Susan Kay’s “Phantom,” or How Trauma Persists from the Cradle to the Grave

A guest post by Alan D. Dalul. Even though it has been a while since I last spoke about Leroux’s world, it never really left me. I have been diving into Erik’s backstory by the hand of Susan Kay, author of Phantom. This has been my most difficult reading to date, but it doesn’t necessarily … Continue reading Susan Kay’s “Phantom,” or How Trauma Persists from the Cradle to the Grave →

A Bitter Cold Reading List

In line with the topic of last month's reading group and the thought that ‘tis the season for frosty settings, I hope that this list inspires you to pick up some scary books to read in the cold and dark months. (Ant-)Arctic Exploration The Terror (Dan Simmons, 2007) is probably the horror novel about arctic … Continue reading A Bitter Cold Reading List →

The Nightmare before Hogswatch

The very oldest stories are, sooner or later, about blood.1 A guest post by Clair Hutchings-Budd. In recognition of the spooky season, and looking ahead to winter festivities, in this blog post I’ll be talking about Tim Burton’s 1993 stop-frame animation musical fantasy film The Nightmare Before Christmas (Nightmare) and Terry Pratchett’s 1996 novel Hogfather. … Continue reading The Nightmare before Hogswatch →

Book Review: The Whistling (2021)

Rachael Elizabeth reviews The Whistling, an eerie ghost story from Rebecca Netley. Summer is now but a distant memory as we trudge reluctantly into the dark recesses of winter. We feel some salvation through October as we can celebrate the spookiest month of the year - but these dark, wintery nights create the perfect backdrop … Continue reading Book Review: The Whistling (2021) →

Book Review: Secrets of the Vampire: A Supernatural Sourcebook of Our Legend and Lore (2023)

Charlotte Harper reviews Secrets of the Vampire, a new companion to a classic Gothic monster, written by Julie Légère and Elsa Whyte and illustrated by Laura Pérez. Deliciously detailed and darkly witty, Julie Legere and Elsa Whyte track through the world history of humanity’s darkest shadow in Secrets of the Vampire. The facts are relayed … Continue reading Book Review: Secrets of the Vampire: A Supernatural Sourcebook of Our Legend and Lore (2023) →

The Phantom of Manhattan, or the Love that Couldn’t Die

Following on from his review of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Alan D. Dalul reviews The Phantom of Manhattan (1999), a novel written as a sequel to the classic tale. When I started reading The Phantom of Manhattan, by Frederick Forsyth, I wasn’t aware of the mixed reaction with which it was received. … Continue reading The Phantom of Manhattan, or the Love that Couldn’t Die →