This lavish visual history-featuring over 150 new, full-colour illustrations-is a stunning introduction to House Targaryen, the iconic family at the heart of HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. For hundreds of years, the Targaryens sat the Iron Throne of Westeros while their dragons ruled the skies. The story of the only family of dragonlords to survive Valyria's Doom is a tale of twisty politics, alliances and betrayals, and acts both noble and craven. The Rise of the Dragon chronicles the creation and rise of Targaryen power in Westeros, covering the history first told in George R. R. Martin's epic Fire & Blood, from Aegon Targaryen's conquest of Westeros through to the infamous Dance of the Dragons-the bloody civil war that nearly undid Targaryen rule for good. Packed with all-new artwork, the Targaryens-and their dragons-come vividly to life in this deluxe reference book. Perfect for fans steeped in the lore of Westeros, as well as those who first meet the Targaryens in the HBO series House of the Dragon, The Rise of the Dragon provides a must-have overview for anyone looking to learn more about the most powerful family in Westeros.

Vampires are beings of myth: folkloric creatures who live off the blood of the living and have been recorded in nearly every culture around the world since the beginning of man. This work traces the evolution of the vampire, from its roots in ancient mythology to obscure folk tales and legends, leading up to when these foul beings transformed into the suave Byronic heroes that continue to influence the world's view of the vampire today. It also examines key individuals in history involved in reshaping our concept of the creature. Popular culture is explored, along with the development of the vampire into the protagonist in plays and poems and novels. Sixty-one frightening images bring the topic right to your front door. Will you invite the visitor in?

Meet California's legendary monsters in this guided tour, from the sea, where life began, to the Golden State's scenic lakes, majestic mountains, brooding forests, and rumored "alien tunnels" beneath the streets of Los Angeles. Cower beneath a giant vulture with a wingspan of 25 feet in San Bernadino County. See a 30-foot-long flying/slithering serpent/bird in Riverside County that matched the speed of a train. Tour the lost underground city connecting L.A. to Santa Monica Bay, where lizard people were dropped off by a prehistoric meteor shower. Unknown creatures may appear at any time, to startle, frighten, and in some cases devour unwary humans. While Bigfoot is known to many, California's other strange creatures giant birds and reptiles, lizard men, winged apes, man-sized fish, and salamanderswill surprise and fascinate you.

Read 20 chilling stories about shipwrecks and reportedly true encounters with ghosts, UFOs, bigfoot, and other unexplained phenomena in northeastern Minnesota. A haunting figure that roams a Duluth cemetery, a giant serpent that lurks beneath the surface of Lake Superior, a fighter jet that vanished while investigating an unidentified flying object-northeastern Minnesota seems to be a magnet for the paranormal, and this collection of 20 "ghost stories" presents the freakiest, most surprising tales of Minnesota's North Shore! Local authors William and Kathryn Mayo grew up in Minnesota-with a shared fascination for things that go bump in the night. As adults, the professional writers spent countless hours combing the region for the strangest and scariest run-ins with the unexplained. Horror fans will delight in these terrifying tales about haunted happenings, as well as harrowing reports of shipwrecks and animal attacks. They're based on reportedly true accounts, proving that Lake Superior is the setting for some of the most compelling ghostly tales ever told. The short stories are ideal for quick reading, and they are sure to captivate even the most reluctant of readers. Share them with friends around a campfire, or try them alone at home-if you dare.

This is an intelligent and insightful journey into the shadowy world of the 'man-beast' and whether they truly exist...If legend, and eyewitness accounts are to be believed, since ancient times we have shared our planet with various 'man-beasts'. From the Abominable Snowman to Zombies, these creatures have managed to both terrify and enthrall us in equal measure. Does the enduring fascination in movies and literature with vampires and werewolves have any basis in reality? Does Bigfoot really exist as an endangered species? Are aliens really abducting people? Are they real creatures or only expressions of our very human hopes and fears? In "Tracking the Man-Beasts", veteran paranormal investigator Joe Nickell explores the historical, geographical, and cultural reaches of various 'manimals' and other humanoid entities, bringing folkloric and iconographic evidence to bear on a category of mystery as old as humanity.

Featuring 30 chilling stories of real-life zombie encounters, this comprehensive and unsettling study draws upon traditions found throughout the world to dispel common depictions of zombies as lurching, flesh-eating automatons made popular by countless movies and books. This fascinating collection includes the stories of the Devil Baby of Bourbon Street, a monstrous creature complete with horns and tail that still lurks in the shadows of the Big Easy; Black Mama Courteaux and the great zombie war, involving hundreds of zombie soldiers battling for the supremacy of their queen; and the swamp child of Mama Cree, who still roams the bayous of Louisiana. In addition to the stories, a variety of zombie-related facts are explored, including ceremonies and initiations, zombies throughout history, sacred zombie and voodoo-related sites, and zombies and monsters of the Bible.

