Scared Sacred: Idolatry, Religion and Worship in the Horror Film explores the complex relationship between religion, folklore, and the cinematic church of horror. 🖤
Featuring a foreword from Hellraiser's Pinhead, Doug Bradley, each first-edition paperback (limited to 500 copies) comes with a numbered certificate and reversible page marker.
Along with sixteen original chapter illustrations in a woodcut style (by John Sowder), the stunning cover art (by Jeremy Thompson) is embellished in classic silver foiling.
To read more and add the book to your collection, visit holpublishing.com/shop! 👻
Filtered Reality is our love letter to found footage horror. 🖤
Featuring a foreword from Stephen Volk (Ghostwatch) and an introduction by AislÃnn Clarke (The Devil’s Doorway), the book charts the Progenitors and Evolution of the contemporary found footage horror film, exploring giallo, Cannibal Holocaust, Ghostwatch, video games, and more... 📹
The first-edition paperback is limited to 500 copies and features original section illustrations by John Sowder and detailed monochrome cover art by James H Neal, enhanced by UV spotting. Each order comes with a matching numbered bookplate and reversible bookmark.
Read more and get your first-edition copy from holpublishing.com/shop! 📚
Part two of April's recommended reading list, themed around religious horror across film and television, is here (a little late around promoting our new book)...
Our own entry, Scared Sacred, is the first anthology in a small series exploring the relationship between religion and the cinematic church of horror (currently discounted if you bundle with our latest pre-order - see bio for links)!
If you're looking for more nonfiction books dissecting horror, visit our Grim Reader's Syllabus (also in bio)!
Happy grim reading! 🖤
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#religion #horrorbooks #hellraiser #bookrecommendations #womeninhorror #womenowned #indiepublisher #readinglist #grimreader
Cover image is from Sacred Terror: Religion and Horror on the Silver Screen by Douglas Cowan (Baylor University Press, 2008).
Books (clockwise):
The Exorcist Effect: Horror, Religion, and Demonic Belief edited by Jospeh P. Laycock & Eric Harrelson (2023)
Horror and Religion: New Literary Approaches to Theology, Race and Sexuality edited by Eleanor Beal & Jonathan Greenaway (2019).
Scream with Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism (1968-1980) by Eleanor Johnson (2025)
Theology of Horror: The Hidden Depths of Popular Films by Ryan G. Duns, SJ (2024)
Religious Horror and the Ecogothic edited by Kathleen Hudson and Mary Going (2024)
Horror Comics and Religion: Essays on Framing the Monstrous and the Divine edited by Brandon R. Grafius & John W. Morehead (2024)
A behind-the-scenes look at the editing process for our latest spellbook... ✨
Link in bio to learn more about Weird Sisters: Covenant! 🖤
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Clip from Hocus Pocus 2 (2022): The Sanderson Sisters at the Halloween fair, watching people bobbing for apples. Text: 'They're drowning a man! How charming!'
#weirdsisters #hocuspocus #horror #horrormovies #book #nonfiction #editing #witches #witchcraft #indiepublisher #womeninhorror #grimoire #spellbook #magic #salem #halloween #writingcommunity #authorsofinstagram #readingcommunity #kickstarter #projectwelove #crowdfunder #preorder
A behind-the-scenes look at the editing process for our latest spellbook... ✨
Link in bio to learn more about Weird Sisters: Covenant! 🖤
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Clip from Hocus Pocus (1993): The Sanderson Sisters performing a spell.
#weirdsisters #hocuspocus #horror #horrormovies #book #nonfiction #editing #witches #witchcraft #indiepublisher #womeninhorror #grimoire #spellbook #magic #spell #halloween #salem #writingcommunity #authorsofinstagram #readingcommunity #kickstarter #projectwelove #crowdfunder #preorder
A behind-the-scenes look at the editing process for our latest spellbook... ✨
Link in bio to learn more about Weird Sisters: Covenant! 🖤
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Clip from Hocus Pocus (1993): Hand tracing spells in book.
