Hey everyone! I’m back again with something that’s perfectly horrifying. This book was recently adapted into a movie of the same name. I haven’t gotten a chance to watch it, so I can’t give any opinions on it yet. If I do, I will let you know. For now, let’s talk about Victorian Psycho.

Content Warning: Violence and Gore, Disturbing Imagery, Child Death, Animal Death, Explicit Language, Misogyny and Sexism, Self-Harm

Winifred Notty has recently been hired by the Pounds family as a governess. Mr. and Mrs. Punds are dreadfully dull. Her charges, Andrew and Drusilla, are just as dull as their parents. To entertain herself, Winifred finds fun and creative ways to terrorize the children. All of this is to bide time until Christmas. Winifred has big plans for the holiday, and the residents of the Pounds house are in for a day they will never forget.

Victorian Psycho is a macabre, tense, and darkly funny novella. It certainly pays homage to its predessor of a similar name (American Psycho), but is much more brisk in its pacing. I also appreciate that the narrative does not seek sympathy for its narrator, Winifred Notty. Typically, female killers are often shaped whereas male killers just are. That is not to say that Winifred isn’t sympathetic. There is plenty of period-typical sexism throughout the novel. Feito doesn’t hold back in her thinly veiled critiques about gender roles. With that being said, I wouldn’t call this a “feminist novel,” and that is fine. Victorian Psycho is more akin to a “splatter punk” novel. When it gets gorey, it gets very gorey. Feito is oddly poetic about it, and I quite enjoyed the contrast between the bloody murders and the elegant prose. Victorian Psycho is a punchy, bloody good time for the adventurous horror fans.