Maria J Pérez Cuervo

Hello, new followers. I’m Maria, founder and editor of HELLEBORE, a small press devoted to #folkhorror, #folklore, #magic and the #occult in Britain. 👉🏼 helleborebooks.com I write about history, art, myth and mystery. My portfolio: 👉🏼 mjpcuervo.com/portfolio-page

Tomorrow!

SOLD OUT! Thank you to everyone who purchased a copy of our first anthology. We might reprint it in the future, but not as a hardcover.

IT'S alive!!! This is an absolute dream come true and a hight point of my long art career. You should absolutely get a copy! pspublishing.co.uk/the-kith-of-... pspublishing.co.uk/the-kith-of-...

Parents, please check your kids’ candy this Halloween. I’ve just found an ancient metal whistle with the inscription “QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT" inside a Snickers bar. I blew it and heard a note of infinite distance, and now I’m haunted by a figure in pale, fluttering draperies. Be safe.

WIN NIGHT OF THE DEMON ANNIVERSARY EDITION 666/2000 Unavailable for eight years, our legendary Limited Edition Blu-ray release of NIGHT OF THE DEMON has been resurrected! RT this post for a chance to WIN copy number 666/2000 powerhousefilms.co.uk/products/night-of-the-demon-anniversary-edition-le

Here's a book I did for British Library Publishing. There's some great seasonal stuff in it; I had lots of fun putting it together too. Plenty of good seasonal chiller. Happy to answer questions on how something like this comes together. shop.bl.uk/products/bea... @blpublishing.bsky.social

TOMORROW! Eeeep!

‘“The worship of Pan never has died out,’ said Mortimer. ‘Other newer gods have drawn aside his votaries from time to time, but he is the Nature-God to whom all must come back at last.”’— Saki, ‘The Music on the Hill’ (1911) #BookWormSat

“What are your plans for the weekend?”

Thank you to the University of Winchester for inviting me to talk about @helleborezine.bsky.social at their Creative Writing class. My takeaway: print is not dead!

Yess! See you at the Royal Albert Hall, boys 🖤

Happy Rollin season 🍂 🎥: La Rose de Fer (1973)

As always, the magical creatures at @helleborezine.bsky.social turn words into art. Very happy to share this piece with @mjpcuervo.com Read all about ancient mysteries, secret cults, vulvae and phalli, and mind-altering drugs.

I’ve just come back from seeing a theatre adaptation of Dracula. The woman behind us kept exclaiming “ew” whenever there was a bit of blood. Madam, did you think you’d come to watch The Magic Roundabout?

Can't wait to see what The Cult of The Silent Woman looks like in print.

My boys are coming back to England next year 🥲

⚡️IT’S HERE!⚡️ Thank you everyone for your pre-orders. Shipping for The Mystery Issue begins now. 🔮 Get yours on www.helleborezine.com

Another favourite paperback cover for #Crowleymas. #BOTD

For #Crowleymas, one of my favourite paperback covers. #BOTD

Finally watched The Haunted Airman, an adaptation of Dennis Wheatley’s The Haunting of Toby Jugg. The colour grading almost put me off, but I persevered. It has three hugely talented leads (a little underused here) and a nice atmosphere.

Today’s #bookpost ✨🐐✨

Bristol friends, I’ll be at The Book Cellar on Oct 29th talking horror and celebrating Bristol’s thriving horror scene with @manylittlewords.bsky.social and @joanpassey.bsky.social. Join us! 👉🏼 bookcellar.uk/event/horror...

I wrote IN SEARCH OF THE ENGLISH #VAMPIRE for the special Darkness Issue of #HELLEBORE in 2023. A bespoke small press publication devoted to British folk horror, founded in 2019 by Maria J. Pérez Cuervo. Link to this back issue below! #Gothtober #31daysofHalloween

Clear October sky, ruined church, tea and cake at a local cafe.

My local stone circle, tree people, the Devil’s spit and other autumnal curiosities.

I enjoyed the new Sense and Sensibility more than I thought I would. The three girls were good, Mrs Jennings superb, Edward charming, Willoughby charismatic with a Byronic streak. Brandon was my least favourite. Controversial, but David Morrissey’s Brandon will always be my favourite Austen hero.

Today’s #bookpost is this early Victoria Holt with desolate moors, phantom monks, a ruined abbey, gaslighting, brooding men, and this beautifully evocative cover.

Aside from how freaking good The Prisoner is, it’s so comforting to watch a show with such vibrant colours, instead of the drab greyness that dominates visual media these days.

Read all about the occult afterlife of ancient mystery cults in a piece by me and the magical @mjpcuervo.com

Cover image by Faallaway, with design by Sam Freeman. Words by Nick Freeman, @kjsoar.bsky.social, @mjpcuervo.com, @pjrobichaud.bsky.social, Thomas Waters, @verityholloway.bsky.social and @englishheretic.bsky.social. Edited by @mjpcuervo.com 👉🏼 helleborezine.com

The wonderful Faallaway shot the cover photo of my dreams. “Do you happen to live near a sphinx statue?” I asked. Turned out her parents did. The cover was shot at the Château de Fontainebleau. It evokes the monstrous Greek sphinx, the silent guardian of the desert, the alluring Decadent symbol.

⚡️IT’S HERE!⚡️ Ruined temples, living myths, riddles and enigmas, Medieval mystics, a gas-lit world of secret societies and energy grids, psychedelic revivals, and sonic experiments at the City of the Dead. 👉🏼 Gaze into the eyes of the sphinx and pre-order The Mystery Issue on helleborezine.com

Throwback to 2015

I’ve been invited to speak about one of my favourite films at a Spanish film club, so I’m rewatching BLACK NARCISSUS yet again. Repressed desire and descent into madness in the sublime landscape of the Himalayas. Technicolor perfection by my boys Powell & Pressburger.

Having the best time with Scream! magazine.

Just finished making my favourite cake, the Spanish tarta de la abuela: Homemade custard thickly layered between rich tea fingers dipped in milk and sprinkled with cinnamon, topped with a layer of chocolate custard (made with 85% dark chocolate)

Thank you to @reaktionbooks.bsky.social for sending me a copy of Jeremy Harte’s latest. I loved his Cloven Country and look forward to reading about haunted barrows, spells, demons and more.

In the post today is the latest by @helengrantsays.bsky.social, which I read and blurbed a few months back. A beautifully atmospheric novella that evokes the golden era of dark fantasy. Out now with PS Publishing.

An accidental selfie on this beautiful VVitch-inspired painting by Corey Thomas, at the Goatland exhibition in Bristol.

Got my tickets for the cinematic event of the year

Things I was frightened of as a child: The prayer “Four angels to my bed” The Devil Alien shapeshifters Mind control Quicksand Being mummified alive Eyelash curlers and mascara The Bermuda Triangle EVP The Belmez faces Sentient dolls

Unbelievable charity shop find: 14 issues of Scream! magazine plus a holiday special for £7.