***A Best Book of the Year in HARPER'S BAZAAR, BBC, THE NEW YORKER, GLAMOUR, GAL-DEM and HUFFPOST*** 'Witty and thought-provoking' Stylist 'Blistering' Glamour 'Unusual, original and strikingly contemporary' Guardian 'Absolutely brilliant' Ruth Ozeki 'A gripping contemporary fable about embracing difference' The Times 'A wholly 21st century take on bloodsucking' Observer Lydia is hungry. She's always wanted to try sashimi and ramen, onigiri and udon - the food her Japanese father liked to eat - but the only thing she can digest is blood. Yet Lydia can't bring herself to prey on humans, and sourcing fresh pigs' blood in London - where she is living away from her Malaysian-British mother for the first time and trying to build a career as an artist - is much more difficult than she'd anticipated. If Lydia is to find a way to exist in the world, she must reconcile the conflicts within her - between her demon and human sides, her mixed ethnic heritage and her relationship with food, and, in turn, humans. Before any of this, however, she must eat. 'It's Kohda's exploration of Lydia's inner world, the pain and longing she feels as an outsider, that makes Woman, Eating such a delicious novel' New York Times Book Review 'A profound meditation on alienation and appetite, and what it means to be a young woman who experiences life at an acute level of intensity and awareness' LISA HARDING 'What Stoker did for the vampire at the end of the nineteenth century, Claire Kohda does for for it in our own era' TLS

Honourable mention for The American Folklore Society's Wayland D. Hand Prize for outstanding book combining historical and folkloristic methods and materials. Runner up for The Folklore Society's 2022 Katherine Briggs Award for most distinguished contribution to folklore studies. The little-studied and once much-feared boggart is a supernatural being from the north of England. Against the odds it survives today, both in place-names and in fantasy literature-not least the Harry Potter universe. This book pioneers two methods for collecting boggart folklore: first, the use of hundreds of thousands of words on the boggart from newly digitized ephemera; second, about 1,100 contemporary boggart memories from social media surveys and personal interviews relating to the interwar and postwar years. Combining this new data with an interdisciplinary approach involving dialectology, folklore, Victorian history, supernatural history, oral history, place-name studies and sociology, it is possible to reconstruct boggart beliefs, experiences and tales. The boggart was not, as we have been led to believe, a 'goblin'. Rather, 'boggart' was a much more general term encompassing all solitary supernatural beings, from killer mermaids to headless phantoms, from black dogs to shape-changing ghouls. The author shows how in the same period that such beliefs were dying out, folklorists continually misrepresented the boggart, and explores how the modern fantasy boggart was born of these misrepresentations. As well as offering a fresh reading of associated traditions, The Boggart demonstrates some of the ways in which recent advances in digitization can offer rich rewards.

Since 1968's "Night of the Living Dead," zombie culture has steadily limped and clawed its way into the center of popular culture. Today, zombies and vampires have taken over TV shows, comic books, cartoons, video games, and movies. "Zombies, Vampires, and Philosophy" drags the theories of famous philosophers like Socrates and Descartes into the territory of the undead, exploring questions like: Why do vampires and vegetarians share a similar worldview? Why is understanding zombies the key to health care reform? And what does "healthy in mind and body" mean for vampires and zombies? Answers to these questions and more await readers brave enough to make this fun, philosophical foray into the undead.

'A great storyteller' Madeline Miller, author of Circe In this powerful new collection, Charlotte Higgins foregrounds Greek mythology's most enduring heroines. Here are the myths of Heracles and Theseus, the Trojan war, Thebes and Argos and Athens. They are stories of love and desire, adventure and magic, destructive gods, helpless humans, fantastical creatures and resourceful witches. In this telling the female characters take centre stage as Athena, Helen, Circe, Penelope and others weave these stories into elaborate imagined tapestries. In Charlotte Higgins's thrilling new interpretation of these ancient stories, their tales combine to form a dazzling, sweeping epic of storytelling. With a series of original drawings by Chris Ofili.

