Meet 25 of the Creepiest Creatures from Classic Literature in "The Big Book of Monsters" -- A Who's Who of the of the Baddest of the Bad! (Review)

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.

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For many people, Halloween is their favorite holiday of the year.  They love all things spooky and creepy; and, the more scarier, the better!  One thing that makes Halloween so spooky are the different monsters and creatures that fill the pages of classic literature, including the bloodsucking vampire known as Count Dracula, to Frankenstein.  Each and every monster has a spine-tingling story to tell, and for those who want to dive deeper into each monster, have I got the perfect book for you!  Workman Publishing recently came out with "The Big Book of Monsters: The Creepiest Creatures from Classic Literature," written by Hal Johnson.  This books is collection of 25 of the creepiest creatures ever imagined, that shares not only their stories, but also explores the history and genre of each piece of classic literature.  

To do each monster just, the author share a full-size color portrait, to capture the appeal and essence of each beast, followed by gruesome details and brief retelling of their tales, that make them so well-known and popular, especially around this time of year -- Halloween.  Many of the monsters you will be very familiar with, including the headless horseman from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and Medusa from "The Metamorphoses," while others will leave you scratching your head trying to figure out who they are like Fafnir from the Icelandic classic, "The Volsung Saga."

While I am not big on creepy monsters, I did find this book really intriguing, as I am all about classic literature and getting the back story on why stories were written.  Each and every monster I read about had its own cringe-worthy history that makes them unique and horrifying, but at the same legends in classic literature.  These monsters and their stories have been around for years, some hundreds of years, and they continue to appeal to readers young and old.  My girls after attending the Legend of Sleepy Hollow theatrical performance a couple weeks ago, want to learn all about the Headless Horseman and his creepy tale.  While, my husband saw this book on the counter, and found himself not being able to put it down, as it was so unique and full of tantalizing tidbits of how these monsters came about and how their stories have remained relevant and are re-told year after year in books and even in movies.  If you are a lover of monster and all things spooky, then you will love this one of a kind analysis of 25 of the most frightening monsters that fill the pages of classic literature.


More about this book:

"Meet the monsters in this who’s who of the baddest of the bad!

Like those supernatural beasts everyone knows and fears—the bloodsucking vampire, Count Dracula, and that eight-foot-tall mash-up of corpses, Frankenstein’s Monster. Or that scariest of mummies, Cheops, who scientists revived after 4,700 years—big mistake! Or more horrifying yet, the Horla, an invisible, havoc-wreaking creature that herds humans like cattle and feeds of their souls.

Drawn from the pages of classic books and tales as old as time, this frightfully exciting collection features 25 of the creepiest creatures ever imagined, from witches and werewolves to dragons and ghosts.

Every monster is brought to life in a full-size full-color portrait that captures the essence of the beast, and in lively text that recounts the monster’s spine-tingling story. With sidebars that explore the history and the genre of each sourcebook, The Big Book of Monsters is an exciting introduction to literature and language arts."

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.