Banshees, Werewolves, Vampires, and Other Creatures of the Night
Banshees, Werewolves, Vampires, and Other Creatures of the Night

Author: Varla A. Ventura

Publisher: Weiser Books

Published: 2013-10-01

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 1609259114

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The lusty vampire, the sympathetic werewolf, the tragic banshee are just a few of the dark and frightening creatures you'll discover in Banshees, Werewolves, Vampires, and Other Creatures of the Night. Huffington Post Weird News columnist and author Varla Ventura takes readers on a wild ride through the shadowy hills of rural Ireland, the dark German forests, and along abandoned farms and country roads across the world to discover some of the most frightening and freaktacular tales, tidbits, and encounters with all those beasties that go bump in the night. Along with classic pieces from Bram Stoker, Elliot O'Donnell, Sabine BaringGould, William Butler Yeats and many others, Ventura includes: • Famous vampires you may not know • The identity of the author of the first English vampire novel (and his relationship to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein) • Excerpts from the first psychic vampire novel ever written • Stories of 19th century werewolf hunters • Why banshees are the most feared of supernatural creatures

Monstrous
Monstrous

Author: Carlyn Beccia

Publisher: Carolrhoda Books

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 1512449164

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Could Dr. Frankenstein's machine ever animate a body? Why should vampires drink from veins and not arteries? What body parts are best for zombies to eat? (It's not brains.) This fascinating encyclopedia of monsters delves into the history and science behind eight legendary creatures, from Bigfoot and the kraken to zombies and more. Find out each monster's origin story and the real-world history that informed it, and then explore the science of each creature in fun and surprising ways. Tips and infographics--including monster anatomy, how to survive a vampire attack, and real-life giant creatures of the deep sea--make this a highly visual and fun-to-browse book.

Varla Ventura's Paranormal Parlor
Varla Ventura's Paranormal Parlor

Author: Varla Ventura

Publisher: Weiser Books

Published: 2018-06-01

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1633410781

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From shimmering specters to mysterious tricks, Varla Ventura's Paranormal Parlor includes original supernatural tales, classic ghost stories, legends, hauntings, séances, superstitions, and death customs. This book showcases a chilling collection of startling ghost stories as told to the author as well as legendary ghosts and haunted locations and an overview of the paranormal parlor games that rose to popularity in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. It also includes hidden history such as the story of Mark Twain's ghost, and the quiet horror writings of the architect who started the Gothic Revival movement (Ralph Adams Cram).

Fairies, Pookas, and Changelings
Fairies, Pookas, and Changelings

Author: Varla Ventura

Publisher: Weiser Books

Published: 2017-04-01

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1633410447

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An exploration of the different tenants of Fairyland from around the world—hobgoblins, sprites, bogeys, pixies, goblins, bonga, duende, elves, and more. While it’s true that fairy folk love a good garden and take great pleasure in a tulip, there are dozens of beasties who fall under the fairy domain that are not quite as delightful as the quintessential flower fairy. This book is an exploration of the many things that go bump in the night near the fairy mound. Along with an exploration of folklore and historical literature, readers will delight in fairy tales that demonstrate everything from striking a bargain with a fairy to staving off changelings to laughing with the dwarves. Included are fairy tales and myths from Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Scandinavia plus classic stories by Thomas Crofton Croker, Joseph Jacobs, Clara Stroebe, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Yei Theodora Ozaki, and others on goblins, trolls, gnomes, pookas, changelings, banshees, and more! Chapters include: A Fear of Little Men: Elves, Trolls, Leprechauns, Tree Spirits, Brownies, Coblyns, Dwarves, Goblins, Bonga, Trolls and Other Fairy Folk of Glen, Forests and Hearth The Hand That Rocks the Cradle: Changelings and Other Greedy Kidnappers of the Fairy Kingdom I’m Not Drunk, It’s Just My Pooka: Tales of the Trickster Fairy and Its Wild Counterpart Is That All There Is? Fairies Who Give, or The Barter System Whoops, There It Is: How to Enter the Fairy Kingdom (or How Not To) If you think fairies are merely delicate beings who follow you about on gossamer wings, consider yourself warned! The kingdom of the fairy is one of vengeance, thievery, trickery, and wild creatures.

