Murder Ballads by Katy Horan is an incredibly fascinating and beautiful book about the phenomenon of murder ballads, songs written about murder, death, and victims. These songs have long traditions, often in folk music, and have been a tradition in several parts of the world for centuries. The author highlights several songs, some well-known and others less so, writes about the background of the songs, and illustrates with beautiful art.

I had heard of murder ballads before, but I was only familiar with more recent songs (e.g., Where the Wild Roses Grow). It was fascinating to read about the background, how these melodies originated, evolved, and survived through generations. We also get to know several cases, victims, and receive a thorough introduction to the genre and how it has developed.

Incredibly well-written and very exciting reading! The entire book becomes a poetic and artistic experience, making me want to explore more and seek out several of the songs mentioned. Highly recommended for anyone who likes folklore, music, folk art, or just wants to read a fascinating book.

4.5 stars, rounded up
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I stumbled upon this book by accident and I’m so glad that I did.

In this haunting book, Katy Horan presents 20 unique murder ballads and their origins, as well as their context within and impact upon society. Using beautiful illustrations, the reader gets to explore a bit of history in short, palatable blurbs that still thoroughly cover the ballad. I almost would have loved a full book, diving deeper into each one. I love that the author included the ballads within the book as well, instead of assuming the reader knew them or leaving it to the reader to further their research. I found myself doing more research anyway, deeply interested in these murder ballads. I was fascinated by this book and couldn't put it down.

The book is incredibly easy to digest and was a fun, informative read.

This was such an interesting book!
I loved to learn more about all those folk songs (and discovered new ones!). The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous.

Book Review: Murder Ballads: Illustrated Lyrics & Lore by Katy Horan

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have to say, stumbling upon Murder Ballads by Katy Horan was such a treat! From the moment I saw the cover – which is absolutely stunning, I was hooked. It’s one of those rare finds that feels quirky and fascinating all at once.

Katy Horan, co-creator of Literary Witches, dives deep into the world of murder ballads, unwrapping both the true crime and mythic stories behind twenty traditional songs. These aren’t just retellings; each ballad comes with a beautifully eerie illustration by Horan herself, alongside a thoughtful exploration of the song’s origins, cultural context, and evolution. What makes this book stand out is how it doesn’t shy away from the darker roots of these ballads—touching on themes like patriarchal violence and white supremacy—while also connecting them to today’s true crime obsession.

The collection ranges from haunting tales like “Delia's Gone” to historical legends such as “The Death of Queen Jane,” making it a rich journey through folk music’s shadowy side. Plus, if you want to dive deeper, there’s a handy list of essential recordings at the back that perfectly complements the stories.

As someone who loves all things spooky and atmospheric, this book was incredibly satisfying. The artwork is superb—macabre yet mesmerizing—and the whole package feels like a dark cottagecore dream come to life. If you’re into folklore, music history, or just enjoy a good eerie story, Murder Ballads is an absolute must-read.

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

‘Murder Ballads’ is a visually arresting, darkly beautiful exploration of traditional folk ballads that often revolve around death, betrayal, and tragedy, particularly those involving women. Katy Horan pairs her stunningly haunting illustrations with rich, well-researched commentary, drawing on multiple versions of each ballad to trace how they’ve shifted over time. With a subtle but powerful feminist lens, this book delves into how stories of women’s pain have been preserved and reinterpreted through generations of song.

Accuracy: ★★★★☆
The research is commendably thorough. Horan includes multiple versions of each ballad, which adds complexity and context to the stories. Rather than presenting a single, definitive version, she highlights the oral tradition’s evolving nature, which is essential to understanding folk ballads. While not overly academic, the balance between accessible narrative and research is well handled.

Perspective: ★★★★★
What truly sets this book apart is the thoughtful, feminist perspective. Horan explores the way women are portrayed in these ballads – not just as victims, but as complex, sometimes vengeful or wronged figures. There’s a quiet reclamation happening here, a re-centring of women's voices and stories that have long been flattened or sensationalised.

Illustrations: ★★★★★
Absolutely stunning. The art is whimsical yet eerie, matching the haunting tone of the ballads perfectly. There’s a folkloric beauty to every page, with layered textures and delicate lines that echo the sorrow, rage, and myth within the songs. Each piece feels like it belongs in a frame, and together, they create a cohesive atmosphere that elevates the entire book.

Engagement: ★★★★☆
This is the kind of book that’s hard to put down if you’re even remotely interested in folklore, music history, or feminist interpretations. Each ballad pulls you in, and the variety of versions keeps it from feeling repetitive. It does lean more toward quiet, thoughtful reflection than page-turning drama, so some might find it better in small, savoured sittings rather than one continuous read.

Readability: ★★★★★
Despite the heavy and often grim subject matter, Horan’s writing is very readable. The prose is lyrical without being dense, and the formatting makes it easy to dip in and out of the different ballads. This would work just as well as a coffee table book for occasional browsing as it does for cover-to-cover reading.

Enjoyment: ★★★★☆
I really enjoyed this, both as a visual experience and a folkloric deep dive. It’s a niche book, sure, but it hits that niche beautifully. If you love eerie ballads, historical storytelling, or gorgeous, moody artwork, you’ll find so much to love here. It left me wanting more – more stories, more art, more analysis.

‘Murder Ballads’ is a gorgeously eerie, deeply thoughtful collection that celebrates the haunting legacy of traditional ballads through both word and image. Katy Horan delivers not only an aesthetic treat but also a cultural exploration of women’s stories – retold, remembered, and reframed. A must-have for folklore lovers, art book collectors, and anyone intrigued by the darker side of music and myth.

