I always love to read about monsters. Not the real, human kind that you find shelved in 364, but the kind with fangs and sometimes fur…vampires, boogeymen, werewolves, Frankensteins, you get the idea. But, it can be hard to find a monster book (especially one that uses a more “conventional” monster such as a vampire or a zombie) and keeps the story fresh and original. So, imagine my delight when I stumbled upon Eleanor Bourg Nicholson and her vampire-fighting priest!
Fair warning to those picking these books up. If you see “priest” in the description and think this is going to be a bit of “cozy” horror or a slightly spooky feel-good tale, then I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I’ve only read the first book, so far, but it was legitimately scary (and often rather bloody–as befitting any good vampire story!). So, these stories might not appeal to more sensitive readers. For the rest of you, however, a gory-good time awaits!
A Bloody Habit (2018)
The year is 1900, and agnostic lawyer John Kemp is struggling with many things. Not only is the case he’s working on causing him no end of trouble, but he’s in love–or supposed to be, anyway–and can’t shake the feeling that perhaps he’s not quite as infatuated as he thought he was. Then, of course, there’s the issue of the annoying little Catholic clergyman on the train. The fellow seems nice enough, but he’s too friendly, too pleasant, and Kemp really just wants to be left alone, to eat dinner by himself, and to not be bothered by anyone. But that night he has a horrible dream (if it was a dream) of a pale, red-eyed creature rummaging through his belongings. And when he returns to his home again, strange phenomena seems to dog him wherever he goes, from the violent death of his (sort of) friend to the strange bat-like creature he thinks he sees climbing into someone’s window. And of course, there’s the odd little priest, too, whose business card reads: Rev. Thomas Edmund Gilroy, O.P., D.C.L., Vampire Slayer.
Brother Wolf (2021)
St. Francis was known for his love of animals. That being said, it still doesn’t explain the unnatural phenomena of a Franciscan friar turning into a wolf. Athene Howard’s life is extremely dull, but things take an interesting turn when she crosses paths with a clairvoyant Dominican postulant, a stern nun, and a recusant English nobleman embarked on a quest for a feral Franciscan werewolf. The strangeness and horror are intoxicating, but the danger is all-too real. Can Athene and her newfound compatriots battle against the ruthless forces of darkness that howl for the overthrow of civilization and the devouring of so many wounded souls? Fr. Thomas Edmund Gilroy returns for this second book to face occult demons, gypsy curses, possessed maidens, and tormented werewolves, accompanying a charming neo-pagan heroine in her earnest search for adventure and meaning.
Wake of Malice (2024)
When Father Michael Walsh, a Jesuit priest on the western coast of Ireland, faces a charge of embezzlement, a London newspaper sends expatriate Irish reporter Hugh Buckley home to deliver a story-or else. Buckley and his photographer colleague Frederick Jones arrive in the village of Doolin to find themselves embroiled in a tangled mess of parish politics, occult practices, and bloody murder. By night, as wicked things rise from the earth, Buckley faces his own long-repressed struggles with his country, his abandoned faith, and his dead family. By day, he finds help, both professional and personal, from English Dominican friar Father Thomas Edmund Gilroy, OP, who has come to Doolin to support his friend Father Michael and to aid in the spiritual battle against the occult. Can Hugh and Freddie save their employment-and their skins-as the grotesque violence intensifies? Or will they and the rest of the village of Doolin be consumed by dark powers lurking within the mysterious landscape of Ireland?
