Nightmares & Fairy Tales
Nightmares and Fairy Tales (sometimes written Nightmares & Fairy Tales) is an American comic book, written by Serena Valentino and published by Slave Labor Graphics. It chronicles the events that happen, good or bad, as a strange little doll named Annabelle comes into the possession of many people. The stories are often played around familiar fairy tales, such as Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and Cinderella.
The comic book started in 2002. FSc (Foo Swee Chin) was the artist for the first 12 issues until 2005. Crab Scrambly was the artist for issues 13–18, and Camilla D'Errico illustrated Nightmares & Fairy Tales issues 19–23. Issues 19–23 are the last story arc of the series, entitled Song of the Siren.
Issues 1 and 2
Annabelle tells the story of Morgan, a girl who once possessed her.
The night Morgan receives Annabelle, she and her girlfriend Dominique go on a date to the cemetery. When Morgan will not say that she believes Dominique about being a vampire, Dominique gets angry and starts calling her relentlessly. Morgan starts to freak out and still refuses to believe Dominique. Morgan runs from her house, where she lives with Lylith, to another friend's house. Ian, her friend, lets her stay for the night. When Morgan wakes up she pets one of Ian's cats, only to find blood on its paws. She turns to the other side of the bed and she sees Ian's bloody corpse. Morgan runs into the bathroom and opens the curtain to find Ian's mother dead as well. Tammy, Ian's girlfriend, comes over to his house and finds Morgan, asking if she was the one who killed them. Dominique starts calling Morgan again; Morgan starts to go insane with every passing second. She runs to Dominique's home to talk to her mother. Dominique's mother tells Morgan that Dominique is long dead. Jillian, Dominique's mother, tells Morgan they'll go together to visit Dominique and goes upstairs to get ready. When Jillian does not come down Morgan goes upstairs to look for her. Jillian's dead and Morgan passes out. Lylith, the girl Morgan lives with, comes over and helps her to her car. She starts driving and Morgan realizes that she was not being driven home. Lylith says she is taking her to a hospital because she's killing everyone. Morgan freaks out and jumps out of the car. She rushes to the graveyard, reaching Dominique's grave. Morgan starts to dig it up and Lylith tries to stop her. A hand comes out of nowhere and slices Lylith's neck open. Morgan clings to Lylith, apologizing, when the police come. They place her in St. Vincent's mental asylum for her murders; Dominique is her doctor. Morgan tries to cry out that Dominique is the killer; however, no one believes her. Dominique takes Annabelle from Morgan. As she is taken, Annabelle mentally comforts Morgan, assuring her that the incarceration in the mental institute is better than becoming a vampire like Dominique.
Issue 3
Annabelle tells the story of Dominique before the events in Morgan's story.
It begins when Dominique is at a nunnery, giving birth. Her child is taken away before Dominique can see it and is taken to the attic where the head nun places the baby into a drawer that feeds into a door. Dominique is met later that evening by her friend, Violet, who is pregnant and is staying at the nunnery. She tells Dominique that she saw the nun take Dominique's child to the attic and shares her fear of something sinister up there. An older nun shoos Violet off, telling her that Dominique needs rest and that Violet shouldn't be up and about anyway. The nun reassures a sleepy Dominique that there is nothing to worry about. The head nun overhears the conversation between Violet and Dominique and says she will deal with Violet herself despite the chagrin of the older nun. The head nun reaches Violet's room, where she is about to go into labor, but locks the door instead of helping her. Violet is found dead the next morning. Dominique dreams of finding her child in a drawer upstairs and with a horrible beast attacking her baby. The older nun assures her that it is only a dream and lets Dominique sleep again. She has the same dream, except that the monster is dressed as a nun. After waking from the nightmare, she finally investigates the attic after the older nun has left her. She hides as she sees the head nun place a newborn into the drawer. After she leaves, Dominique opens it and finds that it is empty. She notices that there is an empty spot where the drawer's contents can be taken from the other side of the door and reaches in. Something from the other side grabs her and slams her repeatedly into the door until the older nun comes to Dominique's rescue by opening the door and warding the beast off with a crucifix long enough to pull Dominique out and shut the door. The head nun shows up, saying that Dominique shall "be one of them within the hour." The head nun tells the older nun to kill her before the transformation occurs. She buries Dominique alive in the cemetery. The older nun reports this, touting it as a merciful death, but the head nun angrily leads her back to the cemetery to find that Dominique's grave is empty and Dominique is gone.
