I am not the greatest fan of short horror stories and even though the writing and imagery is very good the content and stories themselves were not to my liking. There were a few enjoyable moments and descriptions the best of which was the following....."like a moth that believes itself soaring towards the moon, only to find itself trapped in a house full of dusty light bulbs."....

I happily received this book for an honest review by Mortbury Press.

 

What are you afraid of? What are you Haunted By? What awaits you in the Dark?

 

For those who dream Monster's is written by Anna taborska in this book there are 18 Spooky and strange tales from the Abyss each with a Spooky whimsical little Illustration by Reggie Oliver.

 

  I have to say all in all I really enjoyed this book, it's nice to read a female author who can write Horror and I mean this lady can write. I found her stories to be surreal and dark atmospheric and she really has a gift of pushing you into her tales.

Some of the stories in this book that stands out to me were.

Little pig: This was the tale of a mother in the heart of world war Poland. When a pack of wolves is at her heels she will do anything to protect her children.

The Girl In the Blue Coat: A heart breaking spooky story not only about Nazi's but those they corrupted for their own gain. and the Outcome of that.

Dirty Dybbuk: This one made me laugh a twist almost to the exorcist :0)

I highly recommend giving this book a read. It's from the same publishing house that publishes the black book of horror's that have absolutely awesome art work to their book's If I do say so myself.

"There was only the present, and it was infinite. The past and the future were just blinders we wore so that infinity wouldn't drive us mad."

 

I cannot wordly express how much I loooved this book so I'm not even going to try.

Read. It.

 

"It was a new idea for him, that happiness wasn't a mystical place to be reached or won-some bright terrain beyond the boundary of misery, a paradise waiting for them to find it-but something to carry doggedly with you through everything, as humble and ordinary as our gear and supplies. Food, weapons, happiness."

For Those Who Dream of Monsters, is a collection of short stories by Anna Taborska, and illustrated in turn by artist Reggie Oliver, who also provides the introduction.

(Incidentally, the illustrated prints accompanying each story are available to purchase from the publisher's website.

It is clear from the offset that Anna possesses an eye for rich cinematic composition and it is not surprising that she has a dual career in film as a director, script writer and as a short story writer. Each piece is evocative, conjuring up some fairly vivid visual imagery. Not content with keeping us in the same location Anna takes us on a seesaw tour around the world and through the centuries, from the London tube to a small village in a war torn country in Africa. From Poland during World War 2, to modern Poland and medieval England.

This collection of 18 stories contains death, revenge, sadness and betrayal, despair, also loss, madness, companionship, longing, fear, abandonment, and just pure evil. Whilst all of the stories have some degree of darkness in common, they are not all horror stories.

'Your mother sucks cocks in hell', a quote from the film the exorcist, is probably one of the most unfriendly things you could ever learn to say when mastering a new language, but it does not stop Pierre the stubborn blacksmith. In, 'Buy A Goat For Christmas' when his tiny African village is gifted a werewolf, stubborn Pierre's flair for languages may just come in handy.

In 'Fish', Harry Tomlinson's fear is quickly banished and he is remarkably accepting of his new predicament, which is beyond horrific, with surprising stoicism and schadenfreude, when he realizes just what he is now capable of.

'The Coffin', and 'The Creaking', and 'A Tale of Two Sisters: Rusalka', are three excellent tales in the vein of terrifying traditional fairy tales, with foreshadowing, premonition and ghostly embraces.

I thought that the very first story in the collection, 'Schrodinger's Human', was the sort of story that would have been filmed by the iconic British film studio Hammer, if they were still in existence. Nonchalant and superior, cats often have the upper paw in their dealings with humans and Schrodinger is not different to any other cat in that respect. However, unlike other cats, he is not a fan of the normal processed fare available to domestic felines.

Schrodinger, might have found a friend in, 'Underbelly', which was compellingly macabre, and terrifying at the same time. Just how far would you go to take away the pain?

My favourite story by far was in fact the previously unpublished, 'Dirty Dybbuk', a non-horror, (depending on which character you are), horror tale, in which a young woman is possessed by the spirit of her late aunt. Filled with wry humour this story caught hold of and rigorously, but delightfully shook my funny bone and for me it ended all too soon. Whilst all of the stories were excellent I would have loved to have seen this particular one develop into a novella.

A special mention to the incredibly sad, 'The Girl in the Blue Coat'.

The book's guest introduction was spot on, wow she's good.


When I grow up I am going to write just like Anna Taborska, (of course I am already over 100 years young).

The book was provided by the publisher Mortbury Press in exchange for an honest review.

Urthwild