Enter the world of "The Boogeyman" who abides in closets everywhere. Learn myths from around the world. Discover sleep disorders that cause dreams to blend into reality, portals, vortexes, and doorways to the boogeyman's realm. Study paranormal cases that hold families in fear. Meet famous serial murderers, known as boogeymen, who took the lives of children and paid a high price for their crimes. Shiver as you read legends about entities that travel from time and space to kidnap us while we sleep in our beds. Follow fictional boogeymen through terrifying rampages of murder and mayhem in the movies. Maybe you should keep your closet door closed as you read this ...

"Perfect for fans of Brent Weeks, George R. R. Martin, or David Gemmell . . . . The best traditional epic fantasy I have read in years." - Grimdark Magazine on Engines of Empire "An excellent start to a new series: fast-paced and engaging, with a properly epic setting and a cast of characters I look forward to seeing more of." - James Islington, author of The Shadow of What Was Lost on Engines of Empire From an unmissable voice in epic fantasy comes the second novel in a trilogy where guilds clash, magic fuels machines, and an empire begins a revolution. Torwyn burns as Sanctan Egelrath tightens his grip on power. The Draconate Ministry has gathered its forces, determined to eradicate the Guilds, but Rosomon Hawkspur still stands in their way. Her only hope could lay with Lancelin Jagdor, sent to gather allies in their struggle against the usurper. Can even the greatest warrior in Torwyn hope to succeed with so many adversaries determined to stop him? Tyreta returns home with newfound strength and mysterious sorcerous abilities, only to discover it is not the land she left behind. She will have to call upon her untested powers to survive when she embarks on a mission that could turn the tide of war. Conall, trapped in a dangerous land, has his own enemies to defeat before he can hope to escape and join the conflict that threatens his family. Even if he succeeds, he must overcome the demons that threaten from within or face damnation. Though Rosomon is vastly outnumbered, and her family lost, she is determined to strike back against her enemies. But saving her homeland might prove an impossible task. "Epic fantasy fans listen up: This is the good stuff. Highly recommended." -Kirkus (starred review) on Engines of Empire For more from R. S. Ford, check out: Age of Uprising: Engines of Empire Engines of Chaos

The Book of the Magical Mythical Unicorn is an anthology of esoteric knowledge, myths, and legends about the most magical of beasts: the mythical unicorn. Utilizing a global lens, the authors delve into the critical importance of the timeless unicorn across multiple cultures and spiritual traditions to display the transformative energy of the creature and its larger effect on humanity's consciousness. No other mythological creature is enjoying as rapid an ascent into the public eye and consciousness as the magical unicorn. The unicorn is now a fixture in contemporary pop culture. People young and old are captivated by the magical legends and mythology of the unicorn. This book explores a diverse assortment of tales about the unicorn, ranging from its presence in the Garden of Eden, its foretelling of the births of Confucius and the Buddha, its protection of India from the wrath of Genghis Khan's army, and its depiction within heraldry, including in the Scottish and British thrones. It features in-depth sections on the use of the unicorn's horn for detecting poisons and healing, the horn's connection to the opening of the third eye, and the unicorn's depictions in ancient Sumeria, Egypt, and many other early civilizations.

The moon has confounded scientists for many years. It does not obey the known rules of astrophysics and there is no theory of its origin that explains the known facts - in fact it should not really be there. When researching the ancient system of geometry and measurement used in the Stone Age that they discovered in their previous book, Civilization One, the authors discovered to their great surprise that the system also works perfectly on the Moon On further investigation, they found a consistent sequence of beautiful integer numbers when looking at every major aspect of the Moon - no pattern emerges for any other planet or moon in the solar system. For example, the Moon revolves at exactly one hundredth of the speed that the Earth turns on its axis; the Moon is exactly 400 times smaller than the Sun and is precisely 400 times closer to the Earth. They also discovered that the Moon possesses little or no heavy metals and has no core, in fact many specialists suspect that the Moon is hollow. If our Moon did not exist - nor would we. Experts are now agreed that higher life only developed on Earth because the Moon is exactly what it is and where it is When all of the facts are dispassionately reviewed, it becomes unreasonable to cling to the idea that the Moon is a natural object. The only question that remains is who built it? Thought-provoking - Daily Mail.

From the earliest days of oral history to the present, the vampire myth persists among mankind's deeply-rooted fears. This encyclopedia, with entries ranging from "Abchanchu" to "Zmeus," includes nearly 600 different species of historical and mythological vampires, fully described and detailed.

