Darkness Prevails

I did enjoy reading Appalachian Folklore Unveiled and learned quite a bit of interesting trivia, but I think the book could have used a better editor. There were many places where Appalachian customs were discussed as if the reader was familiar with them despite the authors never mentioning them before, and the tone of writing swung between the informative and the sensational.

Received via NetGalley.

Freaky Folklore is a cryptid lovers dream. An extremely well illustrated coffee table style book about cryptids from around the world that breaks down each one with a page that types them, a brief description and background lore, then an illustration and short story of someone encountering them.

This book toes the line between horror and non-fiction and was clearly written by someone who lovers monsters. The writing itself is clear and descriptive in the more non-fiction style sections with show more it relaying the facts of the folklore in an easy-to-understand manner and in the more horror-based sections is descriptive and reads like a horror podcast brought to life.

The art work however is really where the book shines, I would myself skipping ahead when reading about a new cryptid to first look at the artwork for it prior to reading and being invested in the book in part out of excitement to see each new piece.

I would recommend this book those looking for:
- A cryptid coffee table read
- A well illustrated book about monsters
- Any monster or cryptid lovers
- And those who are fans of the spooky and morbid

I received an advance review copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased. show less

I felt like the author did a great job of researching the folklore of these different areas and portraying their origins well. I do wish there was more information for each creature. I also felt like the short stories associated with each one was not necessarily needed. They occasionally provided more context into the mannerisms of the creatures, but I found myself skipping some of the stories and focusing on the history. The artwork was beautiful and the blurbs about similar creatures was a show more nice comparison. Overall, I enjoyed reading about folklore that I was familiar with, and being introduced to folklore that is not mainstream. show less

“Freaky Folklore,” by Darkness Prevails

What a cool book. I liked the art and layout of the pages, very simple and clean looking. There was lore that I expected to be in the book and that I knew prior to read but also there was a bunch of one I’ve never heard of before like the weird otter man one and a toad old man lol. There was lore from all over the world instead of just one place. Really fun read and I’m so glad I picked it up. 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.