Don't Be Afraid of the Dark by Guillermo del Toro

Since I was supposed to take a night bus from Shinjuku to Aomori for the trip to Aomori a few weeks back, I figured I should bring a book. So I brought this - I have no idea why, perhaps I didn't think I needed to sleep before a presentation. But thankfully, I finished this book on the train to Shinjuku, so I didn't have to creep myself out reading in the dark.

Don't be afraid of the dark is basically a collection of scary fairies from around the world, sandwiched between an increasingly dark story staring Lord Blackwood, as he turns into a fairy-hunter, convinced that there are other beings. And not only that, these beings (or "fairies") are dangerous.

Having read the book, I can safely say that I don't think I want to watch the film that this was based on. I'm not that brave. The story started off fine, but it got scarier slowly. The ending is, as I understand based on Wikipedia, where the movie starts off, so yeah. I don't really want to see what happens next.

What I liked about the collection of fairy-types was that there was a varied collection of fairies from around the world. I was expecting it to be very European-based, but there was a section dedicated to Japanese and Chinese fairies/ghosts. There are Kappa, Yuki Onna, Huli Jing, etc.

By the way, this is a very eye-catching book (I got the hardcover). Most of my friends asked me about this, since the pages are either black (The fairy encyclopedia bit) or are edged in black (Lord Blackwood's Journal). I really like the illustrations in it too, although I won't want it hanging on a wall in my house.

I totally don't regret getting this book. I bought it on a whim, but despite my weak stomach for scary stuff, I enjoyed reading it.