Pure Dead series
Encyclopedia
The Strega Borgia Chronicles by Scottish
writer Debi Gliori
, follows the Strega Borgia family, a quirky, bizarre, Italian
family, Signor and Signora Strega-Borgia (Luciano and Baci.) and their four children, Titus, Pandora, Damp and Nieve, who live with their mythical companions in their fictitious home StregaSchloss, in Argyll
. It consists of two trilogies ; the Pure Dead trilogy and the Deep trilogy. The Strega-Borgia's share similarities to The Addams Family
. - Appears briefly in the first book, in a flashback to the birth of Titus.
."
*Attila The Bun - One of the four gangsters hired to take out Titus Strega-Borgia, and anyone who stands in their way, in Don Lucifer's attempt to steal Titus' fortune. Always sports a full rabbit suit, which causes chaos on the journey to StregaSchloss. Attila the Bun was then devoured by Knot, the yeti.
*Ragu - Don Lucifer Di S'Embowelli's hapless chef, who is killed off near the beginning of the first book, "Pure Dead Magic". He is fed to piranhas for overcooking pasta.
*Dr. Flense-Filleto - The plastic surgeon who gives Don Lucifer his disastrous nose job. Has an off-beat sense of humour.
Other minor characters include the posse of surgeons, nurses etc. in the hospital where Don Lucifer's nose job takes place and numerous policemen.
(0552550469)
(0552550485)
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
writer Debi Gliori
Debi Gliori
-Life and career:She grew up as an only child in Glasgow, and when young began drawing and writing stories. She started writing children's books in 1976, and attended art school in Edinburgh from 1979 to 1984...
, follows the Strega Borgia family, a quirky, bizarre, Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
family, Signor and Signora Strega-Borgia (Luciano and Baci.) and their four children, Titus, Pandora, Damp and Nieve, who live with their mythical companions in their fictitious home StregaSchloss, in Argyll
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
. It consists of two trilogies ; the Pure Dead trilogy and the Deep trilogy. The Strega-Borgia's share similarities to The Addams Family
The Addams Family
The Addams Family is a group of fictional characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. As named by Charles Addams, the Addams Family characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing....
The family
- Signor Luciano Strega-Borgia - The sometimes hot-tempered husband of Baci and father of Titus, Pandora, Damp and Nieve. He is very fond of his family, despite leaving them in a temper in the first book and frequently arguing with Baci. Enjoys coffeeCoffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, especially cappuccinoCappuccinoA cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed-milk foam. The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the colour of their habits.- Definition :...
.
- Signora Baci Strega-Borgia - Luciano's wife, mother to Titus, Pandora, Damp and Nieve. She dislikes being pregnant. Baci attends a witchWitchcraftWitchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
academyAcademyAn academy is an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 385 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and skill, north of Athens, Greece. In the western world academia is the...
, although she is absolutely appalling at magicMagic (fantasy)Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers.Such magic often serves as a plot device, the source of magical artifacts and their quests...
.
- Titus, son of the above. Twelve or thirteen during the series Titus is something of a computerComputerA computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
geek, his laptop has been used for, amongst other things growing rather a lot of small pink clones, and receiving video clips from the future. Titus loves food, especially raspberry muffins, he also has/ had a band. Titus is terrified of spiders but unlike most arachnophobicsArachnophobiaArachnophobia or arachnephobia is a specific phobia, the fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions. It is a manifestation of zoophobia, among the most common of all phobias. The reactions of arachnophobics often seem irrational to others...
seems willing to tolerate them when he has to.
- Pandora - Titus's younger sister, ten or eleven during the series. Pandora is occasionally obsessed with makeup, much to the distress of her father who believes her far too young for that sort of thing. She believes that technologyTechnologyTechnology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
is dreadful and loves her petPetA pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
ratsRATSRATS may refer to:* RATS , Regression Analysis of Time Series, a statistical package* Rough Auditing Tool for Security, a computer program...
, Multitudina and Terminus. Pandora is probably the most observant and intelligent of the Borgias. During the series she gains a library card for the Library, an assortment of magical items, and run by the centaur, Alpha.
- Damp - The youngest Strega-Borgia up till the final book, the aptly named Damp is a baby magusWitchcraftWitchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
who constantly keeps her nanny on her toes preventing Damp's magic from being discovered by her parents. Damp has a bat familiar called Vesper. She is a messy little girl who loves colours and glitter but in Pure Dead Brilliant she is revealed to grow up to be an arrogant, haughty and somewhat "bitchy" individual(Although this may change, seeing as that was the future in which Titus died, and was changed before the events starting to lead to that occurred.).