Issue 4
Annabelle tells the story of when she was owned by Snow White.
It begins with Snow White's stepmother, who is an ugly, wicked woman. The stepmother is told by her enchanted mirror that beauty is reflected by the heart: Snow White is beautiful because her heart is pure while the stepmother's heart is full of hate. The stepmother refuses to believe that, but the mirror tries to strangle her with a dark hand until she does. The stepmother summons Snow White and sends her to see her aunt the next day. Traveling with Snow is servant named Sylas. When Snow White is distracted picking flowers, Sylas cuts out her heart and leaves her in the woods for dead. With the help of the magic mirror, the stepmother removes her own heart and replaces it with Snow's. With her new heart, the stepmother becomes incredibly beautiful. She locks her old heart up in a box. That night, a heartless Snow White travels to a cottage in the woods where animals assist her and give her apples. Snow takes one of the apples and puts it in the hole in her chest where the heart ought to be before standing in the stepmother's bedroom. The stepmother awakens and assumes it to be a dream until she finds the bloody apple in her room. Frightened, she orders the servants to remove it. It is thrown into the fire. Later, the stepmother is made a pie for tea time, which she eats, only to find a bloody Annabelle under her napkin. Now in a panic, the stepmother has tea in the courtyard. Investigating a strange sight, she finds Sylas's bloody body in the tree. She passes out and wakes up in her room, where she tries to tell the servants about Snow White's murderous actions. Annabelle once more appears in the stepmother's room, frightening her further. The servants give the stepmother something to make her sleep. While she sleeps, Snow White enters her stepmother's room. Snow nearly puts her stepmother's heart into her chest, but is warned in time by Annabelle and instead throws it into the fireplace. Annabelle then directs Snow White to her stepmother and Snow rips out her heart and replaces it, letting her recover. Snow White, beautiful and healthy once more, leaves with Annabelle and the now-ugly stepmother is dragged into the enchanted mirror, greeted as its "bride".
Issue 5
A young girl named Gwen and her family are moving into a new house. Gwen, however, is afraid to go inside as she thinks the house is haunted. Her parents refuse to listen and leave her outside in the rain as they pack. She is greeted by her neighbor Beatrice, who is kind and listens to her fears. Beatrice offers Gwen Annabelle for protection, on the conditions that Gwen takes care of the doll and calls Beatrice "Aunt Bea". After Beatrice leaves, Gwen's mother becomes angry with her daughter and hits her saying only that Gwen "embarrassed" her. It soon becomes obvious that Gwen is verbally, emotionally, and physically abused by her parents. They threaten her to go to her room to change her clothes. When she enters her room however, she sees in the dark that there are monsters, something which her parents refuse to believe. When the lights are turned on, the monsters hide in the closet. Gwen once more panics, but they disappear when her father investigates. He is angry with Gwen and orders her to unpack her things in her room that night. She falls asleep and the monsters once more emerge. Annabelle silently asks them to protect Gwen from "these monsters". When Gwen awakens the next morning, she is surprised to see her entire room unpacked. She assumes Annabelle did it, but it is revealed that it was really the work of the monsters in the closet. When Gwen goes to breakfast, she is told that there is no time before school to feed her or pack a lunch. She is sent out to the bus stop, despite not knowing where the stop is. Aunt Bea finds Gwen and upon hearing of her plight feeds her, packs her a lunch, and drives her to school, pointing out the bus stop on the way. After school, Gwen tries to tell her mother about her day but is yelled at. She sadly tells Annabelle everything and adds that Annabelle and Aunt Bea are her only friends. Annabelle looks at the closet and comments "not your only friends". Before dinner, Annabelle's father tells her to bring the empty moving boxes downstairs. Gwen is afraid to however, as the boxes are stacked in the closet with the monsters. Annabelle warns Gwen not to scream or she'll get in trouble. Gwen directly responds and it is revealed that she can hear the doll. Despite this, Gwen is forced to explain to her father once more about the monsters, prompting him to angrily lock her in the closet overnight to teach her a lesson. Next door, Aunt Bea watches Gwen's predicament in a cauldron and prays for Annabelle to protect the girl and "kill these monsters". The next day, Gwen is taken from the closet by a strange man. Aunt Bea takes her and it is explained that her parents killed by a mysterious intruder. Aunt Bea takes Gwen to be her guardian and the monsters remain in the closet.
