#The Library at Hellebore

[torpublishinggroup]

The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw

The Hellebore Technical Institute is for the gifted: Anti-Christs, Ragnaroks, and monsters in the making. But on graduation day, the faculty feast on their students. Trapped in the school’s vast library, Alessa Li—kidnapped and forcibly enrolled—must lead her classmates in something they were never taught: how to survive.

Out July 22, 2025!

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab

From V. E. Schwab, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: a new genre-defying novel about immortality and hunger.

Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532.

London, 1827.

Boston, 2019.

Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil, their stories tangling like roots. One grows high, and one grows deep, and one grows wild. And all of them grow teeth.

Don't Sleep with the Dead by Nghi Vo

Nick Carraway has built a quiet life in 1930s New York. He's good at watching high society and pretending: pretending to be straight, to be human, to have forgotten the summer of 1922. But when a familiar face appears one dark night, he realizes Gatsby, dead or not, isn’t finished with him. In all paper there is memory, and Nick's ghost has come home.

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang

With an armored, oath-bound hero reminiscent of The Mandalorian and the Asian-inspired epic fantasy of She Who Became the Sun, Neon Yang’s Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is a stunning queer novella about a dragon hunter finding home with a dragon queen.

Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender

Only an elite few are legally permitted to study the science of magic—so when Ash is rejected by Lancaster College of Alchemic Science, he is forced to learn alchemy in secret. Caught by brilliant apprentice Ramsay Thorne, Ash is sure he's about to be arrested—but instead she makes him an offer: help her find the legendary Book of Source, a sacred text that gives its reader extraordinary power, and she’ll keep his secret.

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

In the small town of Thistleford, the Hawthorn family tends enchanted willows and honours an ancient compact to sing to them in thanks for their magic. Sisters Esther and Ysabel are devoted to the trees, and even more to each other. But when Esther rejects a forceful suitor for a lover from Faerie, the bond between them—and their lives—are put at risk.

Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman

After losing the parents who saved him from an abusive home, Griffon Keming is left with a single journal—his father’s, written from death row. Bloodstained and grief-soaked, it tells a love story between two artists on fire. Notes from a Regicide is a heart-wrenching tale of trans self-discovery with a sci-fi twist from award-winning author Isaac Fellman. 

Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

Three years ago, Alice spent one night in an abandoned house with her friends, and her life has spiraled since. Memories of that night torment Alice, but when asked to return to the House, she knows she must go. Alison Rumfitt’s Tell Me I’m Worthless is a dark, unflinching haunted house story that confronts both supernatural and real-world horrors through the lens of the modern-day trans experience.

Not enough books? Check out our other list!

[thebackestofburners]

Tagged by @wilsonthemoose

List 9 books you want to read in 2025

(Two of these are actually coming out this year!!!)

Tagging @notfredj

@mentallyunwellsamgirl

@ardentpoop

@quietwingsinthesky

(Obviously only if you wanna <3)

[pagesandpothos]

Upcoming Book Spotlight: The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw

There are so many exciting book releases coming in 2025! Since there are so many that it’s difficult to keep track of, I decided to start a series highlighting some that I think readers should be excited about.

These will be mostly queer books and I’ll try to focus on books that don’t already have a lot of buzz. All previous and future posts in this series can be easily found in this tag!

Today’s book is being described as horror with fantasy and dark academia elements:

A deeply dark academia novel from USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw, perfect for fans of A Deadly Education and The Atlas Six who are hungry for something a little more diabolical. The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers. Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told when she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled. But there’s more to Hellebore than meets the eye. On graduation day, the faculty go on a ravenous rampage, feasting on Alessa’s class. Only Alessa and a group of her classmates escape the carnage. Trapped in the school’s library, they must offer a human sacrifice every night, or else the faculty will break down the door and kill everyone. Can they band together and survive, or will the faculty eat its fill?

This has been blurbed by an interesting mix of horror and fantasy authors.

