The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein & Other Gothic Tales by Thomas Ligotti (Chiroptera Press, 2025) Hardcover

Thomas Ligotti. The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein & Other Gothic Tales. Chiroptera Press, 2025. Hardcover. 88 pages. First Chiroptera Press Edition. Illustrated by Paul Romano.

Condition: New

Description from the publisher:

In The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein, and Other Gothic Tales, Thomas Ligotti breathes unholy life into classic horror’s most iconic figures and the characters inspired by them. The flash fiction tales within this slim collection celebrate and depart from the tropes and trappings of supernatural literature.

The opening section, "Three Scientists," reveals the ultimate ambitions of Dr. Moreau (The Island of Dr. Moreau), Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein), and Dr. Jekyll (Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). Their creators are tethered to the monstrous consequences of their fruitless endeavors, while their creations are cursed with the knowledge of their own grotesquery. Ligotti’s retellings transform these tales of hubris run amuck into meditations on the terrible price of creation and the awful inevitability of its ruin.

Later in the collection, Ligotti reimagines villains like Count Dracula, Lawrence Talbot (The Wolf Man), and the Phantom of the Opera as figures trapped within endless cycles of unrequited love, betrayal, and despair. These stories worsen the bad endings of these famous bugaboos beyond their literary origins, forcing them to endure far more terrible destinies.

Even Ligotti’s original creations draw inspiration from art and literature. In “The Superb Companion of André de V., Anti-Pygmalion,” Ligotti twists Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, turning the concept of crafting an ideal into a grim act of self-destruction. Meanwhile, “The Ever-Vigilant Guardians of Secluded Estates” channels the Gothic isolation and morbidity of Poe, trapping its protagonist inside a looping hell of recurring scenes and suicidal reflections.

Ligotti’s genius in this collection lies not just in creating short, sharp renderings of classic horror characters and the figures inspired by them, but in the self-indicting clarity with which he depicts their agonies, making each page a journey into desolation and madness. These remarkable tales are, in true Ligottian fashion, morbidly sardonic and unrelentingly bleak.

This definitive edition features Chiroptera Press’ characteristic attention to detail, exquisite art, and lush craftsmanship. It also features some of Ligotti’s rare, early stories, which originally appeared in Fantasy Macabre, Grimoire, and the legendary Silver Scarab edition of Songs of a Dead Dreamer (1985). The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein, and Other Gothic Tales is essential for Ligotti readers and devotees of Gothic and literary horror alike.

Specs:

* 6"x 9"

* 92 pages

* Hardcover bound in black cloth

* Foil stamping on front cover and spine

* Smyth-sewn binding with head and tail bands

* Offset printed on acid-free archival paper

* Printed in Lithuania