From pre-Columbian legends to modern-day eyewitness accounts, this comprehensive guide covers the history, sightings and lore surrounding the most mysterious monsters in America--including Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, and more.
Bigfoot, the chupacabra, and thunderbirds aren't just figments of our overactive imaginations--according to thousands of eyewitnesses, they exist, in every corner of the United States. Throughout America's history, shocked onlookers have seen unbelievable creatures of every stripe--from sea serpents to apelike beings, giant bats to monkeymen--in every region.
Author, investigator, and creature expert Linda S. Godfrey brings the same fearless reporting she lent to "Real Wolfmen" to this essential guide, using historical record, present-day news reports, and eyewitness interviews to examine this hidden menagerie of America's homegrown beasts.

'A NEW, ACTION-PACKED, ENCHANTINGLY FUN SERIES' Booklist From New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne comes the start of a hugely entertaining new series set in the world of the Iron Druid Chronicles - about an eccentric master of magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland . . . Al MacBharrais is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white moustache, an appreciation for craft cocktails - and a most unique magical talent. He can cast spells with magically enchanted ink and he uses his gifts to protect our world from rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae. But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse. But when his latest apprentice, Gordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective - while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death seems to always follow Al. Investigating his apprentice's death will take him through Scotland's magical underworld, and he'll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he's to survive. Packed to the brim with mystery, magic and mayhem, Ink & Sigil is perfect for fans of Rivers of London and Rotherweird. Praise for Ink & Sigil: 'You are in for a great treat. Ink and Sigil is great escape reading, and I loved every word' Charlaine Harris, New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse books 'Will transport you right in the Scottish realm of fey and fairies . . . The magic is both familiar and new, believable and extraordinary' Charlie Holmberg, author of The Paper Magician 'Vividly blends Kevin Hearne's unique take on urban fantasy with the grit of Scottish magic' Adam Christopher, author of Empire State 'Ink & Sigil is filled to the brim with the Hearne-anigans we've all grown to love. Fans of ribald humor, literary puns and the odd hobgoblin will be enchanted by this paranormal mystery' Jaye Wells, author of the Prospero's War series

The magical bestseller: a classic story to read again and again Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize Winner of the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year Shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award Shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize Beautiful, thrilling and magical, Sunday Times bestselling-author Kiran Millwood Hargrave's debut novel has all the makings of a modern classic. 'Absolutely loved it from start to finish' TOM FLETCHER 'I read it, I loved it' MALORIE BLACKMAN 'Kiran Millwood Hargrave creates a spellbinding world of magic, myth and adventure' EMMA CARROLL Forbidden to leave her island, Isabella dreams of the faraway lands her cartographer father once mapped. When her friend disappears, she volunteers to guide the search. The world beyond the walls is a monster-filled wasteland - and beneath the dry rivers and smoking mountains, a fire demon is stirring from its sleep. Soon, following her map, her heart and an ancient myth, Isabella discovers the true end of her journey: to save the island itself. A beautifully written, multi award-winning story of friendship, discovery, myths and magic for any age - perfect for fans of Philip Pullman, Frances Hardinge or Katherine Rundell From the author of Julia and the Shark and The Mercies, chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club Set in an extensive and stunningly-imagined parallel world imbued with magical realism A gorgeous gift for readers young and old - will stay with you long after reading

Bigfoot sightings have been reported in every state except Hawaii. Interest in this creature, which many believe to be as mythical as a leprechaun, is as strong today as ever, with the wildly popular show Finding Bigfoot persisting on the Animal Planet network and references to bigfoot appearing throughout popular culture. What is it about bigfoot that causes some people to devote a chunk of their lives to finding one? In Monster Trek, Joe Gisondi brings to life the celebrities in bigfoot culture: people such as Matt Moneymaker, Jeff Meldrum, and Cliff Barackman, who explore remote wooded areas of the country for weeks at a time and spend thousands of dollars on infrared imagers, cameras, and high-end camping equipment. Pursuing the answer to why these seekers of bigfoot do what they do, Gisondi brings to the reader their most interesting-and in many cases, harrowing-expeditions. Gisondi travels to eight locations across the country, trekking into swamps, mountains, state parks, and remote woods with people in search of bigfoot as well as fame, fortune, adventure, and shared camaraderie. Many of the people who look for bigfoot, however, go counter to stereotypes and include teachers, engineers, and bankers. Some are private and guarded about their explorations, seeking solitude during a deeply personal quest. While there are those who might arguably be labeled "crazy," Gisondi discovers that the bigfoot research network is far bigger and more diverse than he ever imagined.