Nat Cassidy, who wrote Nestlings and When The Wolf Comes Home, says:

“Libraries are a place for reference, so you could say this book is something like Battle Royale meets The Magicians with some Hateful Eight thrown in … but the ghoulish delight, the luscious prose, and the batshit imagery are all unalloyed, singular Cassandra Khaw. The Library at Hellebore is devilishly entertaining, thrillingly structured, and full of unexpected blows to the heart. It's the most fun you'll ever have, rooting for Armageddon(s).”

Olivie Blake blurbs it with this:

“Khaw has the swagger of a motherfucking rockstar. I’m not being cute―this is the punk rock, eldritch god, carnage-fueled battle royale dark academia that makes partial decapitation look like an amateur sandbox. The Library at Hellebore is more metal than I’ll ever be and too cool for most of you. You’ve been warned.”

Alix E. Harrow says:

“As rich and gruesome as a fresh-plucked heart, as sharp as a broken bone, The Library at Hellebore is a perfect horror novel by one of my favorite writers. It's a book that draws a line between the monsters and the monstrous, and reminds us who to root for―and what it costs.”

The Library Journal reviews it with this:

“Khaw’s brutal novel is more than an action-packed race against time, it is also an honest, endearing, and emotional ode to friendship, as well as a clever story about power. Engaging, visceral, and a lot of fun.”

And Booklist says:

“Khaw’s gorgeous prose is a visceral symphony of body horror, encompassing nightmarish transformations, cosmically horrific beings, and fascinating lore about this world’s underexplored pantheon of gods and creatures. A treat for the darkest fans of dark academia.”

This sounds dark, as Cassandra Khaw's books always are, so be sure to check content warnings before you pick it up! It is also said to have queer representation.

Links: Storygraph | GoodReads

The Library at Hellebore is scheduled to be released on July 22, 2025, and is available for pre-order!

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb:

DELUXE EDITION—a gorgeous hardcover edition featuring cobalt blue sprayed edges! A deeply dark academia novel from USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw, perfect for fans of A Deadly Education and An Education in Malice who are hungry for something more diabolical.

The Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted is the premier academy for the dangerously powerful: the Anti-Christs and Ragnaroks, the world-eaters and apocalypse-makers.

Hellebore promises redemption, acceptance, and a normal life after graduation. At least, that’s what Alessa Li is told after she’s kidnapped and forcibly enrolled.

But the Institute is more than just a haven for monsters. On graduation day, the faculty embark on a ravenous rampage, feasting on their students. Trapped in the school’s cavernous library, Alessa and her surviving classmates must do something they were never taught: work together.

If they don't, this school will eat them alive...

Review:

Dark academia meets horror in this story about a exclusive institute that houses gifted dangerous beings... beings on par with the Anti-Christs, Ragnaroks, world-eaters, and apocalypse makers. Whether or not you actually apply to the school is up to you but you might find yourself kidnapped and awake there regardless, and thats exactly what happens to Alessi Li. Students at Hellebore are promised acceptance and a normal life after graduation.. that is if they can make it out alive with the other dangerous students against them and the fact that the faculty are determined to eat them all.... talk about a tough school year. This book was part body horror part monster romance, and it was just a thrilling read! I had so much fun with this one and it's definitely one I would recommend for your spooky season tbr!

Release Date: July 22, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Nightfire for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[mangotortoise]

@ fellow The Salt Grows heavy homies:

FYI Cassandra Khaw has a book coming out in July

In case you didn't know!

Anyways, because I love their writing and what it does to my brain I'm gonna be their hype man here

HYPE

[wearethekat]

March Book Reviews: The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw

I received a free copy from Tor Nightfire via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Publish date July 22nd, 2025.

I'm always up for a properly dark academia book about the corruption of the academic institution, and I was intrigued by the premise of this book. In The Library at Hellebore, Alessa Li is an unwilling student at the Hellebore Institute, a school where the most dangerous magic users go to be enjoyed. safe citizens. But on the day of graduation, the monstrous faculty turn on the students, devouring all of them except for a handful who flee to the library...

