Sergio Bissoli
Il paese stregato

Sergio Bissoli, born in Verona in 1946 but always living in the small Veronese village of Cerea, is an obscure cult figure. Giuseppe Lippi, in the introduction to the volume reviewed here, Il paese stregato published by Hypnos, describes him as “an angel of the bizarre”. Writer, bibliophile, passionate about dark literature, and scholar of esotericism (his interests in occultism, magic, and Eastern philosophies could categorize him as a little Italian Meyrink), Bissoli is also the author of fundamental research on Italian Gothic that shed light, through his investigations into the mythical booklets of Racconti di Dracula, on the existence of dark literature in our country. He also curated two photographic volumes depicting abandoned Venetian villas and mysterious buildings. The volume thus proves indispensable for investigating this mysterious figure in the Italian fantastic literary landscape. The book is divided into three parts: the first section presents his novella or long story La ragazza del paese stregato from 1975. It is a dark story characterized by a subtly dreamlike atmosphere. The story is set in a Venetian village shrouded in a magical aura, where the inhabitants seem to be part of a sect. At the center of the enigma appears to be the mysterious female character of Mirta. The described locations are small villages in the Veronese area whose names are modified, creating an alternative geography much like H.P. Lovecraft did with his imaginary New England (“Vielle”, where the story takes place, is actually Veronella). The conclusion will be surprising and not very romantic, starring Mirta. It would have been fantastic to see a film adaptation of this novella.

The second part of Il paese stregato is entirely dedicated to the legendary Gothic stories of Sergio Bissoli. These are very short but highly effective stories in their essential style. In reality, they are not Gothic stories in the traditional sense; there are no traditional castles and ghosts in the style of Horace Walpole and Ann Radcliffe, but the atmosphere evoked is more reminiscent of a rural Gothic akin to a memorable film like La casa dalle finestre che ridono by Pupi Avati. The terror seems to rise from the mists and country lanes of a backward Po Valley where prejudice reigns and where religion maintains its control. A great connoisseur and lover of the lower Veronese regions, Bissoli’s entire world is in these stories: the description of the slow, centuries-old rhythms of the countryside and the evocation of ancient traditions that still seem to cast their malign influence of death and terror today. The village folklore, with all its load of dark legends, is well present in stories like La coda del diavolo, La strega, Danza macabra, La casa stregata, and Il bosco incantato, and many others. Musica di mezzanotte is one of the most suggestive stories and reminds me of a masterpiece like La musica di Erich Zann by H.P. Lovecraft. Meanwhile, Gli insetti is undoubtedly another noteworthy horror story.

The third part of Il paese stregato is dedicated to the volume Vita di scrittore, an autobiography of Sergio Bissoli from 1993 but reworked until 2011. It is an interesting testimony that begins by narrating the experiences lived in the poor Veneto of the immediate post-war period where religion and ancient, established prejudices dominated. In any case, apart from his personal affairs, for fans of fantastic fiction, the juiciest part is certainly the one dedicated to I racconti di Dracula. Bissoli became so passionate about these booklets, which were first published in Italy in 1959, anticipating the first anthologies of dark literature in our country, that he dedicated an essay to the subject (Il mistero dei racconti di Dracula – 2011, also available on the website http://www.neteditor.it/content/i-racconti-di-dracula). The writers wrote under pseudonyms - including the great and legendary Frank Graegorius alias Dr. Libero Samale (1914-1985), Harry Small, Max Dave and Morton Sidney - but they were all Italian. Bissoli finally managed, with the help of an investigation agency, to track down the ghost authors and, in particular, came into contact with Frank Graegorius. Thanks to his research, the existence of Italian Gothic literature is finally established. It is now possible to read these authors in volumes published by Dagon Press by Pietro Guarriello (the first three have already been released and can be purchased on the site http://studilovecraftiani.blogspot.it/2011/09/i-capolavori-de-i-racconti-di-dracula.html).

Il paese stregato is an indispensable volume for every lover of fantastic literature and manages to comprehensively frame the “Bissoli case,” an artist fighting against his time for the affirmation of fantasy. The book can be purchased directly from the online store of Edizioni Hypnos (http://www.edizionihypnos.com/mirabilia_7.html) or on the Delos Store (http://www.delosstore.it/librinuovi/index.php?k=autori&&v=1182).