Issue 6
Gwen asks Annabelle to tell her a story. Annabelle warns that her stories seldom have happy endings, however begins to tell one anyway.
The story is a variation of the tale of Cinderella. Cinderella is a good, quiet girl who is abused by her stepmother and stepsisters. When the prince makes plans to have every girl in the kingdom attend a ball so he may choose a wife, the stepmother quickly plots for her own daughters to be strong candidates for the marriage. She makes a pact with a demon asking for Cinderella to be made ugly and her own daughters beautiful. Cinderella meanwhile plans to attend the ball herself, fixing a dress to wear. The stepmother attempts to foil Cinderella's efforts by making messes for her to clean up (ensuring that Cinderella is too busy to get ready), however she manages to be ready in time anyway. At the ball, the stepmother is horrified to find that Cinderella has turned even more beautiful while the stepsisters have grown horns from their head and hooves on their feet. The prince falls in love with Cinderella, however she has no wish to marry him as she knows he is very cruel. She flees the palace leaving only one slipper behind. The prince, furious at being spurned, vows to use the slipper to find the maiden he proposed to. Back at home, the stepmother confronts the demon with her daughters. The demon explains that he kept his end of the bargain, as from his perspective the stepsisters were quite lovely. He then takes one of the stepsisters as payment for his services and threatens to take the other should the prince not marry her. Terrified of her last child being taken by the demon, the stepmother desperately cuts the last stepsisters toes off so that she can fit into the slipper. The plan does work and the slipper fits, however the prince orders the stepsister to be arrested and tortured for "leaving" him. The stepmother tries to tell the truth so that Cinderella will be arrested instead, but the prince merely orders the stepmother arrested as well for lying to him. Cinderella is left free at least and Annabelle concludes the story saying that she lived "happily ever after".
Issue 7
Gwen asks Annabelle about how she was created. Annabelle decides to tell that story at a different time, but agrees to tell the story of her first owner in the modern world, a flapper named Paige. At the time, Annabelle was kept on display in a doll shop. There, Paige sees her and decides to buy her, despite the high cost. After paying some of the price, Paige finds herself broke and wonders how she'll find the rest. She stops at a coffee shop where a young man named August sits with her and orders coffee for them both. The two begin to talk and Paige explains her financial difficulties and desire to buy Annabelle. August reassures her and leaves. After he goes, Paige points out to the waiter that he only brought coffee for her and didn't bring what August ordered. The waiter is confused and insists that Paige sat alone. Much to her surprise, Paige finds when she returns home that Annabelle has been delivered. She calls the doll shop and learns that a young man had put the remaining money owed under the door with instructions to deliver the doll to Paige. The next day, she hurries to work but finds herself in trouble for being late. That coupled with her flapper attire causes her boss to decide to fire her. As she leaves, Paige once more meets August who takes her for a drink. As the two begin to talk, they are interrupted by the bartender, who seems to think that Paige is talking to herself. When she turns her attention back to August, he seems to have vanished. Paige is upset that he left so suddenly, but seems attracted to him. When she returns home, she finds that he had sent her a dress and an invitation to the dance hall as an apology for leaving so soon. Annabelle tries to warn Paige not to go, but Paige cannot hear her. At the dance hall, Paige meets August again and the two sit to talk. A young man tries to invite Paige to dance and she refuses. After he leaves, she tells August that it's impolite of him to ask her to dance when she's already with someone. August explains to her that the young man could not see him because August is a ghost. Paige does not believe this and simply thinks August is making excuses not to see her, but he insists that he loves her. A waiter interrupts and Paige sees that he can't see August. Frightened, she runs from the hall and across the street where she is hit by a car. August joins her and she realizes that people can't see her either - she is now a ghost as well. The two hold hands and then return to the hall to dance.
Issue 8
Gwen asks Annabelle for one more story. Annabelle tells her the tale of when she was owned by a young lady named Luna.