The Library at Hellebore is a book that is very much thumbing its nose at pretty, aestheticized visions of "dark academia." The Hellebore Institute has all the luxurious trappings of the most idealized pinterest board--Alessa's big bed with its glamorous hangings, a library that resembles Trinity's, elaborate dinner spreads in the dining hall, a trunk full of fancy uniform clothes just for Alessa. But these beautiful things are incongrously juxtaposed with Khaw's depiction of the brutality and indifference of the Institute. All of the teachers turn out to be Lovecraftian flesh horrors. The classes are pointless busywork. The students spend most of their time killing each other with no repercussions.

And speaking of killing, this is also a book devoted to a nightmarish phantasmagoria of body horror and disembowellings. Most of the students have killed multiple people, and all of them have magic powers that are a serious threat to the safety of the world. But there seem to be very few fireball casters or earthquake causers--it's body horror flesh gore all the way down. Alessa herself has the power to magically tear people apart. Another student can summon a swarm of cicadas that reduce people to fleshy shreds. There's a guy with a eldritch portal inside of him instead of internal organs who constantly vomits Lovecraftian mystery meat.

However, I felt that the performative quantity of gore was a bit overdone. To me, the best horror deploys the exact right amount of disturbing for the maximum impact. Once you've read the sixth luxuriously described disembowelling, the novelty begins to pall. In addition, Alessa's character is largely indifferent to whether her classmates live or die. Since this is a book about being trapped in a library as her classmates are gruesomely killed off, Alessa's weak attachment to the others dilutes the impact of their deaths.

Recommended for people who read the first scene of Bardugo's Ninth House, featuring the nonconsensual vivisection of a kidnapped homeless man for haruspicy, and thought wow, this book needs way more suffering and intestines. For the disembowellment enjoyers.

[beckysbook5]

First Lines Friday!

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page. Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to…

[misanthropicgardener]

i am kind of torn about picking up the library at hellebore when it is released because as i have talked about plenty, the salt grows heavy is one of my favourite books and i actually really like the author’s style but i think the setting and the characters were such a big part of why i liked it. it felt very custom targeted to my taste

[kingkatsuki]

Thinking more Dragon King Bakugou thoughts.

Imagine you’ve been married less than a month, an arrangement which protected your village from attacks from the ruthless king, and any other settlements.

But you still haven’t consummated the marriage, you haven’t even slept in the same bed together. You have the same routine, each morning you meet him for breakfast (when he isn’t away pillaging or scavenging). Barely speaking a word to each other outside basic pleasantaries, asking how you slept or how you’re feeling.

Spending the rest of your time as though you’re a stranger in someone else’s home, even though this is your home now. Your reality.

You spend a lot of your free time in the library, or in the castle grounds. Sometimes sneaking into the kitchen to help Sato bake, finding any excuse to occupy your mind with something other than the four walls that feel more like a prison. Seemingly gravitating to every single person inside the Kingdom that isn’t Bakugou Katsuki.

It’s only one evening that you’re padding down the empty corridors to have a late afternoon bath, wanting to clean the dirt off yourself after weeding the hellebores that grow outside when you hear a soft grunt from inside. Stepping closer to the large wooden door as you push it open to peer inside, and you freeze on the spot.

Dragon King Bakugou is hunched over himself, a forearm against the cold stone wall as he sloppily fists at his cock. Bloody cloth and furs strewn around the floor as you’re surprised to see him— certain he wasn’t due back for at least three more days.

You know you should turn back, pretend you didn’t see anything and find solace in your room— but you can’t move. Eyes focused on the way the veins along his hands clench as he strokes with more vigour, the power behind his movements as the slick sound of his wet cock echos in the bathroom. You unconsciously rub your thighs together at the sight, a swirl of pleasure ebbs in your pelvis as you try to quell the throb. Your heart rattles the bars of your ribcage as you stand transfixed on your husband— you’d never seen him in a more vulnerable position. Hunched over and naked. And you couldn’t deny every inch of him was perfect, every scar that marred his glistening skin told a story as you followed each trail they left. Even down to the backs of his thighs as you felt yourself falling.

“Fuck—” He grunts, and then you have to stop yourself from falling.

