Scan barcode
razielsky's review
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
barry_x's review
adventurous
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Another superb issue of Hellebore, and although I am two years behind still, the timing of reading this is just right seeing as this is the 'Yuletide' special and we are pretty much still in the deep midwinter. Previous issues of Hellebore have been bright with splashes of colour, but the art direction in this issue is colder, more subdued as if it fits a mood to read on a cold winter's night.
For those who do not know, Hellebore is a small press zine dedicated to folk horror and the occult, and at the risk of repeating myself from previous reviews, the articles tend to be from a considered, scholarly perspective, whilst remaining accessible. Each article is referenced, and entices one to read more (what I would do for more time to be lost in books!).
There are quite a lot of highlights in this one.
Katy Soar's exploration of the history of 'The Lord of Misrule' is a captivating one, as she explores the admittedly tentative links of 'servants being kings' for a while to Roman Saturnalia festivities and other historical touchpoints. She explores the claim that 'The Lord of Misrule' ended in a human sacrifice in Roman times, and also the idea of King's being sacrificed when they reach an age where they are not at the peak of manhood. She dispels these claims but it's interesting nonetheless, and there is a tenuous link to the 'sacrifice' of Santa Claus (drawing on a 1960's example of a church in France torching a Santa effigy because of what he has done to Christmas). I did like the link between Saturnalia festivities and the Christmas 'do' and the overindulgence in booze and other frolics.
I often find Hellebore's approach to articles often takes the fun out of folklore and stories, by having the cheek to explore them a little more scholarly. It seems mostly by suggesting writers from a century or so ago took liberties with the scraps of evidence they found for things.
'Midwinter Megaliths' by Jackie Bates is a pictorial guide to the best places to see the sun set on Winter solstice. If you like pictures of standing stones this is the one for you. As if I haven't got enough on my plate, I did think it would be a good hobby to wander around ancient megaliths. I do wonder how I would probably break my neck wandering around the countryside in the dark just to experience a solstice - I mean it's a miracle to see anything but cloud and rain this time of year anyway.
'From Ghoul to Godhead' by John Callow was pretty interesting, looking at Herne the Hunter, once again spoiling everyone's fun by suggesting he was a Shakespearean invention, before entering folklore and then paganism, before finding his way back into popular culture via the 1980's Robin Hood TV show. I did find the exploration of how Herne has been a non-problematic aspect of masculinity in pagan workshop really interesting. I'm also quite comfortable with the notion of Herne originating from Shakespeare because in my mind it is what the figure represents what is important, not whether it is a 'real' God or not.
Verity Holloway's 'Haunting of Cold Christmas' is a piece about a ruined church which has a legend about it being so cold every child in the village died one Christmas. There's no evidence to suggest this ever happened, but the church is very old indeed. The article is more about conservation and how generations of ghost hunters in the social media age have descended on the site in recent years causing harm to the site, including graffiti and the such like. I was left with the notion of both wanting to see the church and also wishing people would leave it well alone.
The article about Arctic Seances and 'rational' Christian Western explorers encountering indigenous shamans in the Arctic was interesting but left me wanting much more.
There is a lovely piece about 'Mother's night' which appeared to be referenced as a pagan festival on what we now call Christmas Eve in the early Christian period in the UK. What we have is an exploration of rituals and practices linked to 'three sisters' or 'three mothers' drawing on Roman practices, but also Scandinavian 'blood sacrifices' led by women, even suggesting Macbeth drew on the same motifs. What I did find fascinating is that there is a church a few miles from where I live which has a baptismal font adorned with the three mothers which was an altar from a Roman era temple found in the 17th century. I've suggested going to look at this with the kids tomorrow to aghast looks!
'Tales of the Unsafe Church' is an exploration of three short stories centred on the church. It was a timely reminder that one day I must read Sheridan La Fanu!
The final piece refers to the role of snow and winter in children's fairy tales and literature. Not only do the pages and illustrations look absolutely gorgeous, they are a lovely mini literature review of the magic of the forests, winter, darkness and snow. It's beautiful and is practically begging me to dig out old editions of Grimm Fairy Tales.
Love this zine!
