A chilling collection of terrifying creatures from around the world, perfect for readers who want to know what lurks in the shadows.

STRANGE AND TERRIBLE THINGS:
A Guide to Creatures That Haunt Our Dreams
by Devin Forst
Abrams Books for Young Readers, August 2026

A Romanian Strigoi rising from its grave. The Boogeyman’s claws scraping beneath the bed. A Banshee’s wail echoing through Ireland. The glowing eyes of the Mothman staring from a West Virginia tree line. Krampus arriving to punish naughty children in the Yuletide season.

In STRANGE AND TERRIBLE THINGS, author and artist Devin Forst takes you on a global tour of nightmares. Packed with eerie folklore, monstrous myths, and creepy tales from every corner of the world, this thoroughly-researched guide uncovers nearly 80 sinister beings that live in the heart of humanity’s oldest fears.

Perfect for fans of horror and role-playing games, this illustration-heavy older middle–grade book explores the stories we tell about monsters―and what those stories say about us. Creatures include those from classical mythology and contemporary folklore, and from diverse cultural traditions, including African, Aztec, British, Chinese, Egyptian, Filipino, Greek, Indian, Irish, Japanese, Mesopotamian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Nordic, Native American and North American, Slavic, and South American.

Devin Forst grew up running through the woods in search of strange and terrible things, reading creepy fairy tales, and watching all sorts of fantastical films, which he still does to this day. He is the creator of Witches Through History: Grimoire & Oracle Deck and corresponding calendars. Devin attended the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, and currently lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.