While walking home through the woods after visiting her grandmother, Luna sees a wolf. When she approaches it, a bullet flies past her and hits the animal. It is revealed that Luna's father was the one who shot the wolf and took it back to the house. Luna becomes angry with her father for shooting the wolf and her mother insists that wolves are dangerous creatures. The wolf stands up and kills Luna's father, but quiets when Luna approaches it. After the wolf leaves, Luna's mother threatens her daughter and orders her to never return to the house. Frightened, Luna runs to her grandmother's house but loses her way. She is found by a young man who accompanies her the remaining journey. When they reach the house, the man suddenly begins to cough blood and Luna brings him inside. Her grandmother tends to him and he soon recovers. As he leaves, he expresses a desire to see Luna again. Luna's grandmother believes that he loves her. The next morning, Luna is told by her grandmother that the young man arrived earlier to ask her to join him for a picnic and he would soon come to get her. When he comes, the grandmother gives Luna a red cloak to keep warm. After the picnic, the two sit in a tree and Luna gives the man a necklace with a crescent moon pendant on it. Luna arrives home at night. When she goes to check on her grandmother, she is surprised to see her grandmother is now a wolf. Luna is not afraid and the wolf greets her affectionately, but suddenly it starts to growl. Luna's mother sneaks up behind her and kills the wolf with an axe. The mother then tells a horrified Luna that she "takes after" the grandmother and "it's already started". Luna realizes that she too is turning into a wolf. Her mother tries to kill her as well, but a second wolf runs in and kills the mother. Luna notices the crescent moon necklace on the new wolf and realizes that it is the young man she loves. The two run from the cottage together.
Issue 9
Gwen attends a field trip with her class to the woods. It is revealed that her partner for the expedition is her new friend, a girl named Bunny who just started school that day. While wandering in the woods, Gwen notices a baby rabbit which approaches her but runs from Bunny. Gwen notices that they had lost the class and Bunny decides to run into the woods to find them. Remembering the teacher's instructions to remain in one place if lost, Gwen stays where she is and eventually falls asleep. When she wakes, she meets the spirit of the forest - King Oberon - in the form of a tree. Oberon takes a liking to Gwen and offers her a magical acorn for protection. Shortly after, Gwen is found by her teacher who also found Bunny in the woods. Bunny is glad to be reunited with Gwen and invites her to her house that night for a sleep over. Aunt Bea agrees after meeting Bunny's mother and Gwen and Annabelle enter the house. When Bunny leaves them for a minute, Annabelle warns Gwen that the house is dangerous and they must leave at once. It is revealed that Bunny is really a dangerous ghost who traps the spirits of children in mirrors to "play" with, and that the sunny house and mother that Gwen saw earlier were just illusions. Gwen tries to escape, however Bunny stops her, begging her to spend an eternity playing with her. In the commotion, Gwen drops the magical acorn into a hole in the floorboards. Just as all hope seems lost, the acorn grows into a large magical tree which lifts Gwen and Annabelle through the roof and out of the house. Gwen escapes and runs to Aunt Bea after bidding Oberon thanks and farewell.
Issue 10
Annabelle tells the story of when she was in possession of a girl named Belle.
Belle is a lesbian who is the lover of a girl named Rose. However, because Belle and Rose live in a very religious community, they must keep their relationship a secret. Unfortunately, Belle's father catches the two girls together and orders Rose to be taken away for "enchanting" his daughter. When Belle protests, he has her beaten and locked up in his basement. He later tells his younger daughter, Jasmine, that Belle ran away and is not to be spoken of anymore. Some time later, Belle's father leaves on a journey. He asks Jasmine if she would like anything brought back, to which she replies that she'd only like a rose. After losing his way in the forest, the father finds a beautiful castle with food laid out on the table for him. He sees a rose in the garden and picks it for Jasmine. As soon as he does this, the shadowy master of the castle comes and yells at him for abusing his hospitality. The master gives the father a choice: Either he must die or leave someone else at the castle to die in his place. Without hesitation, the father returns home, gives Jasmine the rose, and sneaks Belle to the castle to be killed in his place. Instead of killing Belle, the master dresses her nicely and gives her a beautiful room, asking only that she meet him for dinner at eight. The entire time they are together, the master is careful to stay hidden from Belle. When she finally looks, Belle sees that the master is a hideous monster. Though frightened, Belle learns to overlook this as the Beast is very kind to her. After Belle expresses a desire to see how her sister is faring, the beast gives her a magic mirror to see Jasmine. When Belle looks, she sees Jasmine asking her father about Belle. Furious, her father strikes her. Belle becomes frightened that her father will hurt Jasmine next and the beast agrees to bring Jasmine to the castle for safety. When Belle's father attempts to stop the beast, he is killed by thorny vines that shoot up from the ground (summoned by the beast, who tells him that he will never harm either of the girls again). With Jasmine safely in the castle, Belle confesses her love to the beast. The beast confesses love for Belle too and turns back into Rose. Rose explains that she was unable to tell Belle the truth because of the curse she was under and the two girls live happily ever after.
