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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I've definitely had a lot of the thoughts depicted here. #84 messed me up as a kid. Who am I kidding, I haven't totally ruled it out.
Love the idea. Love the oddities. Love the colour palette. Love the illustration style.
While some of the fears definitely left me scared, horrified and screaming ewwww (rightly so I guess?), others had me nodding, laughing and jumping with excitement to have finally found company. There’s something about reading this book that felt so therapeutic. I remember going into it after a really bad day, not sure what to expect. But quickly spent the whole night devouring illustrations and stories, scared that there won’t be any more in the morning. And truly, there weren’t any left because I couldn’t put this down.
Thank you Fran Krause, for putting this together - putting yourself and so many others out there and showing us that we’re not alone after all.
While some of the fears definitely left me scared, horrified and screaming ewwww (rightly so I guess?), others had me nodding, laughing and jumping with excitement to have finally found company. There’s something about reading this book that felt so therapeutic. I remember going into it after a really bad day, not sure what to expect. But quickly spent the whole night devouring illustrations and stories, scared that there won’t be any more in the morning. And truly, there weren’t any left because I couldn’t put this down.
Thank you Fran Krause, for putting this together - putting yourself and so many others out there and showing us that we’re not alone after all.
It was very cute. I laughed out loud at some of the fears, and I related to more than I am comfortable admitting.
I loved this collection of comics (literally just depictions of the author's and other people's fears), which was simply and sweetly drawn, and ranged from scary worries to childhood misunderstandings and funny hypotheticals. I found myself going "yes! this!" multiple times.
Favorites:
Fear #3 — Be careful with your arms and legs. Never let them hang off the bed. Above you, there is an invisible guillotine, waiting for you to issue a challenge.
Fear #35 — I used to think that when I closed a book, all the characters would freeze in place, and if I left them for too long, they could get up to mischief.
Fear #50 — I need to get to the bathroom, but my room is full of ghosts. I make a disguise with my sheets, so I can move among them, totally undetected.
Fear #58 — One day I'll be Facebook stalking someone, and I'll accidentally type their name into "update status" instead of the search box, and they'll be automatically tagged in the post, and I won't notice until everyone else sees it.
Favorites:
Fear #3 — Be careful with your arms and legs. Never let them hang off the bed. Above you, there is an invisible guillotine, waiting for you to issue a challenge.
Fear #35 — I used to think that when I closed a book, all the characters would freeze in place, and if I left them for too long, they could get up to mischief.
Fear #50 — I need to get to the bathroom, but my room is full of ghosts. I make a disguise with my sheets, so I can move among them, totally undetected.
Fear #58 — One day I'll be Facebook stalking someone, and I'll accidentally type their name into "update status" instead of the search box, and they'll be automatically tagged in the post, and I won't notice until everyone else sees it.
Deep Dark Fears by Fran Krause is a wonderful collection of illustrated fears that range from silly to the absolutely terrifying.
This was such an interesting collection! One of my takeaways was simply how one thing said by one person can stick with and totally haunt another for years and years!
One of my fears as a kid was about accidentally swearing...
I grew up in an old farm house that had a pond in the yard. When I was young, my parents told me that a thin blue dragonfly that we always saw flying around would come and sew my mouth shut if I swore. I was so terrified by that that I would keep my mouth pressed tightly closed when I was near the pond for YEARS so the dragonflies couldn't reach my lips, just in case. And of course I was so young that I never thought to ask why they didn’t sew Nana or my Dads mouths shut...
Back to the book!
Some of the fears from this collection were rather strange to me, some were creepy, and some had me chuckling. Some of the fears made me nervous because I hadn’t thought about something like that happening before. While other fears were shocking because they were SO accurate for me.
I mean, fears #7, #18, #43, and #61...
I also really loved how the book was framed. First there was a short introduction where the author explained the collection. Getting a little background info on the comics that were coming up was lovely and the dramatic effect was fun! Then later, the book ended with shoutouts to those that sent in their stories.
My final thoughts:
Overall, I thought this was a wonderful collection! Though not one to read right before bed.... when I went to the bathroom I couldn’t look in the mirror... And when I went to get into bed after shutting off the light, I ran and jumped onto the bed, making sure no body parts hung over the edge....
And then the book didn't end there! I immediately logged on to Instagram when I got into bed to check out the Deep Dark Fears Instagram feed. I spent far too much time very late at night scrolling through and reading additional comics!
This was such an interesting collection! One of my takeaways was simply how one thing said by one person can stick with and totally haunt another for years and years!
One of my fears as a kid was about accidentally swearing...
I grew up in an old farm house that had a pond in the yard. When I was young, my parents told me that a thin blue dragonfly that we always saw flying around would come and sew my mouth shut if I swore. I was so terrified by that that I would keep my mouth pressed tightly closed when I was near the pond for YEARS so the dragonflies couldn't reach my lips, just in case. And of course I was so young that I never thought to ask why they didn’t sew Nana or my Dads mouths shut...
Back to the book!
Some of the fears from this collection were rather strange to me, some were creepy, and some had me chuckling. Some of the fears made me nervous because I hadn’t thought about something like that happening before. While other fears were shocking because they were SO accurate for me.
I mean, fears #7, #18, #43, and #61...
I also really loved how the book was framed. First there was a short introduction where the author explained the collection. Getting a little background info on the comics that were coming up was lovely and the dramatic effect was fun! Then later, the book ended with shoutouts to those that sent in their stories.
My final thoughts:
Overall, I thought this was a wonderful collection! Though not one to read right before bed.... when I went to the bathroom I couldn’t look in the mirror... And when I went to get into bed after shutting off the light, I ran and jumped onto the bed, making sure no body parts hung over the edge....
And then the book didn't end there! I immediately logged on to Instagram when I got into bed to check out the Deep Dark Fears Instagram feed. I spent far too much time very late at night scrolling through and reading additional comics!
It was a nice quick read!
Some were very specific or from childhood ,and I couldn't always relate, but we all have a lot of weird thoughts!
I wouldn't say that most of them were deep dark fears but rather weird and freaky.
Most were funny, but some made me question the parenting skills of people...
Here is my list of the ones I related too, one way or another:
9
15
20
30
36
38
44
46
52
64
79
84
86
91
94
97
98
99
101
Some were very specific or from childhood ,and I couldn't always relate, but we all have a lot of weird thoughts!
I wouldn't say that most of them were deep dark fears but rather weird and freaky.
Most were funny, but some made me question the parenting skills of people...
Here is my list of the ones I related too, one way or another:
9
15
20
30
36
38
44
46
52
64
79
84
86
91
94
97
98
99
101
I love graphics like this, comprised of little strips or vignettes. Especially when crowdsourced interpretations.
i picked up this book at an independent bookstore and feel in love with it. this collection of people's fears was beautifully illustrated and put together so props to fran!!! i thought those fears would be things I've heard or thought about before but alas it wasn't! most of them were very imaginative and some were very real as well. 10/10 super recommend picking this baby up
When it comes down to it, we are all a little neurotic and all a little nuts; even if we don't ever want to admit it. This book is a literal illustration of 101 of our most irrational, silly and deeply personal fears in adorable water color. The fears in Kraus's book are surreal, absurd and more often than we would like to admit completely relatable. If you have ever been afraid you would be sucked into an escalator, or that a tree would grow in your stomach because of that seed you accidentally ate as a child, or that when your cast was removed your limb would come off with it then this is the book for you. A perfect book to leave on your coffee table for guests to peruse and a wonderful (but strange) way to start a conversation.