SHUCK - ISSUES 1-4

TITLE - SHUCK 

CREATED BY - ADA NEMESIS & MATT WILLIS 

GENRE - FOLK HORROR/FOLKLORE 

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - UNITED KINGDOM 
 

50 PAGES 

PRICE - £7.50

ALL ISSUES AVAILABLE FROM THE SHUCK ETSY STORE - https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SHUCKzine

First birthed at the tail-end of 2020, (a year everyone was glad to see the tail-end of) “Shuck” is a Norfolk-centric, themed folklore zine written by the extravagantly named (and “long dead”) Ada Nemesis, a collective nom de plume for a group of anonymous writers, and illustrated by Matt Willis. Four issues have been released so far and all are still available from their Etsy store.

Shuck himself graces the cover of Issue 1

Issue 1, entitled “The Dark”, explores the season of Samhain and the darkest, coldest season of the year. Indeed, this issue came out in October 2020, so that time was dark enough for anybody. “Shuck” is, of course, named after the famous supernatural dog Black Shuck who, legend has it, prowls the fields of East Anglia. Being the zine’s spirit animal, the lead article explores the origins and folklore of the preternatural pooch and the other names that it goes by in other parts of the U.K. This piece is accompanied by a “Black Shuck” Family tree of related spectral hounds, including Galleytrot and The Hateful Thing! Other delights include articles on how to hold a Samhain “Dumb Supper”, a look at the yew tree, our innate fear of the dark, and a fun All Hallow’s Eve recipe for soul cakes. A divination board is also included with full instructions as a centre pullout, And the back cover features a paper doll of the “Wise Woman of Irstead” for you to cut out and dress, which you never knew you needed.

No, it's not Doctor Who...it's Jack Valentine

The cover of Issue 2, “Love”, features a kind of giant, crazed Doctor Who delivering presents, but turns out to be Jack Valentine; aptly so as the issue dates from February 2021 and is all about love. Articles include the use of the heart symbol in ritual, a look at the festival of Imbolc and another recipe, this time for Bridey Cakes, and a list of ways to celebrate; and a piece on the folklore of love and romance with spells to cast (at our own risk - we are cautioned to be careful what we wish for) to obtain our hearts’ desire. Cover star Jack Valentine (and his evil alter-ego, Snatch) is explored in an article on the dark origins of Valentine’s Day. Elsewhere, just as yew was the “wood of the week” in issue 1, so here the folklore of willow is analysed. This time around, the paper doll is of Black Shuck himself, and the centre spread is a divination board for charm casting; a full guide to this is also included. The issue is rounded off with a couple of ghost stories.

The goat's head of Strumpshaw!!!

June 2021’s Issue 3 is “Cursed” - literally and figuratively. Curses loom large in folklore and the occult, so it’s not surprising that the lead article is all about what is possibly the most famous curse of all - that of Tutankhamun and the misfortune visited upon the disturbers of his tomb, Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. Other articles include the fearsome goat's head of Strumpshaw, a list of Norfolk’s curses, kitchen magic to ward off curses - including the potent Ada’s Garlic Protection Oil, and an article on Mrs Wisby of North Walsham, the “go-to woman” if you wanted a curse lifted in the 1890s, and a piece on stones and their associated curses. Also, Shuck himself gets curse-y. The centre spread is a map of Cursed Norfolk (a surprisingly curse-y county, including cursed sausages in Yarmouth), and the regulars feature a cut-out Witch Bottle, a spell for lifting a curse, another instalment of “Ada’s Favourite Gravestone” and a look at blackthorn.

Let the feast begin! 

The most recent issue is number four which came out in December 2021, and fittingly for Christmas, it is the “Feasting” issue. Gluttony abounds in this issue, with articles on the Devil-touched Yule feast given by Colonel Thomas Sidney and a phantom Midsummer feast in Salthouse. A recipe for “Reffley Punch” and a traditional “ Bacchanalian Binge” menu accompany a piece on Reffoey Spring Wood, once home to a supposedly magical spring. The back cover holds the first card of the Shuck Tarot - The High Priestess. We are instructed to take our own Tarot deck and use them with the past, present and future Tarot spread in the centre pages. Matt Willis’ art, while always excellent, is especially good in this issue. Regulars feature a spell to bring abundance, instructions to make your own thaumatrope to demonstrate persistence of vision, recipes for St. Edmund’s Feast Buns and lavender flower honey to celebrate the patron saint of East Anglia, and a look at the apple tree.

A quirky quartet...

"Shuck” looks simply put together but don’t expect a simple product. It has a similar physical appearance to a football match programme (but one where you wouldn’t want to sass the ref) or a parish magazine from the coolest church ever. Vivid and deceptively simple monochrome art by Matt Willis accompanies the articles, and it is intelligent, generally positive and lighthearted and well-researched, and obviously created with love. Not precisely at home on the “folk-horror” shelf, it is more of a folklore history zine with an attractive whiff of magic: in fact, actual spells are included for you to cast, and its clear that this is real magic and not just put in as a joke. Averaging 50 pages, it isn’t the longest zine available but it still manages to be surprisingly packed. I am fully hooked on this zine, and can only lament that I hadn’t discovered it sooner: but I’m making up for lost time and a quiet afternoon reading this delightful zine is time well spent for anyone.