The Gnawer of Rocks

As the author warns, this book is pretty gnarly. This isn't surprising to me though, as most fairy/folk tales are quite scary or gory, in order to prevent people (usually children) from doing something dangerous or wrong. This one is probably an admonition against wandering off on your own and going into random caves.

I love how creepy Inuit monsters are (especially the Qallupilluq), and I image they're so scary to me because a) I'm more used to western/European monsters and b) the things that the Inuit people need to warn their children of are just more terrifying to me. Being trapped under the ice sounds really really horrible.

This book definitely puts you in the creepy mood right from the start though - the endpapers are covered with the variously decomposing heads of children who have been kidnapped and decapitated by the Mangittatuarjuk:


I like the details about Mangittatuarjuk's viscera being so strong, and the way she is finally dispatched is pretty great/gory. Good for folks who are into body horror and folk tales!