"All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered."

Licantropies

I love books from this publisher: they mostly curate publications of Gothic fiction coming from the public domain, but they’re splendidly curated, translated with love, and assembled in lovely products. They’ll let you discover and rediscover gems at the very heart of our contemporary horror sensibilities.

In reading this collection, for instance, you’ll confirm that main characters in spooky stories always had one thing in common throughout the ages, down to our modern horror films: they always make stupid-ass decisions.

This collection of stories is centred on werewolves, as you might have guessed, and it’s made of three parts:

  1. short stories by authors that are either well-known (George MacDonald, Robert E. Howard, H.H. Munro better known as Saki, Felix Claire) or with whom you might be less acquainted;
  2. legends that look at Europe and beyond, including gems such as the ones by Tanaka Kōtarō, René Basset and Horacio Quiroga;
  3. historical documents featuring supposed sightings, trials, hunts, clinic observation).

They’re a delight, from start to end, though sometimes you’ll find yourself wondering “what the hell did I just read?” or, better still, shouting at the pages “run, you fucking idiot, run!”

I guess horror, just like war, never changes.

Summertime

A Pilgrimage With No Shrine

The full German title of today’s book is Die Ringe des Saturn: Eine englische Wallfahrt — “The Rings of Saturn: An English Pilgrimage” — and it was written by W.G. Sebald, a German-born writer, essayist, poet, and literary scholar who lived much of his life

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music and theatre

Ma se io avessi previsto tutto questo

Francesco Guccini è stato una figura importantissima per la mia crescita e per il mio sviluppo personale. Sono cresciuta in una casa in cui il rapporto con la musica è stato quantomai particolare, almeno durante la mia infanzia, e l’avevo scoperto grazie all’intervento di due

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Summertime

Paths of the Mirror

Alejandra Pizarnik (1936–1972) was an Argentine poet, translator, and writer of Russian Jewish descent, and one of the most intense and influential voices of mid‑20th‑century Latin America. Born Flora Alejandra in Buenos Aires, she studied philosophy and literature but left academia to devote herself to

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A Pilgrimage With No Shrine

The full German title of today’s book is Die Ringe des Saturn: Eine englische Wallfahrt — “The Rings of Saturn: An English Pilgrimage” — and it was written by W.G. Sebald, a German-born writer, essayist, poet, and literary scholar who lived much of his life

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Ma se io avessi previsto tutto questo

Francesco Guccini è stato una figura importantissima per la mia crescita e per il mio sviluppo personale. Sono cresciuta in una casa in cui il rapporto con la musica è stato quantomai particolare, almeno durante la mia infanzia, e l’avevo scoperto grazie all’intervento di due

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Paths of the Mirror

Alejandra Pizarnik (1936–1972) was an Argentine poet, translator, and writer of Russian Jewish descent, and one of the most intense and influential voices of mid‑20th‑century Latin America. Born Flora Alejandra in Buenos Aires, she studied philosophy and literature but left academia to devote herself to

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