Book Review: "Celtic Weird" ed. by Johnny Mains

Full Title: Celtic Weird: Tales of Wicked Folklore and Dark Mythology edited by Johnny Mains

I have currently spent a while with this book sitting on my bedside table not because I did not want to read it but because I got sick and the book is rather heavy to pick up. It's a hardback and quite weighted and I've been sick with fever and flu which means my bones and joints have been aching to the point that the only thing I have been able to hole is my Kindle. However, now that I am feeling a little bit better, I have been able to indulge myself. Celtic Weird is a text published by the British Library that compiles a good amount of Irish, Scottish short stories together in a way that really makes us feel the influence of this olden culture upon the 'weirdness' of the stories.

There were some stories in this anthology that stood out more than others to me but let's make one thing very clear first as this is a question and a misconception I have seen everywhere. This is not a book of Celtic mythology or Celtic mythology retellings. Instead, this is a book that uses the Celtic mythology rituals and traditions to tell entirely new stories of the weird and horrific. Now that we've cleared that up...

The first story that really stood out to me (and was actually pretty sad) was called The Fetch and it was by Robert Aickman. It's about a young boy who initially grows up with a loving mother until she sadly passes away and then, his father quickly remarries and then he passes away. There is a strange key in what is happening and the fact that someone or something is seen before each death that the protagonist goes into an isolating mourning. The protagonist boards themselves up in a highlands property in the hope that whatever is waiting will one day go away as he slowly waits to either die by one hand or the other.

This story includes masses of weird things that happen within and sadness that the protagonist experiences. The Celtic influences of folklore will not be given away as this is key to understanding the reason for things happening in the story. When we come to think about how Robert Aickman was dying when he wrote this, it just makes it all the more depressing.

Another story in the anthology includes The Milk White Doo and I have to admit, I was really confused about it to begin with because it sounded too much like a children's fairy tale. However, as the story progressed, it became clear that there was a sense of pervading dread in the figure of the step-mother (as there usually is in folklore) and how she treats the kind-hearted children. I will not say exactly what happens, but the whole thing really smells of Hansel and Gretel and also of Cinderella. It made for a really good opening to the anthology.

There are many more stories in the anthology that I would want to mention including but not limited to: The Loch at the Back of the World, Mermaid Beach and The Green Grave and the Black Grave. Many of the stories focus on some sort of supernatural power or entity that makes the protagonist(s) of the story overwhelmed. We have those classic folklore tropes of family, the loss of family members, death and harm/violence. We also have those ideas surrounding childhood and innocence that get pushed around and ruined by the malevolence of greedy adults around them - which again is another folkloric trope.

All in all, I thought that this anthology was a great read filled with really intense stories as when we think of folklore we still have to remember that at its heart, there are dark traditions and rituals that have been included in it (and not just the folk horror section of the genre). A brilliant blend between the really old and the fairly modern, we get a brand new look into witches and ghosts, magicians and sorcerers, the rolling hills of the highlands and the old and winding stories of the Irish. It is a beautiful compilation.