The Nightbreed Chronicles is a companion book to the movie that contains some behind-the-scenes pictures, and, most notably, short profiles of some of the ‘Breed, even characters who appeared for only a few seconds in the movie. Oddly, there are some who were more visible in the movie who aren’t included. I’m surely not the only one who would at least like to know the name of that lady who’s missing the lower half of her face. It’s out of print and I consider myself very lucky to own a copy—especially since, when my mother gave it to me for Christmas, she said she regretted having ordered it for me because it was “disgusting.” A lot of the pictures and text can be found floating around the Internet (or could in the past), but to me it’s special enough that it’s definitely worth owning an actual copy. I adore this book and in my humble opinion it’s home to some of the best writing Clive Barker has ever done.
Here are some recaps of a few of my favorite lesser-known ‘Breed, which tend to be the more “high concept” entries:
Radinka, whose eyes “record, but do not report,” so that her vision is permanently out of sync with the rest of her senses, so that she does not see events until long after they have happened.
Beloit Motto, a talented singer who murders anyone who mispronounces his name.
The Fabilu family, who are all aging backwards. The little boy is the father of the other two. Their mother “died of infancy,” and her remains continued to de-age until they separated into a sperm and an egg, and then disappeared.
Mexico, who hardly ever speaks, but is a notorious ladies’ man with countless illegitimate children.
Otis and Clay, a writer and a critic who really, really, really hates his novels, and they just happen to share the same body.
The Thrall, who somehow became genderless as the result of a really intense drug trip.
Kushnir Day, descended from a species who communicated through drumming because they were so ugly they couldn’t stand to be near each other.
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