by Moe Zilla

Created on: May 26, 2010

"In the wood there was a dark, dark house."

It's scarier than it sounds. Ruth Brown created some intriguingly realistic paintings to illustrate her atmospheric 1981 book, "A Dark, Dark Tale." The book opens with an owl descending into the shadowy brambles of "a dark, dark moor," and there's something unsettling and, yes, mysterious about a thick mist that clouds the view of silhouetted trees. It's the "dark, dark, wood," which leads eventually to "a dark, dark, door." The obvious pattern would've been much less interesting if Brown's illustrations hadn't been so convincing!

It would be 15 years later when Brown wrote and illustrated her version of a classic British story, "The Ghost of Greyfriar's Bobby" in 1996. But this book also has a grand and timeless feeling, only partially because it's set in a very old castle. Its colorless stone towers are topped with elaborate turrets, and the door has an enormous metal knocker. And inside there's stained-glass windows, along with some spooky sculptures of frowning unicorns...

Each illustration moves closer, like a movie camera pursuing a long tracking shot. ("Behind the door there was a dark, dark hall...") And the simple text really heightens the tension, since the story's location changes on each page. There's an intentional mystery to the way the book unfolds, since it's not even clear where it's going to end up. But halfway through the book - in that dark, dark hall - the illustrations start including a black cat with curious green eyes...

The cat works its way up the dark, dark stairs, and finds a strange colored tapestry blowing  ruffled by the breeze from an open window. Behind the dark, dark curtain is a children's playroom, and a beautifully-carved wooden cupboard. Inside the cupboard is a box - in a dark corner, of course - and the box itself is open. It's the book's big surprise, though I found it a little unsatisfying. Inside the box - stop reading now if you want to be surprised! - the black cat found...

A mouse!

Which is a big deal if you're a cat, but kind of a let-down if you're looking for a good story. Because that's where the book ends.  ("...in the box there was...A MOUSE!") I guess we're supposed to assume from the book's last illustration that the prowling cat gobbled it up. Though I think the book's real goal is to let you savor the fancy illustrations...especially once you've realized that its big surprise isn't so scary after all.

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