Enter the long forgotten world of Flemish folktales and dance on a dark tune with spirits who live in the wind, monsters who lurk in rivers, ghosts, devils, witches, and other unearthly creatures as they take you to the woods, the towns, the fields, and the sea.
Flemish Folktales Retold is a collaborative project by Gatto Books from Signe Maene, Cate Zeederberg, and Kerria Seabrooke with Signe breathing new life into the age-old forgotten folktales of Flanders, Cate bringing these characters and haunted places to life with illustrations that capture the dark and enchanting folklore world in which they are set and Kerria editing this sometimes chilling, often strange, and eternally enchanting collection as well as overseeing the publication of the book.
This book will retell thirty-six tales which will be divided into six themes. The aim of the project is to remain truthful to the original tales as they were once told around the fireplace many moons ago, but to reimagine them, to give a voice to the shunned witches, explore the inner thoughts of creatures ostensibly described as grisly and ghastly, and immerse readers in the harrowing experiences of those unwantedly thrust into frightful narratives.
About
Signe Maene is a Belgian writer of stories mainly inspired by Flemish folklore and blogs about that same world on Substack. She has worked on several projects for the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities Podcast that are based on folklore and her work has been published in The Copperfield Review, The Seelie Crow and Atrium Poetry.
Her book Flemish Folktales Retold is set to be released in 2024. Signe is the co-founder of Salt & Mirrors & Cats, a literary zine that publishes stories, poems and art connected to superstitions.
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