- Nieve (AKA "little no name" or "somebody else entirely") - The new baby and younger son of the Borgias' Nieve was born in the beginning of the last book. It is implied Nieve may be as powerful a magus as his sister Damp. Nieve has a salamander familiar called Orynx. He apparently has dark brown eyes (as revealed through his internal monologues in Deep Water). **REVISION**: Though in Deep Fear (the last book) Nieve's eyes are continuously referred to as navy blue. However, this is not to be confused with the green eyes of the demon baby/changeling that takes Nieve's place with Baci for most of the book. As for Nieve being a magus, the reader is left with the suggestion that he may instead be an earthbound (or fallen angel) when Damp notices that he has fine downy feathers like angel wings around his shoulders. This is reinforced when Damp motions to Nieve that she has noticed and will keep the 'secret.' However, it is also suggested that the feathers COULD be left over from the Swan transformation. Unfortunately, we never find out for sure and the reader is left wondering as to which it is.
- Strega-Nonna (Amelia) - CryogenicallyCryonicsCryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
preserved six-times-great grandmother of Titus, Pandora, Damp and Nieve. She was an extremely powerful witch in her time and retains some of her power. She lives in the freezer where she lives in cryogenic preservation until science finds a cure for death and old age. This is treated as a matter of humour during most of the series but Sab considers her desperation to evade death sad as shown by his existentialistExistentialismExistentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
brodding in Deep Trouble. Strega-Nonna's cryogenic preservation is somewhat contradicted by the fact that witches are portrayed as immortalImmortalityImmortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
in the series. She may have known Mrs McLachlan as a child.
- Don Lucifer di S'Embowelli Borgia - Luciano's evilEvilEvil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
half-brother. Don Lucifer hates his brother and often tries to kill him. He is a high player in the Mafia. Don Lucifer has had plastic surgeryPlastic surgeryPlastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
on his face, to reduce the size of his nose. Unfortunately, it went wrong and made him look and sound, like a ratRatRats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
. Don Lucifer serves as one of the main antagonists of the series. In Pure Dead Brilliant he inherits millions, signed over to him by Titus (originally inherited from his grandfather, Don Chimera)
- Don Chimera - father of Luciano Strega-Borgia
. - Appears briefly in the first book, in a flashback to the birth of Titus.
The Beasts
The series takes place in a world similar to our own but where magical creatures are apparently quite commonplace. Among the pets belonging to Strega-Borgias are a large menagerie of sentient animals and monsters collectively referred as the Beasts. It is worth noting that Tarantella resents being called a Beast and instead refers to herself as "an arachnidArachnid
Arachnids are a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals in the subphylum Chelicerata. All arachnids have eight legs, although in some species the front pair may convert to a sensory function. The term is derived from the Greek words , meaning "spider".Almost all extant arachnids are terrestrial...
."
- Ffup - A teenage dragonDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
. Pregnant twice during the series, mother to Nestor, fiancée to The Sleeper. Fairly selfish, especially when it comes to nailsNail (anatomy)A nail is a horn-like envelope covering the dorsal aspect of the terminal phalanges of fingers and toes in humans, most non-human primates, and a few other mammals. Nails are similar to claws, which are found on numerous other animals....
and dietingDietingDieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated fashion to achieve or maintain a controlled weight. In most cases dieting is used in combination with physical exercise to lose weight in those who are overweight or obese. Some athletes, however, follow a diet to gain weight...
. Strangely she is referred to as "he" throughout the first book. This was caused by the fact that Ffup did not realize that "he" was in fact a girl during the first book. In Pure Dead Wicked, Ffup finally realized that she was a female with a slightly hinted encounter with a male.
- Sab - The intellectual of the beats, Sab is a gryphonGryphon-Businesses:* Gryphon Airlines, an American-owned airline based in Vienna, Virginia* Gryphon Audio Designs, a Danish maker of audio components* Golden Gryphon Press, an American independent publishing company...
with a fondness for cross-words. He and Strega-Nonna are revealed to be old friends in Deep Trouble. He is egotistical and has the ability to turn into stoneRock (geology)In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
. Gryphons according to Sab have very long lifespans and are widely believed to be immortal although this is not the case.
- Tock – A crocodileCrocodileA crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
, who lives in the castleCastleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
moatMoatA moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
. Supposedly a vegetarian by the later books.
- Knot - A yetiYetiThe Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
who loves revolting food (including Marie Bain's slippers and the contents of Nestor's nappies).
- Nestor - Ffup's young son, a half dragon.
- Multitudina the Illiterat - An illiterate ratRatRats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
who 'was raised to eat books, not read them'. She is a free-range rat and one of Pandora's many pets. Multitudina has an intelligent daughter named Terminus.
- Terminus - One of Multitudina's many children and one of Pandora's pets. In contrast to her "illiterat" mother Terminus is highly intelligent and well-educated and she and Tarantella have many intellectual discussions.
