With its ancient woodlands and storied buildings, Great Britain’s various territories harbour folklore that far supersedes most of the known world. And although change has continued, the stories of old persist and the passage of time has not hindered the beings in Monstrous Tales, a collection of fiction by UK authors Rosie Andrews, Jenn Ashworth, Sunyi Dean, Janice Hallett, Jane Johnson, Dan Jones, Abir Mukherjee, Rebecca Netley and Stuart Turton.
If you’ve ever looked twice in a darkened area, sensed movement where there should be none or felt a cold shudder pass through your body unexpectedly, then there’s a good chance that you’ve encountered some of the beings mentioned in these pages. You might have heard of one or two of them – the Beast Of Bodmin Moor for example – but have you heard of Mr Mischief, the boggart from the Scottish Highlands?
In Rebecca Netley’s enchanting account of this particular beast, we discover Mr Mischief is actually very handy around the house – but there are rules for keeping him happy, and it remains to be seen if Mr Mischief has an ulterior motive. In The Yellow Death, Rosie Andrews offers up a tale which strikes that perfect balance between cosy and terrifying: based in Conwy’s Creuddyn region, the yellow death befalls a small town, appearing to its victims in all sorts of horrifying forms before choking the life from them in Wales’ own version of Stephen King’s The Mist.
With the winter nights getting longer, Monstrous Tales is the perfect book to pick up, crammed full of tales that are equal parts big warm hug and icy cold stare… and who knows, the tales inside could be based in your locality.