Season of Madness
Fools, Monsters, and Marvels of the Old-World Carnivals
"In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy."- William Blake
Al Ridenour, creator and host of the popular Bone & Sickle Podcast brings readers back to pagan Europe in A Season of Madness. The book follows the sun from the darkest winter nights to the promise of nature’s rebirth as symbolized by Spring. Ridenour explores the history and customs of the Old-World Carnival, focusing on European regions where celebrations have gone unchanged for centuries and reflect the brutal realities of the old, agricultural world.
A Season of Madness takes readers to cultural hinterlands where Carnival is more strange, more marvelous, and even a bit frightening. Where Spring is welcomed by clowns carrying inflated pig bladders and sheepskin monsters walk the land with clubs covered in hedgehog spines and plows are dragged over cobblestone streets by villagers in masks painted with blood. Folk horror fans take heart as the old world beckons with the coming of Spring!
Readers will learn about regional and local celebrations' origins, history, and quirkiness from ancient Rome to modern Bulgaria. Season of Madness explores the interconnectivity of pagan beliefs throughout Europe and how those beliefs and traditions evolved over time and through the Christian conquest.
A Season of Madness is sumptuously illustrated with over one hundred historical and modern images and illustrations in this deluxe paperback edition.
Ridenour’s first book,Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil (2018) is considered by critics the definitive authority on pagan winter celebrations. Aside from his books and podcast, Ridenour is a sought-after expert and lecturer.
Al Ridenour’s passion for the horror genre is genuine, as is his eagerness to explore and seriously analyze its relationship with the folkloric realm. Throughout his life, Ridenour has eagerly embraced the weird and macabre, exploring his obsessions through various creative modes and undertakings.
Since the 1990s, Ridenour has worked as a journalist, author, artist, animator, arts impresario, and small-time cultural agitator (the last with the Cacophony Society under the nom de guerre, “Rev. Al”). Most recently, with the enthusiastic reception of his 2016 book The Krampus and the Old, Dark, Christmas he has made a name for himself as the preeminent English-language expert on the folklore of the Krampus.
Now in its second printing, Ridenour’s Dangerous Minds’ Christopher Bickel described the Krampus as "the definitive work on Krampus" and a “must read,” while LA Times book critic Elizabeth Hand found the book “gleefully erudite,” remarking that it "deserves to be a classic."
Ridenour’s research on the Krampus began in 2012, followed the next year by travels to Europe to observe traditional activities firsthand. Shortly after that, along with long-time friend Al Guerrero, he founded Los Angeles's annual and ongoing Krampusfest and Krampuslauf, engaging both local and European performers for these annual events.
He has translated, produced and directed adaptations of traditional European Krampus plays, lectured on the Krampus at the International Goethe-Institut, The San Diego Art Institute, and the New Americans Museum. He also crafts and sells Krampus masks and teaches workshops for those interested in making their own. In 2018, he was recruited by Geek Nation Tours as onboard consultant for tours of Austria and Germany focusing on Krampus events and traditions.
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