BOOK REVIEW: The Old Snatchengrabber's Big Book of Child-Eating Monsters by Bitter Karella (writing as Mike Rosen)

 

Boogey-men, women, and those in-between abound in this collection of monstrous beings that live under beds, on the roof, or just on the edge of the forest path, waiting to grab and devour kids who misbehave or go to places they shouldn’t.

The Big Book ranges from familiar bogeys (at least to American pop culture) such as Rawhead Bloodybones, La Llorona, and Baba Yaga, to more obscure beings such as the Babylonian sewer-dwelling Sulak, the gossip-eating living marionettes called Croquemitaines, and the fungal witch Churnmilk Peg who punishes naughty children who steal unripe nuts from their neighbors’ orchards. All brought to life with Karella’s cartoony style.

Each entry is written in a field guide style with habitat, range, appearance, diet, and other vital statistics so you can identify the bugbear currently haunting your outhouse or crawlspace.  Looking through the entries, it quickly becomes apparent how hilariously gruesome boogeymonster folklore is, with monsters delivering punishments such as chopping kids to pieces; grinding them into sausage; suffocating them in piles of filth and sewage, ripping out their living guts and replacing them with stones, and other unpleasentries. I suppose if your kids won’t listen to reason, you gotta terrify them with the threat of dismemberment by a nightmare hag to get them to obey.

The Old Snatchengrabber’s Big Book of Child-eating Monsters is available as a PDF on Bitter Karella’s itch.io page, along with a bunch of other cool, spooky comics, books, and games- including the award-winning Midnight Pals!

BOOK REVIEW: Corpse Cold: New American Folklore by John Brhel & Joseph Sullivan with illustrations by Chad Wehrle

 

Another book review for the Spooky Season!

Corpse Cold is an anthology inspired by urban legends and folklore. These are stories your friends might tell around a campfire or on a late-night drive with only the headlamps and the green glow of the dashboard cutting through the darkness for miles around. These are stories that could maybe, possibly be true. Or, at least, they have that weird familiarity that makes them feel true.

Chad Wehrle’s nightmarish illustrations take clear inspiration from Steven Gammel’s work for the classic “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” series, though Wehrle’s own style clearly shines through.

The stories are often grisly- as folk tales usually are. Some, such as “A Morning Fog” and “Jesup” are cautionary tales. Others like “Moss Lake Island” and “It That Decays” are dark twists of fate. Several are based on modern fears like the dark web and “simulated burial” rides at amusement parks. Other tales, such as “The Black Dog” and “Czarny Lud” showcase timeless monsters that have existed for generations.

While not every story is memorable, there are no real bad pieces. Although “The Blue Hole” is a bit disjointed and isn’t helped by the accompanying illustration of a cartoonish soft-serve-style pile of fecal matter.

One of the cooler things about the book is the extensive appendix of notes at the end which explain the inspirations and background details for each story- another nod to Alvin Schwartz’s seminal “Scary Stories” books.

Fans of creepy urban legends, and those who grew up with the original “Scary Stories” books, will love Corpse Cold. You can get a copy of this book and others by these Brhel and Sullivan at Cemetery Gates Media