The debauched, husky sound of your name called from between clenched teeth has you weak at the knees. You’d never heard anyone utter your name like that, and it had never had such an effect on your body. Your cunt clenching around nothing as you reached to hold onto the doorframe for some semblance of reality. Watching transfixed as the man in front of you; your husband, stroked his cock to the thought of you.

Dragon King Bakugou has always been astute, alerting him to the sensation of someone watching as his crimson eyes snap towards you. Dropping his thick cock in an instant as he moves to stand, pushing himself back from the wall as he bares everything to you. Standing tall, completely unconcerned that he’s completely naked in front of you. His heavy cock drags down towards the ground, the sheer weight of it unable to stand upright as it sits against even heavier balls.

He expects you to turn and leave, faster than the wild foul he hunts in the early morning. But you don’t, you stare back with warm cheeks and an even warmer space between your thighs as your tongue slips out to wet your lips.

“Maybe I can help you with that, my King.”

[hunxi-after-hours]

10 books for 2025

tagged by @impossibletruths — a direct hit! right where I'm weak! books!!!!!

had a bizarrely difficult time coming up with this list because I'm a huge proponent of reading whatever the mood moves me to, so I actively avoid particularly rigid "to read" lists. also because the spreadsheet where I track titles that have piqued my interest has, um. well over 170 titles that I've been "meaning to get to, you know, at some point, really, I swear"

but since the year is still young and my hubris still fresh, here are 10 books that I'd like to get to, you know, at some point, really, I swear—

Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan, trans. Ken Liu — I genuinely have been meaning to read this one for ages; I'm not particularly well-read in the Chinese SF space, but even I've heard of Chen Qiufan. I've honestly been intrigued by his brain ever since I read that WIRED interview of his, and though I've read some of his short fiction, I want to see what a full-length novel of his looks like.

《桥头楼上》 At the Head of the Bridge, On Top of the Building by priest — I've also been meaning to read this one for ages, to the point where my mom is on my case about it. I keep putting it off because I want to be able to devote the time and brainspace to the layers of nested narratives + social commentary + the satellite material around the text, but at some point I think I just gotta give myself a kick in the pants and dive in

《膜》 Membranes by 纪大伟 Chi Tai-wei — queer Taiwanese SF first published in 1996; I know an English translation of this title came out recently, but I'm still trying to track down a copy of the original to read.

《漫长的余生》 The Lengthy Rest of Your Life by 罗新 Luo Xin — this book came as a recommendation from a friend in archaeology; a historical novel based on the epitaph of a Northern Wei Dynasty imperial palace maid. From what I've heard, it's not particularly epic or exciting, but it's very archaeologically rigorous. I do have a physical copy of this one on my shelf, so I actually have no excuse for not getting to it soon.

Unquiet Spirits: Essays by Asian Women in Horror edited by Lee Murray and Angela Yuriko Smith — I don't usually pick up books for the cover but LOOK at that. I've been slowly but steadily getting into horror over the past few years, and this collection combines both research-nonfiction and memoir-nonfiction, which I'm absolutely stoked about.

I'll Love You Forever: Notes from a K-Pop Fan by Giaae Kwon — I never quite got into K-Pop but I love reading about people obsessed with K-Pop. I find something particularly heartwarming and familiar and validating in reading authors who reflect deeply and emotionally on their personal experiences with fandom and obsession.

Romancing the Internet: Producing and Consuming Chinese Web Romance by Jin Feng — I learned last week that Jin Feng (author of "Addicted to Beauty," the OG academic overview of danmei) wrote an entire book about Chinese romance webnovels, and I need to have read it yesterday.

Dreadful Desires: The Uses of Love in Neoliberal China by Charlie Yi Zhang — I picked up a copy earlier this year, and I am intrigued by the premise of its wide-ranging investigations, anchored around the uses of "love" by the Chinese state in all of its obsessive and exploitative forms.

The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw — I am usually pretty unimpressed by the genre of dark academia fantasy, but I trust Cassandra Khaw to put the dark (and the viscera, and the gore) in dark academia. Also every time I read one of their books I learn something new and horrifying about biology.

