Gothic Horror Feature: Tales of the Damned by Matt Ralphs and Taylor Dolan and Escape Castle Dracula by

 

Tales of the Damned: A Collection of Classic Horror Stories by Matt Ralphs (Author), and Taylor Dolan (Illustrator).

Published 14th September 2023 by Big Picture Press.

From the cover of the book:

Tales of ghosts, monsters and murderers have terrified and delighted readers for thousands of years.

This spine-chilling collection features retellings of eight classic horror stories. From the disturbing short stories of Edgar Allan Poe, to gothic classics and chilling ghost stories, this striking anthology is the perfect introduction to the world of horror.

Includes:
Dracula
Frankenstein
The Masque of the Red Death
Bluebeard
And many more...

Written by Matt Ralphs and with vivid illustrations by artist Taylor Dolan.

Escape Castle Dracula by Sam Fern (Author), and Adam Allori (Illustrator).

Published 12th September 2024 by Big Picture Books.

From the cover of the book:

THE BLOODTHIRSTY COUNT DRACULA HAS TRAPPED YOU INSIDE HIS CASTLE!

CAN YOU ESCAPE?

Readers will be transported into the pages of 14 classic horror stories in their quest to escape from Count Dracula's castle. Aid Victor Frankenstein create his monster, help Dr Jekyll escape the clutches of Mr Hyde, and lay the vicious ghost of the headless horseman to rest forever. Trace your way through labyrinthine mazes and solve intricate puzzles, learning about some of the most terrifying tales in literature as you go.

Illustrated in astonishing detail by Adam Allori, this stylish and immersive puzzle book will appeal to readers of all ages.

***********

This spooky season I am celebrating with two wonderful books for Gothic horror lovers, which have kindly been gifted to me by Big Picture Press. Both are beautifully produced in hardback with full colour illustrations throughout (and splendid end papers), which are a feast for the eyes of even the most demanding lover of the macabre.

Tales of the Damned by Matt Ralphs, beautifully illustrated by Taylor Dolan, contains seven retellings of classic horror stories of varying lengths, and from different genres, such as The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and the traditional fairy tale Red Riding Hood. There is an eighth, chilling, original story to send shivers up your spine by Matt Ralphs too, entitled Vasilisa the Daughter. An intriguing introduction prefaces the collection, and each story is followed by a fascinating postscript delving into its history and special features. 

These tales are gruesome indeed, and absolutely perfect for an adult audience (older teens too). Ralphs does an excellent job in his retellings, and cleverly condenses down the essentials of the novels to maintain the atmosphere and story incredibly well. I thoroughly enjoyed them all.

Escape Castle Dracula by Sam Fern, intricately illustrated by Adam Allori, makes a great companion piece to Tales of the Damned. This book is a Gothic puzzle adventure for horror fans of all ages (middle grade upwards). The setting is Dracula's castle and an introduction by vampire hunter Van Helsing asks the reader to solve a series of challenging logic and observational puzzles based around classic Gothic stories, in order to escape the clutches of the Count and his vampiric lady friends. 

These are excellent fun and reference a lovely range of stories, from The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stephenson, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and even Shakespeare's Macbeth. The puzzles do not require prior knowledge of the stories (younger readers are unlikely to know most of them), but they are definitely more entertaining if you do know about the plots and characters involved. Many of them are pretty tricky to solve, which gives you lots of time to take in all the incredible detail in the pictures!

Both books would make great gifts for Gothic horror fans!

Tales of the Damned and Escape Castle Dracula are available to buy now.

Thank you to Big Picture Books for gifting me copies of these books in return for an honest review.

About the authors:

Matt Ralphs writes fiction and non-fiction for children. He has published books for Nosy Crow, Flying Eye, DK, Macmillan, Phaidon Kids, Templar, Big Picture Press, Titan Books and Oxford University Press. He lives in England on a boat called Nostromo.

Sam Fern grew up in a handful of quiet English villages, then went off to London for something to do. Inspired by anything fantastical, Sam's stories have been published in a number of literary magazines.

Adam Allori is a UK based concept artist and designer. He studied concept art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, Poland. Escape Castle Dracula will be his first book.