What flitted by at the end of the street, just beyond the farthest street lamp?
From earliest times, tales of the restless dead and their fellow travelers have terrified mankind. Whether around a remote campfire or in the middle of a bustling city, the unquiet spirits and attendant creatures that have tormented humanity since the prehistoric darkness haven't gone away - they still have the power to strike fear in our hearts.
Encyclopedia of the Undead traces those shadowy entities - vampires, werewolves, ghouls and monsters - that lurk just outside the range of human vision and inhabit our most frightening tales. Drawing on a wide range of beliefs and literature, it traces these horrors from their earliest recorded inceptions and charts their impact upon the human psyche. In this book, history and terror mix to create the things that lurk in the darkest corners of our minds.
You'll find detailed descriptions of terrors from all over the world - from the mist-shrouded mountains of Eastern Europe to the sweltering jungles of the Caribbean islands, from the dark, stone-lined tombs of the uncoffined dead beneath the remote New England hills to the dark magics that lurk beneath the thriving, colorful surface of a city like New Orleans. In addition to the more conventional creatures, Encyclopedia of the Undead also details some of the more obscure Things that gnaw at the edges of men's minds - Incubi and Succubi, the Mara, and the dark legends that have influenced writers from Sheridan Le Fanu to H.P. Lovecraft.
This is a book for all those who are interested in the darker side of the human mind - the side that examines and even embraces those beliefs and imaginings that form the basis of our most archetypical fears. This is the book for those brave enough to plumb the depths of our worst nightmares!
Dr. Bob Curran lives and works in the North of Ireland, a place that is haunted by myth, legend and folktales. Over the years, he has studied the dark and sinister, both in his own land and in places beyond. A psychologist and a historian, he has written and lectured extensively on the arcane and the mysterious. He is the author of Vampires and Celtic Lore & Legend (both from New Page Books).
]]>* Climb the high mountains in search of the mythical Shangri-La
* Navigate the deep swamps and jungles in a quest for the Seven Cities of Cibola
* Travel to the depths of the dark oceans to look for sunken lands such as Lemuria and Lyonesse
* Experience unspeakable danger in a realm rarely visited by men--the subterranean lair of Judaculla
* Discover the secrets of Heliopolis, Yggradsil, Hy Brasail, the Kingdom of Prester John, Llyobia, and the Hollow Hills.
Filled with lavish illustrations by acclaimed artist Ian Daniels, Lost Lands, Forgotten Realms takes you on a wonderful and sometimes terrifying journey, combining mythological and legendary tales with historical fact.
Bob Curran looks at every aspect of this mythical creature which is so closely associated with Ireland in the minds of people all over the world. He looks at the origins of the myth and the equivalent around the world. He looks at the superstitions involving the Leprechaun and its use in the mass media.
From the origins of this hero of Irish lore - fallen angel, diminished god or son of other fairies - to his habits, occupations and characteristics, The Truth about the Leprechaun offers enlightenment on little-known aspects of the wider fairy world, as well as turning the spotlight on the real Leprechaun - elusive, complex and contradictory.
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