- Tarantella - Pandora's pet spiderSpiderSpiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
. A highly sarcastic but very intelligent individual Tarantella is obsessed with lipstickLipstickLipstick is a cosmetic product containing pigments, oils, waxes, and emollients that applies color, texture, and protection to the lips. Many varieties of lipstick are known. As with most other types of makeup, lipstick is typically, but not exclusively, worn by women...
and fond of eatingEatingEating is the ingestion of food to provide for all organisms their nutritional needs, particularly for energy and growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive: carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants, omnivores consume a mixture of both plant and animal matter,...
male spiders. She is missing one leg after losing it to Fiamma D'Infer. Gliori acknowledges her similarities to the character of Tarentella.
- The Sleeper - Fiancée of Ffup and Father to Nestor. Also known as the Loch Ness MonsterLoch Ness MonsterThe Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
, lives in Lochnagargoyle Loch on the Strega-Borgia grounds. He loves it when his fiancée brings him food and places it under the jetty but is caught two-timing her in Deep Fear. He has a strong Scottish accent and a somewhat surly and misanthropic approach to life.
- Orynx - A salamanderSalamanderSalamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...
that, when it burns, makes light.
"The good help that was hard to find"
- Mrs Flora McLachlan – Nanny to Titus, Pandora, Damp and Nieve. A gifted, and ancient witchWitchcraftWitchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
who sometimes secretly helps Baci out with her spells. She is famous for her cookingCookingCooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
skills especially with cakes and chipsFrench friesFrench fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
.
- Marie Bain - The terrible French StregaSchloss cook. She makes disgusting food and gets very offended if the family doesn't like or eat it. In the fifth book, bribed by Don Lucifer, she arranges Luciano's arrestArrestAn arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
(see below) and later chokes to death on a putrid ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
cakeCakeCake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
of her own making, which was rejected by the Streaga-Borgias the previous year.
- Latch – Long suffering butlerButlerA butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
to the Borgias. He answers the door and the phone. Latch is romantically interested in Mrs McLachlan and often irons the newspaper. It is also mentioned that he is forced to wear a kiltKiltThe kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
made out of material used as a dog's bed, and hates it because it itches. Owns a small JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese car.
- Miss Araminta Fraser (Minty) – Secondary nanny employed during Mrs McLachlan's absence. An inventive cook and all round nice person. Falls in love with Ludo Grabbit.
The immortals
Aside from Mrs McLachlan, many immortal characters appear in the series due to its nature as fantasy. The arch-villains of the series are demons who seek possession of the Chronostone with which they will be able to rule the universe. The Chronostone once belonged to the ruler of Hell, S'tan the Boss but he lost it and the main plot of the series concerns his quest to regain it by sending various minions to do battle with Mrs McLachlan for possession of the Stone. Mrs McLachlan is the only person aware of the threat posed by the demons although Titus, Pandora and Latch become aware of them. The demons are portrayed as extremely powerful and irredemably evil creatures but are nonetheless used to great comic effect. Most demons in the series are cynical, egotistical and cruel but with a dry sense of humour.- AstarothAstarothAstaroth , in demonology, is a Crowned Prince of Hell. He is a male figure named after the Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth.-Background:...
- is the Second Minister of the Hadean Executive. He accidentally loses the Chronostone and the plot of Pure Dead Brilliant concerns his quest to regain it for his Boss. He disguises himself as a beautiful witch named Fiamma D'Infer to do so, but after his/her failure he is reincarnated as a gnat in punishment and later becomes imprisoned in amber. He possesses the sarcastic sense of humour that apparently comes naturally to all high ranking demons in the series.
- Isagoth: The Demonic Defence Minister, Isagoth is a demonDemoncall - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
determined to regain the Chronostone for his master, S'tan but later plans to steal it for his own ends. He is introduced in Deep Trouble and becomes one of the major antagonists over the course of the series.
- S'tan the Boss: The ruler of HadesHadesHades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
and the main antagonist of the series, S'tan is in fact the Biblical character of the Devil. He draws his power from the Chronostone. The main plotline of the books concerns his quest to regain it. In Deep Water, after the Stone drops out of the time space continuum, he discovers that he is losing his power. As a result the stress due to his power loss he becomes very overweightOverweightOverweight is generally defined as having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary...
. He develops an interest in cooking in Deep Fear. His name is a play on the word "SatanSatanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
".
Other
- Pronto - Don Lucifer Di S'Embowelli's right-hand man. He is very intelligent and presents a soothing foil to his psychotic boss in his moments of hysteria. He was accidentally turned into bagpipes by Mrs. McLachlan in Pure Dead Magic. It is implied that Latch left him in the attic.
