The first definitive work on werewolfery incorporates an extensive range of historical documentation and folklore. Written in a Gothic style by a venerable author of occult studies, it's rich in fascinating examples and anecdotes and offers compelling fare for lovers of the esoteric.
An investigation into the myth of the werewolf. It features the key werewolf myths throughout history, such as the French story of Bisclavret, the Norse Berserkers, the Wolf of Madeburg and Native American Skinwalkers.
When Darkness Reigns and the Full Moon Glows, Terror Emerges to Stalk the Unsuspecting… From lycanthropic creatures found on television and film such as Teen Wolf, Twilight, and True Blood to the earliest folklore of shape-shifting creatures, The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shapeshifting Beings is an eye-opening, blood-pounding tour through the ages of monsters with the most amazing camouflage capabilities—they hide among us! Along the way, you’ll land at the doorstep of creatures like hirsute mass-murderer Albert Fish, and Fritz Haarman, who slaughtered and ate his victims—selling the leftovers as steaks and roasts in his butcher shop—as well as visits to mythical shamans, sirens, and skin walkers. Covering 140,000 years of legend, mythology, and fact, The Werewolf Book provides hair-raising evidence of strange and obsessional behavior through the centuries. Learn the basics of becoming a werewolf and the intricacies of slaying the beast. A true homage to werewolves and other full moon beasts, it includes topics such as … • Bear, tiger, coyote, and other shape-shifting people • Classic and modern werewolf movies • Gargoyles, totem poles, and Internet depictions • Serial killers and sadistic rulers • Sorcery, spells, and talismans • Television shows, songs, and computer games Werewolf hunters and fans of all ages will appreciate the detailed section on slaying the beast, while potential victims will find the information on detecting and warding away the occasional wayward wolfman more to their immediate liking—if not need. With over 120 illustrations and photos this ultimate lycanthrope compendium is richly illustrated. The Werewolf Book's helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness.
Count up to ten and back again with this sweet and clever Halloween bedtime story starring your favorite monsters! Gliding through the moonlight come the monsters big and small, sliding up your stairway and oozing down your hall. They aren’t very scary, in fact they’re rather sweet. So snuggle into bed and let them whisper, “Trick or treat!”
Most of us are familiar with the idea of a werewolf—that someone can change, either deliberately or unwillingly, into a ravenous creature—but is there some justification for such a belief? And if so, how is it achieved—through magical potions or ointments or simply by the light of the full moon? Or is the whole thing simply a form of delusion, the product of a disturbed mind? In Werewolves, author Dr. Bob Curran examines the deep psychological perceptions about the linkage of man with the natural, bestial world. Do the roots of such a belief lie in the supernatural world, or are there other explanations? How has the discovery of feral children, living in the wild, shaped our ideas of human-beasts? And what is the future of such beliefs? The book considers genetically-based speculations regarding the possible fusion of human and animal genes in order to alleviate some human diseases and suffering. Is the idea of man into beast really so far fetched? Werewolves is an essential reference book which looks, in depth, at a fascinating subject. One word of warning though: it must never be read under the baleful rays of a full moon. You have been warned!
Published in 1933, The Werewolf is one of the first comprehensive books on the subject of werewolves. Author Montague Summers offers detailed historical references and local tales about werewolf encounters, attacks, and transformations. As a member of the clergy, he views the legends of werewolves through a spiritual lens, exploring a variety of opinions and schools of thought on the finer points of werewolf transformation and infection. Part of the Loren Coleman Presents series for Cosimo Classics, this book will entertain and inform those curious about werewolves, gothic folklore, and the occult. AUGUSTUS MONTAGUE SUMMERS (1880-1948) was an English author and clergyman known for his interest in the occult, especially vampires, werewolves, and witches. He wrote dozens of books on the occult, poetry, history, and fiction; he was also the translator of the English version of Malleus Maleficarum, the 15th-century witch hunter's guide. Though highly spiritual, Summers did not obtain a higher rank than deacon in the Church of England due to his peculiar interests. He converted to Catholicism in 1909 and began calling himself Reverend, though he never joined a particular order or diocese; whether he was ever actually ordained as a minister is disputed.
Since before recorded history, werewolves have captivated human imagination. Simultaneously, they represent our deepest fears as well as our desire to connect with our primal ancestry. Today, werewolves are portrayed negatively, associated with violence, cruelty, cannibalism, and general malevolence. However, in ages past, legends depicted them not as monsters, but as a range of neutral to benevolent individuals, such as traveling companions, guardians, and knights. The robust legacy of the werewolf spans from prehistory, through ancient Greece and Rome, to the Middle Ages, into the Early Modern period, and finally into present-day popular culture. Over the ages, the view of the werewolf has become distorted. Media treatment of werewolves is associated with inferior writing, lacking in thought, depth, and meaning. Werewolves as characters or creatures are now generally seen as single-minded and one-dimensional, and they want nothing more than to kill, devour, and possibly violate humans. Hollywood depictions have resulted in the destruction of the true meanings behind werewolf legends that fascinated and terrified humans for so many ages. If these negative trends were reversed, perhaps entertainment might not only discover again some of the true meanings behind the werewolf myth, but also take the first steps toward reversing negative portrayals of wolves themselves, which humans have, for eons, wrongfully stigmatized and portrayed as evil, resulting in wolves receiving crueler treatment than virtually any other animal. To revive the many questions posed by lycanthropy, entertainment must show respect to the rich history of so many cultures all around the world - and rediscover the legend of the werewolf.
Riveting study of vampirism in Europe — from vampires in Greek and Roman lore to their presence in Saxon England, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, and even modern Greece.
Are werewolves real? When the moon is full, do ordinary people under a supernatural curse transform into snarling creatures charging out of the fog, only to revert to human form? Throughout history, people have claimed to have seen weird beings that are p
Since the publication of Twilight in 2005, Stephenie Meyer's four-book saga about the tortured relationship between human heroine Bella Swan and her vampire love Edward Cullen has become a world-wide sensation--inciting screams of delight, sighs of derision, and fervent pronouncements. Those looking deeper into its pages and on screen can find intriguing subtexts about everything from gender, race, sexuality, and religion. The 15 essays in this book examine the texts, the films, and the fandom, exploring the series' cultural reach and offering one of the first thorough analyses of the saga.