Issues 11–12
Gwen and Annabelle watch an old movie with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Gwen asks if Annabelle knows any stories from the 1940s and Annabelle tells her the story of Catherine and Vivian.
Vivian Harper is a sickly woman who is unable to move on her own. As a result, she is confined to sitting on a chair or lying in bed and is dependent on her young nurse, Catherine. Vivian hates Catherine however, and is certain that the nurse is having an affair with her husband Victor and is poisoning Vivian so that the two can get married. As a result, Vivian treats Catherine horribly, throwing a mirror at her and constantly screaming at her. Victor however prevents Vivian from outright firing Catherine. After a bad day, Catherine takes the night off and goes to town. Victor is also called away to work at the office (though Vivian is sure he is actually meeting Catherine). Vivian begs him not to leave her, certain that Catherine will try to kill her, but he refuses to listen. When Catherine returns, she finds that Vivian is dead. She is questioned by the police, but able to provide a solid alibi. The next day, Catherine packs to leave as there is no more work for her at the house, but Victor asks her to stay, insisting that he loves her. Unfortunately, Victor's daughter Betty does not trust Catherine, certain that she was responsible for her mother's death. Catherine and Victor are married and Victor is certain that Betty will eventually warm up to her new mother. That night, Catherine awakens to hear a voice calling her name. She follows the sound until she enters Vivian's old room. There, she sees the ghost of Vivian, who insists that Catherine killed her. Catherine awakens and assumes that it's a dream, however in the morning she looks out the window and sees Vivian's ghost watching her once more. Victor sees nothing and calls the doctor to find out what's wrong with Catherine. The doctor decides that the pressure of filling Vivian's shoes coupled with Betty's cold behavior is putting too much strain on Catherine. When Catherine rests in bed, Betty taunts her with the idea that a new nurse will be called in for Catherine and that Victor might fall in love with this nurse as well. That night, she wakes up once more and goes to the window. In the ocean, Vivian is floating in the water calling for Betty to rescue her. Betty hears this as well and swims out to her mother where Vivian drowns her. Catherine yells at Vivian for killing Betty, but Vivian insists that it was Catherine who killed her. In the morning, Betty's body is found and no one believes Catherine's claims that Vivian did it. Victor has Catherine sent to a mental hospital and she is later told that while under sedation she confessed to murdering both Vivian and Betty. Deciding that that story must be the truth, Catherine finally comes to terms with her actions until she sees Betty's ghost. Betty says that Catherine didn't kill anyone and that she is a part of Catherine now.
Issues 13–18
This story occurs when Annabelle is in the possession of a young girl named Rebbecca.