The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard — every year I resolve to read more Aliette de Bodard and every year I fail to. May this be the kick in the pants that I both need and deserve. Also to be honest I've been thinking about this book ever since that Reactor review last year

tagging @presumenothing @pavoling @aboxthecolourofheartache @qilingxiong @blackelement7 @shijiujun @neuxue @baoshan-sanren and anyone who's feeling particularly bookish! I want to hear what everyone's reading, or having aspirations about reading

[astrolovecosmos]

The Planets & Random or Obscure Associations

~Sun~

Creativity, vitality, head of state, the father, games, yellow and orange clothing, articles of value, jewelry, gold, brass, power, diamonds, citrine, topaz, jasper, amber, rhodochrosite, mistletoe, almonds, citrus, succulents, sunflowers, fevers, heart, back, spine, grapes, walnuts, rice, chamomile, frankincense, juniper, saffron, marigold, rosemary, rue, palaces, towers, luxury.

~Moon~

Eternal, cycles, silver, aluminum, pearls, moonstone, opal, selenite, chest, glands, lymphatic system, nervous system, emotions, mother, ancestors, nurture, rebirth, tides, baths, ocean, brew, boat, sap, willow trees, succulents, pale color plants, white flowers, cucumber, cabbage, lettuce, melons, shellfish, pumpkins, lakes, fountains, ports, fishponds, pools, springs, sewers, dairies, toys, reflection, blankets, objects of comfort.

~Mercury~

Communication, journal, pen/pencil, any writing tools, wings, phosphorous, mercury, agate, tiger's eye, brain, nervous system, eyes, respiration, thyroid, speech, hearing, intellect, vehicles, money, bills, paper, books, pictures, parties or social gatherings, scientific instruments, butterflies, messages, mail, hazel, mulberry, myrtle, seeds, aniseed, dill, fennel, lavender, liquorice, marjoram, parsley, valerian, hazelnuts, beans, mushrooms, pomegranates, carrots, celery, libraries, schools, markets, fairs, public spaces, tennis or badminton court, studies, banks, bowling greens, offices, blue, white, or light colored flowers.

~Venus~

Love, relating, lust, high-quality fabrics, copper, bronze, sodium, malachite, tourmaline, emerald, rose quartz, kunzite, sapphire, pastels, throat, kidneys, lumber region, art, music, aesthetics, social life, fashion, jewelry, wine, pleasure, alder tree, fruit trees, paint, ash tree, birch, pomegranates, early flowering, daisy, mint, marshmallow, meadowsweet, mugwort, plantain, tansy, roses, thyme, vervain, yarrow, potatoes, strawberries, wheat, sugar, nectarines, ballrooms, bedrooms, dining room, gardens, fountains, wardrobes, theaters, looking and feeling good.

~Mars~

Lust, conquest, desire, flaming sword, red things, fights, iron, brass, bloodstone, carnelian, cinnabar, pyrite, magnetite, ruby, garnet, hematite, muscles, reproductive organs, blood, kidneys, immunity, heat, action, arms, pepper, sharp instruments, cutlery, attacks, scissors, weapons, physical intimacy, bites, stings, scalds, burns, accidents, hawthorn, pine, thorns, cactus, aloes, anemone, arnica, belladonna, garlic, ginger, hops, mustard seed, nettles, wormwood, chives, onions, leeks, radish, rhubarb, tobacco, labs, furnaces, distilleries, bakehouses, ovens, smiths, butchers, fields, anger, passion, self-focus.

~Jupiter~

Expansion, optimism, religion, religious sites, tin, seduction, turquoise, chrysocolla, topaz, citrine, jasper, liver, pancreas, pituitary gland, sciatic nerve, excess, abundance, prophecy, philosophy, knowledge, universities, foreign travel, luggage, honey, oil, silk, fruit, distinct clothing, merchandise, horses, domestic birds, gambling, indulgence, entertainment, oak, dandelion, sage, endive, chervil, asparagus, figs, churches, temples, palaces, altars, courts, mansions, woods, orchards, winery, cornucopia, connecting with the soul.

