Though a step down from Usborne’s guides to monsters and the supernatural, Monsterbacks were still a much-treasured book in the 1980s for kids desperate for a horror fix.
The four books, published by Marshall Cavendish, covered four enticing subjects: ‘Monster or Man?’; ‘Werewolves and Other Weird Creatures’; ‘Vampires’ and ‘Ghosts, Ghouls and Spirits’. All four were written by Dorothy Darrell-Ward whose other works seem thin on the ground, save for a book about household hints and one about Ambrose, a roller-skating badger. It pays to have a little variety up your sleeve. Her co-author was Bernard Brett, who enjoyed a healthy run of gigs in the late 70s and early 80s, creating work for children covering historical and fantastical subjects, from witches to sea monsters, for publishers including Hamlyn.
All published in 1980, these paperbacks, to modern eyes, feel a little like those shlocky self-published books which are a blight on civilisation – slightly oversized, text laid out a little suspiciously and far too bendy. No one wants an overly bendy book. They were covered in a strange lacquer that peeled off quite satisfyingly. Under the header ‘Monsterbacks’ they were subtitled as containing ‘Terrifying Tales and Frightening Fact’, as accurate a summary as you might wish for.
As with Usborne’s guides, the edition covering ghosts is something of a mopping-up affair, featuring none of the gratuitous fang-based threats nor crazy monsters from throughout history. Slightly more satisfying was the ‘Vampires’ book, though the richest seams of appeal were without question in the other two volumes.
The books themselves had a surprisingly good balance of short facts about the titular subject matter, and longer-form narratives (eg. ‘Jekyll & Hyde’; Henri Boguet‘s tale of a huntsman chopping off a wolf’s paw, only to find a handles wife back at home), some film coverage (including poster art and stills), well-drawn comic strips and some completely unwelcome games along the lines of snakes and ladders (but with rubbish monster art). Though Hammer and Universal featured heavily as sources, there was also mythological fare from around the world, giving both child and parent the slightly thin comfort blanket of them being solely educational.
All four books were illustrated by Michael Wells Studios.
All four are now absurdly scarce and are unlikely to ever receive reprints.
Daz Lawrence
