The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson is another great story to be read in October. Edward Gorey created this illustration in 1959 for
The Haunted Looking Glass (see my post from November 5, 2008). Mr. Gorey selected 12 classic horror stories and provided an illustration for each story. Warm up some cider and nestle in with this book of spooky tales!
Hey. I'm a twelve year old fan of the enigmatic Mr. Gorey, and I agree with you in the sense that "The Haunted Looking Glass" presents some of his finest work yet. Of all of the art, I believe "The Body-Snatcher", "The Shadow of a Shade", "The Monkey's Paw", "The Judge's House", and "A Visitor from Down Under" are the best in the book.
ReplyDelete"The Body-Snatcher" is in particular fabulous (fitting for such a horrifying story as the one it is intended to illustrate), due to the extensive line-work and the detail all over...the stony floor, the grinning skeleton, the anatomical diagram, Macfarlane's cloak, and the subtly concealed corpse on the table (this latter to particular effect) all contribute to the purest aura of menace. Gorey's lighting is fabulous.
Happy Halloween!