~Saturn~

Limits, boundaries, father time, lord of death, shadows, lead, iron, steel, calcium, asbestos, sulphur, diamond, onyx, calcite, skeleton, spleen, skin, teeth, nails, joints, structure, crystallization, old age, blockage, anything dark, wool, heavy materials, agriculture, wheelbarrows, spades, farm houses and buildings, cold, laws, aspen, blackthorn, buckthorn, cypress, elm, toxic plants, hemlock, henbane, belladonna, hellebore, barley, beetroot, safflower, parsnips, spinach, deserts, woods, valleys, caves, church yards, ruins, coalpits, sinks, wells, mud, institutions.

~Uranus~

Eccentrics, mavericks, invention, genius, revolution, change, trends, disruptive science or tech, uranium, magnesium, lapis lazuli, sapphire, aquamarine, azurite, chalcedony, electricity, neon lights, plaid, nervous and circulatory system, pineal gland, chaos, violence, upheaval, astrology, steam engines, coal, machinery, coins, baths, fishponds, dangerous places, computers, magnets, quantum physics, research, welfare, humanity, hypnotherapy, railways, banks, gas, psychiatric hospitals, offices, hospitals, dispensaries, fortified places, chemicals, mingled/mingling, spirit and matter.

~Neptune~

Illusions, veils, diffuse, deception, water, oceans, mysticism, enlightenment, artistic pursuit and understanding, zinc, potassium, amethyst, fluorite, jade, sugilite, coral, aquamarine, pineal gland, lymphatic and nervous system, spine, mental processes, addiction, psychoses, disease, photography, music, substances, gas, religion, poetry, mimicry, chameleon, anesthetic, telepathy, empathy, dancing, psychic gifts, places near water, hospitals, places of healing, jeweler, painters, brewers, musicians, visionary.

~Pluto~

Power, influence, darkness, new life, what's hidden underneath, seeds, volcanoes, deep earth or ocean, bury, explosions, eruptions, abduction, plutonium, smoky quartz, obsidian, jet, pearl, deep reds, reproductive organs, the unconscious, nuclear, transformation, death, birth, rebirth, underworld, riches, earthquakes, big business, murder, detection, detective, invisibility, sneak, enforced change, hidden places, underground, drains, sewers, radioactive places, the occult, black magic, sacrifice, renew.

[torpublishinggroup]

Sometimes, the scariest things come in the most gorgeous of packages.  This post is an ad for The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:

A super bloody dark academia novel with ~COBALT BLUE~ edges perfect for fans of A Deadly Education and An Education in Malice. Cover art by Zoë van Dijk.

[scorchedmizar]

Wherewherewherewhere? He just had it! He's never lost it before! The Lord's gift is gone! His throat feels so exposed without it. How did he even lose it? He was... He was cleaning his neckpipe, because dust and all sorts of stuff, and then he was going to clean the ribbon but- His dresser rattles again and again as he searches each and every drawer. Behind his pillows? No, then where?!

A faint snicker has his joints locking up. Hellebore. Alcor had become used to his presence by now, meaning he's aware of all of the little tricks he likes to play. He doesn't even bother to close his door, stepping with haste through the hallways. That damn demon. Gosh now he's starting to sound like the Lord... He makes it to the library in record time and look who's perched on the balcony rails with a stupid grin. His prize is held between two far too sharp claws.

Hellebore! Give that back!

The blood demon's ears twitch but otherwise the servant is ignored.

Hellebore! I- I said!-

Aww, but it's such a pretty shade of red. Why shouldn't I keep it? Afterall, it'd look better on my head.

Hellebore chitters, skittering along and down a bookshelf. It's more fun mocking someone to their face where he can see all their stupid expressions. Alcor has many of those.

Such a pretty, pretty-

As soon as Hellebore is in range, Alcor forms and launches an ice ball at his chest. Hellebore chokes and wheezes at the impact as he's knocked back several feet and down to the floor, abandoning his hold on the precious article. At least he has the sense to value his life over a worthless thing like that.

Ow...

