I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Cellar Below the Cellar by Ivy Grimes Published by Violet Lichen on March 25 2026
Genres: Adult, Coming of age, folk horror
Pages: 180
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A mysterious cellar is at the center of this short but impactful tale about change and acceptance.
The Cellar Below the Cellar is an odd little story with a strong folktale vibe, and I enjoyed it! It’s sort of a mash-up of different genres, so it’s hard to pigeonhole it into just one. There are dystopian, horror, fairy tale and coming-of-age elements, as well as some very odd characters, all of which make up a unique tale that will resonant with readers who enjoy their stories on the weird side. I would have rated this higher, but the plot was too meandering to completely pull me in.
Jane is visiting her Grandma one day when a strange electromagnetic event takes place. A green, shimmering light appears in the sky, and all electrical devices fail, including cell phones. Grandma doesn’t seem surprised, in fact, she’s prepared for it by stocking the cellar with food and supplies. Jane, however, is upset and shocked that the government didn’t warn them. Grandma insists they visit the nearby neighbors and check on them, and soon they’ve formed a tight community to help each other through the challenges of surviving without life’s necessities.
Grandma keeps talking about the “cellar below the cellar,” a mysterious lower level in her house where something important happens. Jane is afraid to go there, but Grandma tells her someday she’ll understand. As the days turn to weeks and months, Jane must come to terms with her strange new life.
The Cellar Below the Cellar is a slice-of-life story, focusing on just a few characters in one neighborhood. The reader never gets a sense of a wider catastrophe, so the story feels very intimate. We see Grandma, Jane, and a handful of neighbors go through the day to day motions of growing and gathering crops, filtering water from a river, and helping each other with child care. One of the odder characters, a man called Pastor Dan, shows up occasionally with a wheelbarrow-full of glass jars, each one (he claims) holding a demon. He asks Grandma to store them in the cellar for him, which she readily does.
Grimes uses elements from two tales for inspiration: Vasilisa the Beautiful, a Russian fairy tale about a magical doll, and the myth of Frau Perchta, an Alpine goddess who sounds a lot like Crampus. I had never heard of either of these stories, so I looked them up, and yes, I can see the influences in this story. Grandma gives Jane a life-sized magical doll to help with her work, and perhaps Grandma represents the Perchta character? Not sure, but it sort of makes sense. Grimes’s prose is simple yet lyrical and evokes a folkloric, fairy tale feel.
As for characters, this is really Jane’s story. Jane is a thirty-something year old woman, but she has the speech and demeanor—and emotional reactions—of a child, which I thought was an interesting way to portray her. She seeks approval for everything she does from her Grandma, and though she longs to return to her own apartment and her library job, Grandma convinces her to stay. When she finally comes to terms with what’s in the cellar below the cellar, she has literally “grown up” before the reader’s eyes. I liked Jane a lot and felt bad for how anxious she was. But I did not like Grandma (she’s strict and doesn’t give Jane the emotional support she needs).
The mystery of the cellar below the cellar is stretched out until almost the end and ties into Jane’s coming-of-age story. I was expecting something more horrific down there, so I was a little disappointed with the reveal (I wanted Pastor Dan and his jars full of demons to be involved somehow!), but Grimes goes for more of an emotional reveal. The end sees some changes for this little group of survivors, and I loved the hopeful ending with new beginnings for everyone.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Hmmm, intriguing! I semi-recently read about Perchta, so I’m kinda curious.
Oh cool. I was completely in the dark with the Perchta elements!
I expected horror but telling by the reviews I get the strong fairytale vibe.
Yes, it did feel like a fairy tale.
There seems to be a lot packed into such a small page count! I’m a bit worried the length wound’t be able to help much with character development (?), but I’m intrigued by the mystery…you worded your review in a way that made me wonder…
The length worked well for what the author was trying to do, and I’m not sure I would have liked a longer story, if that makes sense.
I just saw this on Laurie’s blog yesterday and I’m getting more and more intrigued. Great review!
Thanks Barb!
This sounds so interesting! I’m going to need to read this one!
It was different from what I usually read, but definitely worth reading:-)
This sounds very good and even though the reveal wasn’t the creepy factor you were looking for, the hopeful ending sounds nice. Great review!
Overall I really enjoyed it. Grimes is a very good writer.
An excellent review that gives me a strong sense of a very quirky read. And one I don’t think is my cup of tea… That said, it does sound really intriguing. Glad you enjoyed it, other than the rather tame ending:).
Thank you Sarah!
I don’t know if I would have loved Jane based on what you tell me about her childish reactions Tammy!
Her character grew on me, but at first it was a bit odd.
Interesting. I do like the idea of a story more about a local community and how it reacts.
I loved that decision, to keep the story smaller:-)
This sounds intriguing. I do love the sound of some of the fairytale elements – and in the inclusion of Jane’s grandma definitely feeds into that. Shame the ending felt a little off but even so, it still sounds good.
Lynn 😀
Id have overlooked this one without your review but you’ve intrigued me. I do worry it’ll be too odd for me in some ways but the fairytale inspiration and dystopian vibes are enough to make me add this to my list. Although I will admit that I also probably would have expected the cellar reveal to involve those demons in jars.
Very cool cover. Glad it was good enough for you even if the ending was a little wanting. Great review!
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