For those who do not know, Hellebore is a small press zine dedicated to folk horror and the occult, and at the risk of repeating myself from previous reviews, the articles tend to be from a considered, scholarly perspective, whilst remaining accessible. Each article is referenced, and entices one to read more (what I would do for more time to be lost in books!).
There are quite a lot of highlights in this one.
Katy Soar's exploration of the history of 'The Lord of Misrule' is a captivating one, as she explores the admittedly tentative links of 'servants being kings' for a while to Roman Saturnalia festivities and other historical touchpoints. She explores the claim that 'The Lord of Misrule' ended in a human sacrifice in Roman times, and also the idea of King's being sacrificed when they reach an age where they are not at the peak of manhood. She dispels these claims but it's interesting nonetheless, and there is a tenuous link to the 'sacrifice' of Santa Claus (drawing on a 1960's example of a church in France torching a Santa effigy because of what he has done to Christmas). I did like the link between Saturnalia festivities and the Christmas 'do' and the overindulgence in booze and other frolics.
I often find Hellebore's approach to articles often takes the fun out of folklore and stories, by having the cheek to explore them a little more scholarly. It seems mostly by suggesting writers from a century or so ago took liberties with the scraps of evidence they found for things.
'Midwinter Megaliths' by Jackie Bates is a pictorial guide to the best places to see the sun set on Winter solstice. If you like pictures of standing stones this is the one for you. As if I haven't got enough on my plate, I did think it would be a good hobby to wander around ancient megaliths. I do wonder how I would probably break my neck wandering around the countryside in the dark just to experience a solstice - I mean it's a miracle to see anything but cloud and rain this time of year anyway.
'From Ghoul to Godhead' by John Callow was pretty interesting, looking at Herne the Hunter, once again spoiling everyone's fun by suggesting he was a Shakespearean invention, before entering folklore and then paganism, before finding his way back into popular culture via the 1980's Robin Hood TV show. I did find the exploration of how Herne has been a non-problematic aspect of masculinity in pagan workshop really interesting. I'm also quite comfortable with the notion of Herne originating from Shakespeare because in my mind it is what the figure represents what is important, not whether it is a 'real' God or not.
Verity Holloway's 'Haunting of Cold Christmas' is a piece about a ruined church which has a legend about it being so cold every child in the village died one Christmas. There's no evidence to suggest this ever happened, but the church is very old indeed. The article is more about conservation and how generations of ghost hunters in the social media age have descended on the site in recent years causing harm to the site, including graffiti and the such like. I was left with the notion of both wanting to see the church and also wishing people would leave it well alone.
The article about Arctic Seances and 'rational' Christian Western explorers encountering indigenous shamans in the Arctic was interesting but left me wanting much more.
There is a lovely piece about 'Mother's night' which appeared to be referenced as a pagan festival on what we now call Christmas Eve in the early Christian period in the UK. What we have is an exploration of rituals and practices linked to 'three sisters' or 'three mothers' drawing on Roman practices, but also Scandinavian 'blood sacrifices' led by women, even suggesting Macbeth drew on the same motifs. What I did find fascinating is that there is a church a few miles from where I live which has a baptismal font adorned with the three mothers which was an altar from a Roman era temple found in the 17th century. I've suggested going to look at this with the kids tomorrow to aghast looks!
'Tales of the Unsafe Church' is an exploration of three short stories centred on the church. It was a timely reminder that one day I must read Sheridan La Fanu!
The final piece refers to the role of snow and winter in children's fairy tales and literature. Not only do the pages and illustrations look absolutely gorgeous, they are a lovely mini literature review of the magic of the forests, winter, darkness and snow. It's beautiful and is practically begging me to dig out old editions of Grimm Fairy Tales.
Love this zine!
arthurbdd's review
4.0
Another solid issue of the arthouse folk horror periodical. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2021/07/26/yuletide-rides-and-fresh-exhumations/
breathedeep's review
4.0
Love this and the articles were really interesting. It’d be great to see increased inclusion of Wales within discussions of Britain but on the whole this is a beautiful, well-made zine and I really enjoyed reading it.
slkwrites's review
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
More...