Over the past ten years, the discovery of extrasolar planets has opened a new field of astronomy, and this area of research is rapidly growing, from both the observational and theoretical point of view. The presence of many giant exoplanets in the close vicinity of their star shows that these newly discovered planetary systems are very different from the solar system. New theoretical models are being developed in order to understand their formation scenarios, and new observational methods are being implemented to increase the sensitivity of exoplanet detections. In the present book, the authors address the question of planetary systems from all aspects. Starting from the facts (the detection of more than 300 extraterrestrial planets), they first describe the various methods used for these discoveries and propose a synthetic analysis of their global properties. They then consider the observations of young stars and circumstellar disks and address the case of the solar system as a specific example, different from the newly discovered systems. Then the study of planetary systems and of exoplanets is presented from a more theoretical point of view. The book ends with an outlook to future astronomical projects, and a description of the search for life on exoplanets. This book addresses students and researchers who wish to better understand this newly expanding field of research.

Hungry Souls recounts stories and accounts from earthly visitations from the dead in Purgatory. Includes images from the Purgatory Museum in Rome. Riveting.

In El Nino Fidencio: Libro de las Sagradas Escrituras, anthropologist Dr. Antonio "Tony" Zavaleta has painstakingly prepared the 71 original scriptures left by Jose Fidencio Sintora Constantino, El Nino Fidencio (1898-1938) to his followers. The Escrituras are the scriptural teachings of El Nino when he walked the earth and are also the basis of a core-belief system imparted to by the Nino Fidencio known as Fidencismo. The early-era Escrituras begin in 1925 and continue until El Nino's death in 1938. They were handwritten by his followers as they intently listened to him speak. Since they have never been published before, the Sagradas Escrituras represent the foundation for Fidencio's belief system. This is the first time that they are available to be studied by his followers and others.

"An illuminating contribution to scholarship on the vampire figure."-Slavic Review Even before Bram Stoker immortalized Transylvania as the homeland of his fictional Count Dracula, the figure of the vampire was inextricably tied to Eastern Europe in the popular imagination. Drawing on a wealth of previously neglected sources, this book offers a fascinating account of how vampires-whose various incarnations originally emerged from folk traditions from all over the world-became so strongly identified with Eastern Europe. It demonstrates that the modern conception of the vampire was born in the crucible of the Enlightenment, embodying a mysterious, Eastern otherness that stood opposed to Western rationality. From the Prologue: From Original Sin to Eternal Life For a broad contemporary public, the vampire has become a star, a media sensation from Hollywood. Bestselling authors such as Bram Stoker, Anne Rice and Stephenie Meyer continue to fire the imaginations of young and old alike, and bloodsuckers have achieved immortality through films like Dracula, Interview with a Vampireand Twilight. It is no wonder that, in the teenage bedrooms of our globalized world, vampires even steal the show from Harry Potter. They have long since been assigned individual personalities and treated with sympathy. They may possess superhuman powers, but they are also burdened by their immortality and have to learn to come to terms with their craving for blood. Whereas the Southeast European vampire, discovered in the 1730s, underwent an Americanization and domestication in the media landscape of the twentieth century, the creole zombies that first became known through the cheap novels and horror films of the 1920s still continue to serve as brainless horror figures. Do bloodsuckers really exist and should we really be afraid of the dead? These are the questions that I seek to tackle, following the wishes of my daughter, who was ten when I started this project.

For most of us, most of the time, the roads we travel are largely forgotten once we get to where we're going. By day, they usually reveal a familiar, real-living-world. But then darkness comes. Haunted Highways brings together more than twenty of the spookiest stories ever of ghosts, hauntings, and supernatural events on or near America's highways and byways. There are the usual suspects-the creepy hitchhiker, the eerie lights along a lonely stretch of road-as well as many you never dared to imagine. Each of the book's twenty-five chapters ratchets up the suspense, from an introduction that sets the scene and draws you in, to a haunting climax. Whether the actor Telly Savalas's haunting encounter with a long-dead good Samaritan on a rural Long Island road, or the Ghost Riders in the Sky who appear over the plains of Texas, these stories will bring delightful fright to readers young and old.

