From the shadowy coffin of Dracula to the high school hero Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the love story of Edward and Bella of Twilight fame, vampires have fascinated humans for centuries. The Wesier Field Guide to Vampires provides a handbook not only to mythical and historical legends, but also to the modern vampire, their community, and the science behind modern vampire feeding. Learn how to recognize a true vampire, their strengths and weaknesses, and how to tell if you are a vampire. Includes a glossary of who’s who in the vampire world, and top vampire terms.

A study of dozens of hidden animals—from the chupacabra to Mongolian death worms—drawing on eyewitness accounts from around the world. This informative book includes information, interviews, and stories about forty different cryptids seen around the world by credible eyewitnesses like policemen, rangers, and doctors. Readers will learn where and how to find flying humanoids, hairy humanoids, giants of all kinds including rabbits, bats, and spiders, goblins, vampires, werewolves, demons, aliens, and ghosts. Cryptozoology—a term coined in the 1950s by a French zoologist named Bernard Heuvelmans—is the study of hidden or unknown animals not recognized in standard zoology. From traditional cryptids like Big Foot, the Abominable Snowman, and Nessie, to mythical cryptids like unicorns, vampires, dragons, and werewolves, to lesser-known cryptids like bunyips (waterhorses), Encantado (Dolphin Men of Brazil), thunderbirds, mothmen, and chupacabra, these creatures are very much alive, says expert Deena West Budd, if beyond the realm of normal perception. The Weiser Field Guide to Cryptozoology includes a brief history of the field and surveys all the creatures for which any credible amount of research exists—as well as giving tips on how to spot these creatures and cautionary advice on how to interact with them. Includes two dozen line drawings rendered from eyewitness descriptions

The Weiser Field Guide to Ascension tackles the vast topic, so often misconstrued, of the idea of ascending into a universal consciousness, and creates a literal handbook to the historical, biblical, and highly topical implications of the concept of Ascension, raising consciousness, the earth shift and changes of 2012, and The Great Shift.

In the myths, legends, and folklore of many peoples, the returning, physical dead play a significant role, whether they are the zombies of Haiti or the draugr of Scandinavia. But what are the origins of an actual bodily return from the grave? Does it come from something deep within our psyche, or is there some truth to it? In Zombies, Bob Curran explores how some of these beliefs may have arisen and the truths that lay behind them, examining myths from all around the world and from ancient times including Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Celtic. Curran traces the evolution of belief in the walking cadaver from its early inception in religious ideology to the "Resurrections" and cataleptics of 18th century Europe, from prehistoric tale to Arthurian romance. Zombies even examines the notion of the "living dead" in the world today—entities such as the "living mummies" of Japan. Zombies is a unique book, the only one to systematically trace the development of a cultural idea of physical resurrection and explore the myths that have grown around it, including the miracles of Old Testament prophets. It will interest those enticed by the return of the corporeal dead and also those curious as to how such an idea sits within the historical context.

When we lie awake at night listening to mysterious sounds, we imagine all the things that could be making those strange noises. The rumbling is the sound of the refrigerator; the knocking is from the old furnace; the creaking is nothing more than the house settling...isn’t it? Although the modern world has denied the existence of things that go bump in the night and has taught us that the occult couldn’t possibly exist, we know there are things that science has yet to explain. Defense Against the Dark introduces the reader to many of those unsavory magickal creatures and occult happenings that exist outside of fairytales. Our ancestors knew these threats were real, and took precautions to protect themselves from whatever evil was lurking in the shadows. Defense Against the Dark will teach you: Common lore and mythology of predatory entities such as goblins, vampires, imps, and ghosts How to identify malevolent spirits and understand how curses actually work How to master different protection methods, including shielding, banishing, and hex breaking Easy, concrete methods for protecting yourself in everyday situations

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

Life exists all around us, in forms that we can readily and easily identify. But what if there were, lurking in the shadows, other forms of life that are not so familiar, creatures created not by Nature, but by Man? We know their names—Frankenstein, the Golem, the homunculi of the ancient alchemists; they exist in our stories and myths. But just what are these mysterious creatures, and do they actually have some basis in reality? In his fascinating and wide-ranging new book, Dr. Bob Curran explores man-made monsters and the truth behind the myths. You’ll learn fascinating details about: The 19th century scientist who tried to bring the dead back to life—the model for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein The Man of Clay who lumbered through the streets of medieval Prague at the command of early rabbis Tales of robots that may have existed in the ancient world and threatened Greek and Roman warriors. Cloning and the artificial creation of life, and what strange and mysterious areas they may be heading into. Man-Made Monsters is essential reading for anyone who wants to explore artificial beings and peer into the dark recesses of the human mind...where they may indeed be hiding.