Initially it seems like there are monsters lurking in every shadow throughout Emily Carroll’s graphic novel Through the Woods (2014) but in actuality, it is the human capacity to be monstrous that is the most thrilling aspect of this compilation of short stories. The tales begin as all scary stories do, with the possibility of a monster under the bed and the audience knows, by the end, that safety is not to be taken for granted. Carroll plays homage to well-known fairy tales such as ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ but her stories are not nostalgic forays into the delights of childhood, but instead are an amalgamation of gothic tropes and folklore. The stories are presented as a series of comics, with rosy cheeked characters who descend into darkness, the circles around their eyes growing with the turn of every page. Carroll’s gothic leanings are also evident in the faraway settings of forests, isolated farmhouses, lonely old manors, and deep caves harbouring all kinds of terrors. The stories included in Through the Woods range from orphaned children left to fend for themselves, jealous fratricide in the woods, and shapeshifting, supernatural beings. The tales are macabre and hark back to when fairy tales and folklore explored the darker side of humanity.
'Through the Woods' will keep your heart in your throat and will appeal to those who find dark fairy tales so horrifyingly compelling.
'Through the Woods' will keep your heart in your throat and will appeal to those who find dark fairy tales so horrifyingly compelling.
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