*Attila The Bun - One of the four gangsters hired to take out Titus Strega-Borgia, and anyone who stands in their way, in Don Lucifer's attempt to steal Titus' fortune. Always sports a full rabbit suit, which causes chaos on the journey to StregaSchloss. Attila the Bun was then devoured by Knot, the yeti.
*Ragu - Don Lucifer Di S'Embowelli's hapless chef, who is killed off near the beginning of the first book, "Pure Dead Magic". He is fed to piranhas for overcooking pasta.
*Dr. Flense-Filleto - The plastic surgeon who gives Don Lucifer his disastrous nose job. Has an off-beat sense of humour.
Other minor characters include the posse of surgeons, nurses etc. in the hospital where Don Lucifer's nose job takes place and numerous policemen.
Books in the series
Accompanied ISBNs are for paperback editions, published by Corgi Children's in the UK.Pure Dead Magic
(0552547573)- The first novel in the series sees the arrival of the children's new nannyNannyA nanny, childminder or child care provider, is an individual who provides care for one or more children in a family as a service...
Mrs Flora McLachlan, shortly after Signor Strega-Borgia, has left, following an argument at the breakfast table. While Signora Strega-Borgia is away at the witch academy, Pandora's rats are accidentally unleashed onto the internetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
via emailEmailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
and their mother, Multitudina tries to find her babies. Unaware of this, Pandora enters into a foolish bet with Titus, to the effect that, should she fail to find the rats, she must swim the castle moat, the home of the crocodile Tock, who has, it seems, eaten all the previous applicants for the job of the Strega-Borgia's nanny. Little do they know that Flora McLachalan is a witch who will save their lives after winning them over with her delicious food and kindly, sensible personality. Meanwhile, Signor Strega-Borgia could not have picked a worse day to storm out of his house, seemingly for good. He has been kidnapped by his evil half-brother, Don Lucifer Di S'Embowelli Borgia, a rich and sadistic gentleman who takes pleasure in killing people, and will take the slightest excuse. However, he does have a weakness- his long, ugly nose. He sets fire to the house and leaves his brother to burn to death, while he goes off to have plastic surgery on his nose. By some unfortunate coincidence, the escaped mice have got stuck in the computer at the hospital where Don Lucifer is due to have his surgery- as a result, Don Lucifer looks worse than he did before his operation.
Pure Dead Wicked
(0552548472)- The second novel in the series. The roof of the ancient family home is badly damaged and the Strega-Borgia family are forced to decamp to the local hotel, leaving the frozen granny, the rats and the spider behind. However, the builders appear to be up to something... Such as destroying a roof, murdering hotel proprietors and dating fur lovers. Titus has accedentily created 500 pink clones and he and Pandora are trying to keep them secret from Latch and Mrs. McLachlan, which becomes a challenge as the 10% size clones grow up.
Pure Dead Brilliant
(0552547514)- Baci's friends from the witch academy are coming to stay, much to the family's despair. However there is something suspicious about one of the guests. Pandora and Titus have continuous fights over the money that Titus has inherited, which stop when they discover a clock that lets them travel back in time. Damp is revealed to be a Magus and Lucifer offers Mrs.McLachlan a marriage proposal.
- The title comes from the popular Scottish expression Pure Dead Brilliant.
Deep Trouble
(Also published as Pure Dead Trouble)(0552550469)
- A vengeful demon is trying to invade StregaSchloss. However, Titus is too busy on the internet looking up the world destroying company SapienTech, Pandora only has eyes for the gorgeous (and pyromaniac) new butler temporarily replacing Latch and the beasts are raising funds to give the moat a makeover by volunteering for medical science. Only Flora McLachlan has noticed and is doing something about it!
Deep Water
(Also published as Pure Dead Batty)- After Isagoth's attack on Stregaschloss, Mrs.McLachlan has thrown herself into Lochnagargoyle in order to hide the Chronostone, and Luciano is blamed for the murder. Titus ingests 'acanthoid wax', which causes him to grow at an alarming rate, and develop a crush on the new nanny that Baci hired, Araminta Fraser. Luciano's lawyer, Munro MacAlister Hall, botches his case, while making sure that his son, Rand, stays occupied at StregaSchloss, in order to make Baci forget about Luciano, and fall in love with him instead. It is revealed that S'tan is losing his demonic traits, while Mrs.McLachlan and Isagoth share an island, in the company of Death and the Chronostone.
Deep Fear
(also published as Pure Dead Frozen)(0552550485)
- This is the ultimate in the series. StregaSchloss is invaded by wolves, demonDemoncall - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s, vengeful MafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
uncles, and a changelingChangelingA changeling is a creature found in Western European folklore and folk religion. It is typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. Sometimes the term is also used to refer to the child who...
while Isagoth puts his plan to take over HellHellIn many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
into action.