excellent companion to King’s own words on his craft.

/ October 12, 2022

The Watkins Book of English Folktales

This reissue, one of the most comprehensive on English folklore ever published, is a gift to the whole world, not just England.

/ October 5, 2022

Sick & Beautiful

A surreal psychodrama charged with urban decay and all the hopeless decadence a 21st Century audience could ever want.

/ July 3, 2022

Lingering

A psychological depth that pushes the meaning of ‘haunting’, urging readers to question the origins and nature of evil.

/ June 22, 2022

England On Fire

A enchanted wonderland to change the way you see England, not for showing anything new, but what has been there all along.

/ April 28, 2022

Kissing the Lizard

Justin David tells a touchingly twisted tale, a story with a spinning compass that won’t let you figure out where home is.

/ March 23, 2022

Soaking in Strange Hours

Teeming with macabre delights, Erik Hofstatter’s story is one that you don’t so much read as ravish.

/ December 12, 2021

The Unnatural History Museum

This window into Viktor Wynd's unknown world is an invitation to be disarmed and seduced by the strange, the forbidden, and the inexplicable.

/ May 26, 2020

Cromwell Stone

A spellbinding tale of forbidden knowledge, ancient otherworldly entities, strange cults, and alien worlds that lurk unseen on the periphery of our own.

/ November 25, 2019

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary Vol. II

While the tales are condensed, key dialogue and memorably nerve-jangling passages are retained. All are hauntingly effective.

/ October 12, 2017

Penny Dreadful: The Awakening #1

A huge deviation in tone from the derelict moodiness captured by director J. A. Bayona, despite some wonderful artwork.

/ April 5, 2017

Rare Breeds

A dark, terse and keenly paced little chiller that brims with unsettling ideas and nightmarish detail, subverting expectations.

/ February 15, 2017

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary

Cuts to the core of the horror without ever diluting or compromising M. R. James’ carefully woven plots. Recommended for die-hard enthusiasts.

/ October 21, 2016

Prime Cuts: Vol. 2

A sardonic and entertaining chapter in an ambitious and bizarre adaptation, but disappointingly lacks allegorical meat.

/ July 20, 2016

Limbo

Ambitious and bizarre, Limbo is a hallucinogenic rollercoaster that takes giddy pride in disintegrating reality and reliability.

/ May 23, 2016

The X-Files FAQ

The X-Files FAQ is an enriching and accessible exploration of one of television’s most imaginative and popular shows.

/ February 29, 2016

Prime Cuts: Vol. 1

Rawly sketched artwork complements the abstract plot line, which will please the exploitation and pulp fiction aficionado.

/ January 18, 2016

The Art of Stephen Jones’ Horror

Horror relies on image to promote terror and bring hideous ideas to life.

/ December 17, 2015

The Blair Witch Project (Devil’s Advocates)

Successfully posits the film as one of the most influential titles in horror cinema history.

/ July 30, 2015

The Curse of Frankenstein (Devil’s Advocates)

A close analysis of Jimmy Sangster’s script and the differences between film and book.

/ July 29, 2015

Black Sunday (Devil’s Advocates)

Fascinating reading, further highlighting how groundbreaking Mario Bava’s film was.

/ July 27, 2015

Wake Up, Maggie

An audacious effort that should be given praise for its unrepentant Maggie, portrayed with fearless honesty and confidence.

/ May 29, 2015

Dead Funny

Dead Funny as a collective emphasises the quality, depth and audacity of British comedy, with an enormous amount of surprises.

/ November 2, 2014

The Motherless Oven

A cleverly-layered effort packed with satirical humour, with a universe so outlandishly odd it is frighteningly similar to our own.

/ October 11, 2014

Subversive Horror Cinema

An exhaustively researched, largely successful attempt to analyse the subversive qualities inherent in the horror cinema.

/ May 28, 2014

Halloween (Devil’s Advocates)

A joy to read; insightful and well researched, it serves as encouragement to return to Halloween once again.

/ May 5, 2014

Sheer Filth!

Sheer Filth was one of the more eclectic fanzines, covering not only cutting-edge exploitation but strange music and literature.

/ April 20, 2014

The Best British Horror 2014

Not all of the tales are memorable but overall The Best British Horror 2014 is an agreeable, worthwhile anthology.

/ April 12, 2014

Blackout

An incredible amount of humour, and the weird-for-the-sake-of-weird mentality is not just ballsy, but also highly entertaining.

/ February 24, 2014

All Roads Lead to Hell

Buchan excels at short and twisted love stories, but it’s Simmonds’ graphic artwork that makes the author's prose shine.

/ February 16, 2014

The Thing (Devil’s Advocates)

An excellent study in its own right, well researched, informative and intelligently written in a clear, presentable style.

/ February 15, 2014

The Shadow Out of Time

A smooth read, especially if you’re a well-versed Lovecraft fan. If you’re not, Culbard might be able to convince you.

/ June 24, 2013

La Belle Dame sans Merci

A read with huge amounts of intrigue; there are enough unanswered questions to leave the reader looking forward to part two.

/ May 15, 2013

London Falling

An interesting slab of urban fantasy, but while Cornell is incredibly talented at setting the scene, he isn’t as gifted in capturing dialect.

/ February 4, 2013

Deadbeats

An incredible amount of humour, some memorable characters, and contextualisation that adds extra depth.

/ December 7, 2012

Devil Bat Diary

As an independent piece of literature, it’s fun, original, and can stand on its own two legs aside from the movie.

/ October 16, 2012

Zombies At Tiffany’s

Fun, quirky and dark; this is a brilliantly authored piece of steampunk literature, and then some.

/ September 25, 2012

Brain Damage

A delightful piece of fan faction that packs some extra surprises; you can tell Martin enjoyed every second of writing.

/ June 12, 2012

The Graveyard Poet

Writer Steve Santini possesses no talent whatsoever, prompting the begging of life's most simple, yet profound question: why?

/ July 25, 2011

Knuckle Supper

An interesting and refreshing take on your standard toothy yarn, but the author lacks the ability to drive his purpose home.

/ April 19, 2011

How to Speak Zombie: A Guide for the Living

There are many zombie survival guides out there. But do any of them teach you how to speak zombie?

/ April 18, 2011