An elderly woman named Victoria and her young niece Rebbecca move to 1140 Rue Royale, which Victoria had just inherited. The coachman who rides them there tells them that the house is considered haunted, but Victoria refuses to believe him. Shortly afterwards, strange events begin happening. Images of deformed or burnt people are seen. Victoria begins to have nightmares. To her amazement, she finds a portrait of herself as a young girl hung on the wall for no reason. One day, both women return to the house to find it perfectly clean. The cleaning lady however left a note saying that she was far too frightened of the house to stay and clean. As the events become stranger and stranger, Victoria turns to a nearby convent for help. The coachman tries to tell her that the convent is also considered sinister, but she refuses to believe that, as she was previously a member of it. At the convent, Victoria asks the head nun for help exorcising the ghosts. The nun replies (while taking away a young woman's baby and putting it in a drawer) that it was very probable that the spirits in the house could never be sent away. Meanwhile, it becomes apparent that Rebbecca has begun to communicate with the spirits, particularly the ghost of a man named Apollo and a hideously deformed girl. It is revealed that the previous owner of the house was a woman named Delphine LaLaurie, who treated her slaves cruelly and subjected them to horrific torture and makeshift medical experiments. Her deeds were discovered when a slave woman chained to a stove deliberately set fire to herself to try to escape her mistress. The ghosts warn Rebbecca that the nuns are evil and that she must never return to the convent. Shortly after, the nuns kidnap Victoria and Rebbecca, claiming that Rebbecca attacked her aunt under demonic possession. Apollo warns Rebbecca that they mean to kill her. She escapes with her aunt, who Apollo possesses. When they return home, she follows the ghosts' instructions and has the floorboards pulled up. Underneath are hundreds of bones, which she has removed and buried properly. Apollo shows Rebbecca images of what LaLaurie put the slaves through, including hacking off their limbs. A young slave girl tried to escape by jumping from the roof and breaking many bones, with LaLaurie responding by ordering the girl's remaining bones to be broken. It was then revealed that the disfigured ghost was the girl who jumped from the roof. Victoria, very weak from shock and fear, gives Rebbecca her locket as a keepsake. When Rebbecca opens it and sees her aunt's younger picture, she finally understands: Her aunt was Delphine LaLaurie. When confronted, Victoria shows no remorse for her actions, insisting that the slaves were filth who deserved what she did to them. Furious, Rebbecca force-feeds her aunt poison and kills her. After she is buried, Apollo wakes Lalaurie again, condemning her to spend an eternity locked in a coffin. Finally avenged, the ghosts are able to leave.
Issue 19–20
Gwen, Annabelle, and Aunt Bea are on their way to a vacation in San Francisco. On the way to the hotel, Annabelle finishes telling Gwen the tale of Rue Royale. As they go to their hotel room, Gwen sees a beautiful girl standing by the sea. She later tells Aunt Bea that she believes the girl was a ghost, though not a dangerous one. The sight of the ghost makes her fear the return of her abusive parents in spirit form. Aunt Bea promises this will never happen and they settle down to sleep. In the night, Gwen hears the girl singing and goes to investigate. The girl is amazed that anyone can see her, but insists that she is not actually dead. She offers to take Gwen and Annabelle on a trip to an amusement park. After Annabelle confirms that the girl is safe, the three go off, flying through the air. The girl is happy to have Gwen's company and promises to take her the next night to a place called "The Tower of Jewels". The next day Gwen and Aunt Bea visit the tea gardens. Aunt Bea is bothered by the ghost girl and warns Gwen to be careful of supernatural entities. The girl meets Gwen again and shows her favorite cherry blossom tree. That night, Gwen dreams of the girl's past. In a fit of depression, the girl jumped off of a cliff but survived. She was found by a woman who force-fed her a drink while the girl screamed that she "hated" the woman. When Gwen meets the girl again, she asks her about the woman. The girl is upset, refuses to answer, and leaves after telling Gwen "I'm not dead, I'm asleep". Wanting to wake her up, Gwen uses a brochure to find the building the girl's body is in and has Aunt Bea take her and Annabelle there. When they arrive, the girl tells Gwen that she is much happier in the sleep state and asks not to be woken up. Aunt Bea, after examining the girl's body, comments that she had been this way for so long she'd died of old age. Amazed, the girl apologizes for inadvertently lying to Gwen and plans to go visit the moon and stars. She thanks Gwen for helping her and promises to visit her again.
Issues 21–23
In a traveling carnival, a mermaid is held captive by a man named Lucas. It is evident that she hates him and plagues him each night with nightmares. Lucas however has control over her behavior as he is holding her daughter captive. In a conversation between him and another carnival worker though, it is revealed that the mermaid's daughter is actually dead. During a show, a carnival girl is killed by a group of religious people and Lucas forces her boyfriend to retrieve the body. After a fire is started killing another worker, the group decides to move to another location. Shortly after, Lucas begins to experience extreme pain. The mermaid escapes her tank and takes two jars from Lucas's room, one containing her eggs and one containing the body of her daughter. She is confronted by a carnival worker named Mea and it is revealed that Lucas kidnapped her and raped her. As a result of the rape, he was impregnated with her eggs, one of which grew into the baby. The eggs and baby were removed via C-section and Lucas hated the mermaid for causing him so much pain. The mermaid tells Mea that there is another baby which Lucas is giving birth to. As the baby comes out, Lucas dies. The mermaid takes the baby and Annabelle (who was on the shelf with the jars) and leaves with Mea to find the ocean.