#weirdsisters #hocuspocus #horror #horrormovies #book #nonfiction #editing #witches #witchcraft #indiepublisher #womeninhorror #grimoire #spellbook #magic #potion #salem #halloween #writingcommunity #authorsofinstagram #readingcommunity #kickstarter #projectwelove #crowdfunder #preorder
A behind-the-scenes look at the editing process for our latest spellbook... ✨
Link in bio to learn more about Weird Sisters: Covenant! 🖤
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Clip from Hocus Pocus (1993): Winifred Sanderson opening the windows of the cottage and shouting, 'Book!'
#weirdsisters #hocuspocus #horror #horrormovies #book #nonfiction #editing #witches #witchcraft #indiepublisher #womeninhorror #writingcommunity #authorsofinstagram #readingcommunity #kickstarter #projectwelove #crowdfunder #preorder
ICYMI: the pre-order for our latest book, Weird Sisters: Covenant, is open! ✨
Exploring the role of the witch in film and television, the book is an illustrated grimoire for the resistance, centring transgressive and ‘dangerous’ women — aged women, sapphic women, disabled women, satanic women, non-maternal women, and others — who challenge, resist, and delegitimise the status quo.
We’re loving the response from the horror community — not only are we more than 20% funded already, but @Kickstarter has selected us as a Project We Love! 🖤
We're almost at £1000 — will you be the person to take us over this first milestone?
Join the resistance — link in bio!
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#kickstarter #projectwelove #witches #ICYMI #booklaunch #crowdfunder #horror #indiepublishing #weirdsisters #preorder #womeninhorror
Huge thank you to @Kickstarter for selecting Weird Sisters: Covenant as a Project We Love! ✨
Via meditations on desire, sisterhood, and female rage, the book contributes to an increasingly necessary exploration of the figure of the witch in film and television. To see it recognised in this way means more than words can say.
Thank you to every single person who has supported, shared, and believed in the book — and us.
Join the coven — link in bio 🖤
#kickstarter #projectwelove #weirdsisters #horror #printisundead #houseofleavespublishing
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Something wicked has *arrived*… ✨
The pre-order for our exciting new book, Weird Sisters: Covenant, has officially launched on Kickstarter!
Covenant is the first volume in our upcoming trilogy of books, Weird Sisters, which will interrogate the figure of the witch in film and television!
The series is a manifesto fuelled by anger over current attacks on civil rights and a fervent belief in the power of sisterhood. It draws upon the power of three, and its volumes will be named rather than numbered so they can be enjoyed in any order.
Covenant will lay the groundwork for this exploration, serving as a vital and incisive survey of the contemporary landscape.
Its curated collection of thoughtful (and thought-provoking) essays draws upon Early Modern history, global cultural narratives, ancient fables and fairy tales, religious beliefs, feminist analysis, critical race theory, and more…
We are beyond thrilled to share this exciting book with you all! 🖤
🔗 Visit the link in our bio to learn more about the book and explore the exclusive pre-order perks we’ve paired it with!
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Image: triskele floral design by Jessica Rose in cream on green background, with text: Weird Sisters: Covenant in cream underneath; and 'Print Is Undead' logo (designed by Dana Polakovicova and digitised by Euan Monaghan) in green on cream background.
#kickstarter #witches #booklaunch #crowdfunder #horror #indiepublishing #weirdsisters #preorder #womeninhorror
Happy Mother's Day (US) to all the mothers — of monsters; primordial; of pets; new; soon-to-be; hoping-to-be; chosen; solo; loss mothers; and every other mother figure.
Sending love also to children who are missing their mum, estranged, or navigating strained relationships.
Whether the holiday is a celebration or a difficult day, you're in our thoughts. 🖤
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Image: Richard Rothwell's portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Text: Happy Mother's Day (over black background) with blush floral wallpaper and HoL logo.
#mothersday #maryshelley #frankenstein #horrorcommunity #readingcommunity