MUST-READ OF THE WEEK: THE GRAVEYARD OF GWENNA LUNA

Anthology The Graveyard of Gwenna Luna by Guenther Primig combines the best of classic and contemporary horror with a terror-bound coming-of-age saga dripping with atmosphere.  

By Gwyneth Rees 

Think classic horror, and you’ll probably conjure up images of Freddy Kruger dragging his sharpened claws along a wall or a masked Michael Myers hunting down cheerleaders. 

This, however, is spectacle over substance, shocks before scares. True classic horror—be it in print or on the screen—eschews the direct approach (which certainly has its place) for something far more sinister, where the all-pervading atmosphere of dread gets under your skin rather than trying to wear it.  

It is this old-school approach that defines new horror anthology The Graveyard of Gwenna Luna: Six More Dreams from the Dark Book, the long-awaited second entry in the Gwenna Luna series.  

Written again by acclaimed horror author and screenwriter Guenther Primig, it follows 2019’s The Dark Book of Gwenna Luna, which has since become a bestseller in the genre. 

The first book first introduced us to the eponymous anti-heroine Gwenna, an outsider teenager who visited a jaded psychiatrist to try and unravel her nightmarish dreams. 

We learned that Gwenna was, in fact, a witch and torn between choosing a path for good or evil. 

The Graveyard of Gwenna Luna is set one year after the events of the first book and sees the memorable protagonist now out in the world, seeking to use her powers to save someone and, by doing so, save herself.  

Unfortunately, her magic is weak, her spells half-remembered, and she continues to battle with inner demons—a murderous mother, the Red Witch, and tragic past—which are fast catching up with her. 

That is the key premise of this overarching coming-of-age story, that Gwenna has no specific destiny—unlike less complicated magical figures such as Harry Potter—so the direction she ultimately commits to will be of her own making.  

And while Gwenna states she wants to be good, you can’t help but feel that the terrible events she has to deal with may force her hand the other way.  

The ongoing tension of this compelling narrative arc is drip-fed through the six short stories which make up the anthology. 

And the stories, it must be said, are sublime, representing the finest, most fiendish slices of contemporary horror/weird fiction I’ve encountered in a long time.  

Conjured up from Gwenna’s darkest dreams , they all drip with brooding atmosphere and are filled with resonant classic horror imagery—graves, corpses, ravens, and dark, shadowy figures lurking—which effortlessly transport the reader into the arena of the eldritch as the spine-tingling suspense begins to ramp up.  

The dream stories comprise macabre tales of a madman desecrating a shunned grave (‘The Thing In The Box’); a monster’s voice calling from a moor (‘She’); a ghost wailing in an old house (‘The Troubled Room’); a woman speaking to the dead (‘Those Who Speak To The Dead’); a cursed hunt for a sacred animal (Wood King); and a gut-wrenching story involving three particularly wicked witches (‘Three Dreaded Sisters’) that will prove every parent’s nightmare.  

All this is pulled off despite the modern settings (we variously visit New York, a swamp where fracking is taking place, and go on a train journey, among other locations), which just goes to show that the present day can be just as gothic as the past, when handled correctly. 

The fact the author can achieve this with the more familiar milieus is testament to his writing, with brilliantly subtle character work coupling with excellent pace and dramatic development. 

This shouldn’t be a surprise, however, given that Primig’s pedigree speaks for itself. 

The Austrian-born writer grew up in a culture which still retains a strong sense of mysticism and belief in the supernatural. As such, he was regaled with folk stories of ghosts, devils and dragons as a child.  

He also devoured the works of such celebrated horror icons as M. R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, and H. P. Lovecraft.  

Aside from the Gwenna Luna series, he has written numerous horror short stories, stage plays and screenplays. His screenplay Two Sides of a Dead Man was a semi-finalist in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship for Screenwriting, while his play about a fictitious horror star of Hollywood's golden age, The Man of Shadows, had three successful runs at the English Theatre Berlin.  

His ghost story, ‘Smugglers’, was included in the Shirley Jackson Award-nominated anthology Shades Of Darkness, published by Ash Tree Press in 2008, and two of his screenplays, Wrath, a horror film about vengeful ghosts, and Figment, a supernatural thriller are currently being developed by film companies in the UK and France.  

One of the key things I like about Primig’s stories is how the spooky elements are embedded in universal themes which will connect with the reader, such as loneliness and the need to confront and exorcise the past.  

I also love how Gwenna’s story evolves as the book progresses, especially after she encounters Penrod, an unusual boy who promises to help teach her about magic and lay her dreams to rest but who may have an agenda of his own.   

In a key moment, Penrod challenges Gwenna to discover who she really is. Which way will this mixed-up witch go in her life? Will she rise up and challenge the path already set for her, or is she going to let other people’s fears destroy her? 

He took off his coat and spread it on the ground. He sat down and began to draw symbols in the snow. “A white witch will be killed,” he said. “A black witch-no. We don't like those.” He glanced at her, slyly, reading her. “What do you think,” Penrod said, “about a sort of gray witch?” She knew some of the symbols he was drawing. They were deadly things. As more and more of them appeared in the snow, the convalescent sun withdrew into the lead sky and the world darkened. Here there be dragons … 

While the stories can become downright funeral in their tone, on occasion the writing is lighter, more like straight fantasy. 

Everywhere, though, is the setting of mood and emotion. Because of this, the stories can be savoured time and again, whenever you wish to tread along chilling paths.  

Similarly, you can (largely) read the six stories as stand-alone pieces if you prefer, skipping the framing story of Gwenna, but in my opinion you will be missing out if you do.  

Like its predecessor, The Graveyard of Gwenna Luna is strikingly-illustrated by artist Rory Midhani. These black and white images have a certain fairy tale feel to them, and perfectly complement the prose to draw you in further.