Characters
Annabelle
The main character. A rag doll that is believed to be cursed and that whoever falls into possession of her is sometimes cursed themselves. Although her warnings are not usually heard by her owners it was Gwen who understands her, hence Annabelle falls into her possession thanks to Aunt Bea.
Morgan
Morgan was a young girl in the first two issues of Nightmares & Fairytales. She is being pressured by Dominique, her girlfriend, to believe that she is a vampire. Morgan is somewhat reluctant to believe, and later tells all her acquaintances who reinforce her doubt with skepticism about how shady Dominique is. When Morgan does not give Dominique an answer, her acquaintances start dying mysteriously.
Dominique
Dominique tries to convince Morgan that she is a vampire. After Morgan starts fearing her, Dominique starts mysteriously murdering people close to Morgan. Other people then tell Morgan that Dominique died and she is killing everyone. The end of issue 2 leaves whether she is a figment of Morgan's mind ambiguous. In issue three, her past is shown. She gave birth to a baby in a nunnery and ends up being bitten by an unseen monster that the child was fed to. She leaves after walking out of her own grave.
Gwen
A sweet young girl who seems to be Annabelle's current owner. She is first introduced when she and her parents move into a house that is infested with monsters. Her parents are shown to be abusive (physically and verbally), however "Aunt Bea", her neighbor, is kind and gives her Annabelle for protection. Aunt Bea becomes Gwen's legal guardian after the monsters in the house kill her parents. Some time after, she is nearly held captive by an evil ghost named Bunny, however she escapes with an enchanted acorn given to her by the Fairy King Oberon who gives her the nickname of "Bunny Princess". Later, she, Annabelle, and Aunt Bea take a vacation to San Francisco where Gwen meets a kind ghost of a young girl. It is hinted that Gwen has some supernatural powers and can actually understand Annabelle. Aunt Bea also mentions that many strange creatures will want her attention since she can see them and Gwen is able to see ghosts on several occasions.
Aunt Bea
Gwen's legal guardian and former neighbor. She was the owner of Annabelle before she met Gwen and gave the doll to Gwen for protection against the monsters in the house the girl just moved into (the monsters are actually Gwen's own parents). Bea is kind to Gwen and takes custody of her after the monsters in the house kill her abusive parents. She cares very much about Gwen's safety and is shown to have various kinds of magic powers.
Introductions
Introductions To The First Graphic Novel
This is (c) Serena Valentino, FSc, and SLG.
"Once upon a time, a bratty princess named Serena heard wondrous tales, then placed them on her be-spelled loom and wove the darkest to spin them, and twist and entwine them into dangerous NEW shapes that thrill and enchant those who read them. Was she a witch princess? or was she influenced by the strange little rag doll that slumped on a stool beside her loom, staring and staring? The doll's name is Annabelle, and you shall soon fall under her spell within the pages of this book.
I have heard tell that soon after these stories were written, they and the mysterious doll named Annabelle somehow came to be in a faraway place and fell into the possession of another talented princess called FSc. Under Annabelle's watchful eyes FSc took up pen and paper and unspooled the most wondrous images to accompany the Princess Serena's darkly hypnotic stories. There was a spark of lightning, and a great ominous BARROOM of thunder as the words and the pictures met and fused.
The art of storytelling is a powerful magic."
Collected editions
Issues 1–6 are collected in a graphic novel called: Nightmares & Fairy Tales: Once Upon a Time...
Issues 7–12 are collected in a graphic novel called: Nightmares & Fairy Tales: Beautiful Beasts
Issues 13–18 are collected in a graphic novel called: Nightmares & Fairy Tales: 1140 Rue Royale.
Issues 19–23 are collected in a graphic novel called: Nightmares & Fairy Tales: Dancing with the Ghosts of Whales.