40+ Neil Gaiman Coraline The Other Mother Background. From the very beginning, it's clear to both coraline and the readers that there's something very, very off about this woman: The other mother, also known as the beldam (which means witch), is the book's super creepy villain.
One day coraline unlocks a mysterious door that opens onto another world, a twisted parody of coraline's own dimension.
While many fictions actively repudiate otherness. The other mother was partially inspired by the new mother, a strange, strange story by victorian author lucy clifford. But there's another mother there, and another gaiman's tale is inventive, scary, thrilling and finally affirmative. With illustrations by dave mckean.