Monsters. Real or imagined, literal or metaphorical, they have exerted a dread fascination on the human mind for many centuries. They attract and repel us, intrigue and terrify us, and in the process reveal something deeply important about the darker recesses of our collective psyche. Stephen Asma's On Monsters is a wide-ranging cultural and conceptual history of monsters-how they have evolved over time, what functions they have served for us, and what shapes they are likely to take in the future. Asma begins with a letter from Alexander the Great in 326 B.C. detailing an encounter in India with an "enormous beast-larger than an elephantthree ominous horns on its forehead." From there the monsters come fast and furious-Behemoth and Leviathan, Gog and Magog, the leopard-bear-lion beast of Revelation, Satan and his demons, Grendel and Frankenstein, circus freaks and headless children, right up to the serial killers and terrorists of today and the post-human cyborgs of tomorrow. Monsters embody our deepest anxieties and vulnerabilities, Asma argues, but they also symbolize the mysterious and incoherent territory just beyond the safe enclosures of rational thought. Exploring philosophical treatises, theological tracts, newspapers, pamphlets, films, scientific notebooks, and novels, Asma unpacks traditional monster stories for the clues they offer about the inner logic of an era's fears and fascinations. In doing so, he illuminates the many ways monsters have become repositories for those human qualities that must be repudiated, externalized, and defeated. Asma suggests that how we handle monsters reflects how we handle uncertainty, ambiguity, insecurity. And in a world that is daily becoming less secure and more ambiguous, he shows how we might learn to better live with monsters-and thereby avoid becoming one.

Taking Mary Shelley’s novel as its point of departure, this collection of essays considers how her creation has not only survived but thrived over 200 years of media history, in music, film, literature, visual art and other cultural forms. In studying monstrous figures torn from the deepest and darkest imaginings of the human psyche, the essays in this book deploy the latest analytical approaches, drawn from such fields as musicology, critical race studies, feminist studies, queer theory and psychoanalysis. The book interweaves the manifold sounds, sights and stories of monstrosity into a conversation that sheds light on important social issues, aesthetic trends and cultural concerns that are as alive today as they were when Shelley’s landmark novel was published 200 years ago.

The perfect gift book for any unicorn fanatic. Embrace your inner unicorn with this pocket-sized gift book. Featuring positive affirmations, enchanting tales, inspirational quotes and advice, this book will bring a sprinkling of unicorn magic in your life or the life of a loved one. Covering everything unicorn, this is the ultimate gift book for every unicorn fanatic. SAMPLE QUOTES: 'Always be yourself - unless you can be a unicorn. Then, always be a unicorn.' Unknown 'Be a unicorn in a field full of horses.' Unknown

A brand new book in the bestselling NAUGHTIEST UNICORN series – the funniest unicorn books EVER! The perfect gift for Bonfire Night and Diwali – and for readers of 7+ and fans of The Worst Witch, Bad Nana and Pamela Butchart. it’s time for some firework festival fun at Unicorn School! But there’s only one problem… the fireworks are missing! But – this being Unicorn School – the fireworks are very special and magical, created by mysterious creatures who live behind the Fearsome Forest. It’s time for Mira, Dave and the gang to go on an adventure, find out what is going on and make sure that the sparkling, colourful, fizzing firework fun is returned to the festival with a BANG! Pip Bird is the pseudonym for a small group of brilliant and funny children’s book writers. They all believe in magic and dream of having a Unicorn Best Friend Forever. The Naughtiest Unicorn series: The Naughtiest Unicorn The Naughtiest Unicorn at Sports Day The Naughtiest Unicorn and the School Disco The Naughtiest Unicorn at Christmas The Naughtiest Unicorn on a School Trip The Naughtiest Unicorn on the Beach The Naughtiest Unicorn and the Spooky Surprise The Naughtiest Unicorn on Holiday The Naughtiest Unicorn in a Winter Wonderland The Naughtiest Unicorn on a Treasure Hunt

In A COMPLETE GUIDE TO FAIRIES AND MAGICAL BEINGS, Cassandra Eason explores the enduring popularity of fairies and nature spirits across all ages and cultures and the history of fairies across a range of countries, cultures and faiths. She examines the main types of fairies from nature spirits, devas, earth spirits and elementals, to trolls, goblins and djinns; looks at the evidence for the existence of fairies and famous case histories of fairy sightings, explores how fairies have been a potent source of inspiration in myth and literature from Shakespeare to Peter Pan and what this tells us about their symbolic power; explores fairies, nature spirits and healing, including the discovery and creation of flower and tree essences; examines ways to access the fairy world including drawing on the energies present in ley lines, standing stones and sacred wells; and provides exercises and rituals to help you unlock the power of fairies to transform your own life and develop your spirituality.