An interesting and unique way to present true crime stories, to tell the tale of a murder ballad, with some history and sociology. From the title, I had thought I'd know some of these, but I didn't. This was a quick read and the lyrics were provocative. Wished I could have heard them with music.

With Horan’s art (familiar from her Literary Witches book and oracle deck) this book belongs on a shelf with Damnable Tales and the other horrific and beautiful folk anthologies.  Each section covers a murder ballad first by history (sometimes including real-life basis), then lyrics, to be wrapped up with one of Horan’s signature illustrations. While there’s no enough space for deep scholarship, there are plenty of references and a full bibliography for the curious. Murder Ballads: Illustrated Lyrics & Lore is going to be someone’s gateway to folklore scholarship and I am here for it!

Frankly, my only complaint is how much time I spent listening to recordings of these songs as I finished each section, but frankly that’s not a bad night.

This was an interesting and beautiful book. Though I did not finish it, it wasn't because the book was bad by any means, it just didn't hit fully for me as I think I wasn't into the subject matter as much as I thought I would be. I did still click through and read the songs and look at the illustrations. I thought the illustrations were very cool and definitely matched the vibe of each song and the book altogether.

Thank you to Netgalley and Andrew McCall Publishing for the chance to read this book.
Murder Ballads by Katy Horan is an retelling of true crime cases.

I would give Murder Ballads by Katy Horan a 3 star review because, I like how its an original story that I've never seen anyone else do, the author did a good job on incorporating artwork and folklore into the novel.

This is a very pretty and interesting book. I feel like I was either missing context about classification of ballads or it would’ve helped to include a bit more about that, and of course I’d have loved some more details about each ballad but oral tradition can be tricky.
The illustrations are fittingly haunting, with the Lankim one being just genuinely terrifying.

An in-depth historical and folk lore exploration of twenty different murder ballads from the US and Europe.

This was so fascinating! I had known of The Twa Sisters since I read a retelling by Tamora Pierce in middle school. And I knew more of these songs by the time I was in college, but not all of them! And this introduced me to so many!

And a lot more of these were able to be traced back to historical, documented incidents than I was expecting! What I loved the most was how broad the contents of murder ballads could be, and how Horan examined all the different intersections of class, race, gender, and sexuality in the different ballads:

Also, I loved the illustrations! They reminded me of the League of Lady Poisoners in style which I also adored! And I’m always a fan of a nonfiction book that gives me a bibliography to go reading more in depth.

I also ended up making a Spotify playlist of some of my favorite versions of most of the ballads. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2PoRQc5TCI3bx5QtHWV00E?si=EjbYK1-AQeCflpR6q8zGog&pi=l4vv8yKpQCCsD

Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this arc!

This book gives you a look into the history of what a murder ballad is, with a sampling of different examples. The author offers a brief overview and some details of the history behind each ballad. She then provides one example of that particular ballad with an accompanying bit of original art.

This a great read for anyone who appreciates the beauty in the macabre, as well as a bit of dark history.

I am a huge murder ballad-head, and I thought this was a really beautiful, well-researched dive into ballads-- most of which I'd never heard of. Recommend for lovers of folk history and ghost stories.

I really enjoyed this book. It was so unexpected and unique. Being raised in the Southern Appalachian mountains I grew up hearing and learning about ballads. That is why this book got my attention. I love the care and respect the author put into researching and putting this book together. The guide is packed with great information about where the ballads originated from, its history and how this type of music impacted our lives. I love the Illustrations she created as well. I was happy and appreciative of her research and by giving us the lists of recordings for these famous murder ballads. I grew up listening to "In the Pines " and was so excited to learn the history of the ballad. I found new- to-me ballads like "Cold Blows the Wind" and " You're Hurting". This book is perfect for anyone who loves music, a history of songs and great storytelling. Horan is an amazing storyteller and shows great respect to the music. You will truly enjoy this book.

I found this book to be quite insightful. I haven't heard of the majority of these murder ballads, and it was interesting to get a short history behind them, though I wish there was a bit more included. The artwork was wonderful. I think it may have flowed a little better to have the ballad before the history, instead of the other way around, but that is mostly a personal preference. Overall, it was a very interesting read!

As someone who absolutely adores folk music in all forms and the history behind it - this was a pretty natural choice of reading material to pick up. Some of these songs I recognized and appreciated reading about, but even more were ones I'd never heard so I greatly appreciated to expand my knowledge a bit.

The illustrations were of course absolutely beautiful! I was a tad disappointed that the book was relatively surface-level, but I think this was the nature of it. This is a wonderful, casual read not so much a deep research guide.

Overall, a very cool book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrew McHeel publishing for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murder ballads is an intriguing book that had me hooked from the start . Who knew that one of my favourite clash songs originated as a balled . You’ll find it in the book along with others that you somehow remember but don’t know where from . A magical masterpiece. I shared a post on Instagram of the book kindly gifted by the publisher Andrews McNeil and the author Katy Horan messaged me to say how much she loved it . The artwork is superb and the cover even glows when the light hits it enchantingly magical. A must read for fans of folklore and dark cottagecore . I loved it

Murder Ballads by Katy Horan explores the idea of ballads of scorned, violent, unrequited love of women gone wrong. One of my favorites was The Bloody Gardner. The illustrations and historical background of each tale elevated the collection.

Very well researched. I love the inclusion of all the iterations of the ballads offered at the back of the book. Great for those who love true crime or literary origins. The illustrations complement the feeling of each of the ballads. The only thing I think would have made it better would have been a slight change in format. I believe the presenting the ballad first followed by the background information would have made for a more intriguing experience.

This is a really neat book! You get some stories and artwork. The stories are connected to ballads, as is the artwork. Each story gives a quick detail on how the two correlate. Definitely a neat table-top type of book.

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