Enchanted Plants
Enchanted Plants

Author: Varla A Ventura

Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser

Published: 2025-04-07

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1578638607

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"This book brings together forgotten lore with the magic and medicine of plants for the ultimate journey through a botanical wonderland. Including excerpts from fairy tales and a lively discussion of each plant's magical and medicinal properties, the book is arranged by general environment, and each chapter contains a cultivated selection of plants, arranged alphabetically by popular common name"--

The Vampire in Folklore, History, Literature, Film and Television
The Vampire in Folklore, History, Literature, Film and Television

Author:

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-10-07

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 0786499362

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This comprehensive bibliography covers writings about vampires and related creatures from the 19th century to the present. More than 6,000 entries document the vampire's penetration of Western culture, from scholarly discourse, to popular culture, politics and cook books. Sections by topic list works covering various aspects, including general sources, folklore and history, vampires in literature, music and art, metaphorical vampires and the contemporary vampire community. Vampires from film and television--from Bela Lugosi's Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood and the Twilight Saga--are well represented.

Among the Mermaids
Among the Mermaids

Author: Ventura, Varla

Publisher: Weiser Books

Published: 2013-07-01

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1578635454

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From Homer's Odyssey to Pirates of the Caribbean, Mermaids have fascinated popular culture for centuries. Among the Mermaids is an enchanting collection of classic stories, facts, and tales of mermaids from around the world that will thrill every lover of this romanticized mythological creature. Compiled by Book of the Bizarre author and Magical Creature devotee Varla Ventura, Among the Mermaids includes turn of the century tales of merfolk from Bret Harte, T. Crofton Croker, and W.B. Yeats, along with tantalizing trivia, facts, first-hand accounts, and speculations about mermaids in popular culture. Some facts about the fluid and the fair from the book: Many people believe today that early explorer sightings of mermaids were manatees. (Scurvy + many days away from your lady = a blubbery creature looking supple and bodacious.)Blackbeard, the fierce and terrible pirate, was afraid of his crew being lured into a watery grave by mermaids, so he ordered his ships to avoid certain areas reputed to have a high number of mermaid sightings.Since 2009, the town of Kiryat Yam, Israel has offered a prize of $1 million dollars to anyone who can prove the mermaid off their coast is real. The prize remains unclaimed.

Beyond Bizarre
Beyond Bizarre

Author: Varla Ventura

Publisher: Weiser Books

Published: 2010-09-01

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 160925273X

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The author of The Book of the Bizarre returns with a new compendium of freaky facts, terrifying trivia, and true stories that are stranger than fiction. In Beyond Bizarre, Varla Ventura presents an all-new batch of nightmarish tales that teem queasy diseases and paranormal encounters—not to mention the outrageous, outlandish, and the simply strange. Arranged into thirteen chilling chapters like Haunted Hollywood, Tales from the Cryptids, Bride of the Bizarre, and It’s Enough to Make You Hurl, Beyond Bizarre tackles everything from female pirates and creepy candy stripers to psychic predictions, virgin shark births and much, much more. A word of warning: this book is not for the faint of heart!

Tahuhu Korero
Tahuhu Korero

Author: Merata Kawharu

Publisher: Auckland University Press

Published: 2013-10-01

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1775581624

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Compiling a rich, accessible introduction to the people and the land of Taikokerau—a northern region of New Zealand—this collection of proverbs offers traditional wisdom from the oral record of an indigenous history and culture. Presenting close to 200 selected sayings that capture key moments in Maori history, celebrated ancestors, and important places, each adage is combined with relevant paintings and photographs that provide concrete, visual anchors for insight into these powerful metaphors for human behavior. New translations in English help explain the origins and meanings of the proverbs, all of which offer a fascinating glimpse into the past.

Strange Practice
Strange Practice

Author: Vivian Shaw

Publisher: Orbit

Published: 2017-07-25

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 0316434612

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The first book in a delightfully witty fantasy series in which Dr. Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, must defend London from both supernatural ailments and a bloodthirsty cult. Greta Helsing inherited her family's highly specialized and highly peculiar medical practice. In her consulting rooms, Dr. Helsing treats the undead for a host of ills: vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entropy in mummies. Although she barely makes ends meet, this is just the quiet, supernatural-adjacent life Greta's been groomed for since childhood. Until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror takes hold of the city, Greta must use her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice and her life. Praise for the Dr. Greta Helsing Novels: "An exceptional and delightful debut, in the tradition of Good Omens and A Night in the Lonesome October."―Elizabeth Bear, Hugo-award winning author "Shaw balances an agile mystery with a pitch-perfect, droll narrative and cast of lovable misfit characters. These are not your mother's Dracula or demons."―Shelf Awareness Dr. Greta Helsing Novels Strange Practice Dreadful Company Grave Importance