Readers of The Lost Art

Writer: Serena Valentino

Artist: Crab Scrambly

Reviewer: Louise

Synopsis from Amazon:

“This tale belongs to the dead and the house they dwell in. Madame Lalaurie inflicted unspeakable acts upon her slaves at 1140 Rue Royale, and now their tortured souls are seeking revenge on the house’s new occupants: an elderly woman named Victoria and her young niece Rebecca. Rebecca must fight for their lives as she learns of the house’s horrifying past, encounters monstrous nuns with a deadly secret in the attic and becomes possessed by one of the spirits in her new home.” 

“Nightmares and Fairytales 3: Rue Royale” is a creepy little Gothic tale featuring a haunted house, a young woman tormented by spirits, and a bunch of monstrous nuns. Set in Victorian New Orleans, as all good ghost stories should be, it tells the tale of one young woman’s fight to regain her sanity and her life. 

Though somewhat derivative – most ghost stories are, after all – “Rue Royale” is quite a twisted little dark gem. It has some quite original features and a gripping story with some very nasty twists – the fate of one of the servants is enough to make you really wince. The artwork is good, very creepy (it reminded me a little of Roman Dirge) and fits the story very well. There are some nasty little surprises in the art if you look closely; watch what the nuns are doing behind the lead character’s back when she visits the nunnery… Though at some points the story does become a little convoluted, overall it’s a good book and an entertaining, if creepy, little read. 

Paperback: 176 pages

Publisher: SLG Publishing; illustrated edition edition (15 April 2007)

ISBN-10: 1593620659