An Investigator's Guide to Magical Beings that takes you on a harrowing journey into the realm of monsters and the reality of the impossible. Monsters brings together folklore, Western magical philosophy and field experience. This book is required reading for both active and armchair monster hunters. Between these covers you will find a chilling collection of fiendish facts and folklore such as why true vampires are the least attractive, five different kinds of ghosts, the magical origins of the werewolf legends, hidden connections between faery lore and UFOs, and where dragons are found today. This is an essential field guide to monsters from angels to zombies with advice on monster investigation and magical self-defence. This latest edition not only has a new chapter on tulpas, but the chapters on vampires and chimeras are significantly expanded with new material. Plus, the section on monster investigation has been thoroughly updated with details on new technology and the approach of the media to monster hunting.

Join Dolores Cannon, and go exploring! Join Dolores on a voyage through time and space into the world of the strange and unusual and unfathomable, as hypnotherapist Dolores Cannon's "Convoluted Universe" series continues. Suspend belief as Dolores explores worlds and dimensions where dreams become reality and reality is only a dream. Readers should open their minds to a myriad of possibilities that have previously only dwelt in the imagination. The book includes more mind-bending concepts for those with open minds and eager curiosities.

'Wow! [This book] has it all - a terrific new character, devious twists, plenty of action and one hell of an ending' JONATHAN MABERRY, New York Times bestselling author of Ink and Rage Angels walk among us, but so do other unearthly beings in this brand-new series by the international bestselling author of the Anita Blake and Merry Gentry series. Meet Detective Zaniel Havelock, a man with the special ability to communicate directly with angels. A former trained Angel speaker, he devoted his life to serving both the celestial beings and his fellow humans with his gift, but a terrible betrayal compelled him to leave that life behind. Now he's a cop who is still working on the side of angels. But where there are angels, there are also demons. There's no question that there's evil at work when he's called in to examine the murder scene of a college student - but is it just the evil that one human being can do to another, or is it something more? When demonic possession is a possibility, even angelic protection can only go so far. Now the race is on to stop a killer before he finds his next victim, as Zaniel is forced to confront his own very personal demons, and the past he never truly left behind.

In Secret Life, Professor David M. Jacobs of Temple University takes us into the private world of those abducted by aliens, letting them describe in their own words what it is like to be abducted. Based on interviews with sixty individuals and more than 300 independently corroborated accounts, Secret Life presents the most complete and accurate picture of alien abductions ever compiled. Dr. Jacobs takes the reader on a minute-by-minute journey through a typical abduction experience and describes in detail the bizarre physical, mental and reproductive procedures that abductees claim have been administered by small alien beings. Jacobs draws from these interviews a profoundly unsettling reason behind the abductions: aliens are conducting a complex reproductive experiment involving the conception, gestation. or incubation of human and alien hybrid beings.

What begins as a test of bravery or a sleepover activity-chanting in front of a mirror, riding an elevator alone, taking pictures in the dark-can become something . . . dangerous. This compendium collects the most spine-chilling games based on urban legends from around the world. Centuriesold games such as Bloody Mary and Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board are detailed alongside new games from the internet age, like The Answer Man, a sinister voice that whispers secrets to whomever manages to contact him with a cellphone. With step-by-step instructions, historical context, and the stakes for each game, this black handbook is the ideal gift for anyone looking for a late-night thrill-but beware who, or what, may come out to play.

Oklahoma's ghostly legends are as varied as its history and culture. The state boasts hauntings by ancient Native Americans, Spanish miners, soldiers, outlaws, ranchers, performers, students, repairmen, and many more. Oklahoma's stately mansions, theaters, and old hotels still have previous residents dwelling in a spectral form. One parallel that may be surprising is Oklahoma's uncanny number of headless ghosts. Haunted Oklahoma explores King Tut's Tomb on the Arkansas, Mr. Apple's Mausoleum and the Spooksville Triangle to name just a few. Eerie occurrences, spooky events, unsolved mysteries, and terrifying specters make for a scary journey through Oklahoma's haunted past.

