Through the Woods is a collection of 5 graphic horror stories, all tied together by eerie vibes, the forest, and some amazing illustrations. I was initially drawn in by the art style, which reminded me of old fairy tale books, but what really surprised me was the dark, unsettling themes throughout the stories.
Each story has its own thing going on, but they all explore fear and mystery in certain ways. Stories get more explicit and complex as the book goes on, overall getting longer.
HERE THERE WILL BE SPOILERS
In the Bluebeard story The Lady's Hands Are Cold, a woman finds the remains of her husband's dead wife and, in a way, resurrects her. Instead of being thankful for this act, the dead wife attempts to murder our main character. The dead wife states that her husband killed her so that he could have all her riches and land, and it is implied that by marrying him, she is also guilty, despite likely being a future victim. This discrepancy has always interested me. Are we guilty for the acts of those around us, even if we had no way of knowing? The story ends with the wife simply running into the woods from her attackers.
One recurring aspect in these stories is the sense of unresolved endings. In His Face is All Red, a man kills his seemingly perfect brother out of jealousy, but the brother inexplicably returns, alive and unchanged. It ends with the man discovering this fact, but we never get the closure or explanation we might expect. This sense of open-endedness feels intentional, but it still leaves me wanting more clarity.
But if there's one story that leaves you questioning more than the rest, it's The Nesting Place. This one brings a different kind of horror, using body horror and the idea of infection to create tension. A girl visiting her brother's fiancée discovers the fiancée is no longer fully human, she's a creature made of worms, controlling a human body. The visuals are disgusting yet stunning, and the fear in the characters’ faces is palpable.
Our girl, Bell, actually has a disability, she requires a cane to walk. At some point, when the creature's secret is discovered, she offers Bell to take over her body as well with her worms. The creature wants to move to the city. When Bell counters and states that people will notice, the creature says:
That line is great. Yeah, this pressure to conform to society's gender and beauty norms is terrifying. This story illustrates that perfectly.
Of course, the story ends with Bell just telling the monster that the city is gonna suck, and her babies will be discovered there and tortured classic fairy tale moment, and I love it.
In the end, Bell gets driven away with her brother to a doctor, safe and unaffected, the twist being her brother is also infected with worms too.
But the twist at the end left me with a lot of questions. Bell's brother, who seemed unaffected by the fiancée's strange condition, is revealed to be infected with worms too. Why didn't the fiancée tell Bell that her brother was infected? Do the monsters not realize they're both infected? It's a bit confusing, and I can't quite figure out if the story is trying to say something about conformity or just leaves these questions unanswered.
Overall, the stories are solid, and the art really knocks it out of the park for me. If there's one thing that ties the stories together, it's the woods, always in the background as a symbol of confusion, strangeness, and mystery. Emily Carroll's use of tree branches looking like hands reaching out to pull you into the abyss is a brilliant touch that reinforces that feeling of being trapped or lost. This symbolism appears often, even on the cover.
I think Emily Carroll has a lot more effective work, and I will be covering some of her comics in my next post. Thank you for reading!