The servant aptly snatches back up the ribbon, brushing off any dirt or dust. Contently he ties it back around his throat, his expression one of bliss as he shuts his eyes to savor the feeling. His hands then fall to his hips and he opens his eyes to glare at Hellebore.

Don't take things that- that don't belong to you.

The demon simply grumbles and growls, fading into the shadows to lick his wounds as Alcor stomps away.

[wolven-maw]

without intending too I purchased the deluxe edition of the Library at Hellebore and my distaste for such things is now at war with my "sprayed edges pretty" cortex

[im-a-dream-wizard]

Random List of Interesting and Unique Book/Zine Publishers and Stores

updated 2/11/2025

(Most of these are probably in the UK, but ship internationally)

Sul Books/Ritona: Occult, paganism, and witchcraft

Troy Books: Occult, Esoteric, and Folkloric works

Century Guild: Fine art books

Scarlet Imprint: Contemporary occult thought and practice

Crossed Crow Books: General metaphysical, Witchcraft, and occult writing

Red Wheel/Weiser: General spirituality, Witchcraft, and occult

Haus Nostromo: An online store carrying works and art concerning nature, spirituality, folklore, and the occult

Broccoli: “Publisher of unusual delights” including books, magazines, and oracle cards

Black Letter Press: From the classics to grimoires. A little bit of everything in beautiful covers.

Midian Books: Art, counterculture, erotica, and the occult

Three Hands Press: Esoterica, metaphysics, and the occult

Theion Publishing: Esoterica, metaphysics, mythology, and the occult

Seidr of Death and Ophiolatreia Press: Some works on Germanic and Northern European paganism

Ouroboros Press: New prints of classic esoteric texts

Hadean Press: Esoterica, folklore, and the occult

Fulgur Press: Esoterica and magic

Enodia Press: “Faustian” magical literature

Aula Lucis: Printing gorgeous copies of important works on the occult, Hermeticism, and alchemy

Atramentous Press: Mysticism, Witchcraft, and the occult

Anathema Publishing: EVERYTHING magic and occult in gorgeous covers

Miskatonic Books: Arcane and esoteric bookstore

Hexen Press: Esoterica and Witchcraft

Hyldyr: Art, ecology, and folklore

Leodrune Press: Ecological magic, mysticism, and folklore. Find them on substack here

Fiddler’s Green or Peculiar Parish Magazine: Zines, essays, and leaflets on folklore and magic

Hellebore: Zine on folk horror and the occult. My personal favorite zine.

WillowWings Witch Shop: Carries a few independently published books on witchcraft.

Portland Button Works: A button/pin shop with a large selection of zines and occult literature.

Dark Star Magick: An occult bookstore with a huge variety of new, used, and antique titles. They were recently the target of an arson attempt on their pride display. Consider giving them some love!

Children of the Wood: Handmade pagan and folkloric children’s books

Punched Tin Press: Books and prints inspired by gothic and early-American art

Lotus Leaf Altars: Zines on magic and folklore, as well as used/vintage books and supplies.

Faina Lorah: Folklore and witchcraft books, oracle decks, and art

Library of Witchcraft: Witchcraft zines

Wit, Will, and Witchcraft: Witchcraft zines

Pracownia Kraska: Polish folklore and art

The White Witch Company: Witchcraft zines

Johanna Polle: Wonderful art and a book about hearthcraft

Moon Dust Press: Pagan and witchcraft children’s books

Avalonia Books: Magic, witchcraft, occult, and mythology

Holythorn Press: Occult, esoterica, and folklore

Inner Traditions: A bookstore with a bit of everything in the realm of spirituality.

Paralibrum: Occult

Sirius Limited Esoterica: Occult and esoteric

TaDehent: Occult and Esoteric

[wearethekat]

Here in Hellebore, we are all Antichrists, all Ragnarök made manifest. We are those who are destined to break the chains binding Fenris to his boulder ; we are Kalki come riding on his pale horse; the death of Buddha; the vectors of apocalypse, avatars of the end, world-eaters; memetic violence distilled into the bodies with badly underdeveloped prefrontal cortexes, like the world’s least impressive tulpa.

The Library at Hellebore, Cassandra Khaw