The mysterious and often violent history of Illinois has made the state a haven for restless spirits. This volume explores the supernatural side of the Prairie State, with stories on the horrors of an old slave house, the numerous spirits of Alton's McPike Mansion, the cemetery where the dead walk, the Spring Valley Vampire, the ghosts of the Bartonville Asylum, Chicago's famous Resurrection Mary, and the spirit world of Abraham Lincoln.

Paul Hill was a well-respected NASA scientist when, in the early 1950s, he had a UFO sighting. Soon after, he built the first flying platform and was able to duplicate the UFO's tilt-to-control maneuvers. Official policy, however, prevented him from proclaiming his findings. "I was destined," says Hill, "to be as unidentified as the flying objects."

For the next twenty-five years, Hill acted as an unofficial clearinghouse at NASA, collecting and analyzing sightings' reports for physical properties, propulsion possibilities, dynamics, etc. To refute claims that UFOs defy the laws of physics, he had to make "technological sense... of the unconventional object."

After his retirement from NASA, Hill finally completed his remarkable analysis. This book, published posthumously, presents his findings that UFOs "obey, not defy, the laws of physics." Vindicating his own sighting and thousands of others, he proves that UFO technology is not only explainable, but attainable.

The first definitive work on werewolfery, this book was written by a venerable author of occult studies. Unsurpassed in its sheer scope and depth, it employs a theological and philosophical approach, incorporating an extensive range of historical documentation and folklore. Summers examines the supernatural practice of shapeshifting, notes the finer distinctions between werewolfery and lycanthropy, and explores the differences of opinion on exactly how ordinary humans are transformed into creatures of "unbridled cruelty, bestial ferocity, and ravening hunger." His Gothic style, rich in fascinating examples and anecdotes, offers compelling fare for lovers of esoteric lore.

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.

I didn t believe in time travel or teleportation until it happened to me.

I m Bruce Gernon, and I flew through the heart of the Bermuda Triangle before I d even heard the term. Skeptics have dismissed the Triangle as a nonmystery, but they weren t in my airplane when the fog surrounded my craft and I leaped ahead 100 miles. I documented what happened and memorized every detail of that flight.

Now I m ready to explain that there is no Bermuda Triangle! Instead, there is a continuing mystery that has resulted in thousands of disappearances of crafts and loss of life over decades and centuries: a phenomenon I call electronic fog. In Beyond the Bermuda Triangle, Rob MacGregor and I present multiple cases of pilots and others who have experienced electronic fog in the air, in the water, and on land. We also examine UFO and USO cases and their possible relationship with space/time warps. Among the fascinating topics we explore:

- Time travel and teleportation.

-Lost crafts, including Flight 19.

- The Dragon s Triangle.

- The Underwater Area 51.

- The man who is building a warp drive.

- A remote viewer who takes on the Triangle.

In 1974 a message was beamed towards the stars by the giant Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico, a brief blast of radio waves designed to alert extraterrestrial civilisations to our existence. Of course, we don't know if such civilisations really exist. For the past six decades a small cadre of researchers have been on a quest to find out, as part of SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. So far, SETI has found no evidence of extraterrestrial life, but with more than a hundred billion stars in our Galaxy alone to search, the odds of quick success are stacked against us. The silence from the stars is prompting some researchers to transmit more messages into space, in an effort to provoke a response from any civilisations out there that might otherwise be staying quiet. However, the act of transmitting raises troubling questions about the process of contact. In The Contact Paradox, author Keith Cooper looks at how far SETI has come since its modest beginnings, and where it is going, by speaking to the leading names in the field and beyond. SETI forces us to confront our nature in a way that we seldom have before - where did we come from, where are we going, and who are we in the cosmic context of things? This book considers the assumptions that we make in our search for extraterrestrial life, and explores how those assumptions can teach us about ourselves.