Book picks similar to
Stranger Than Science by Frank Edwards
non-fiction
science
paranormal
history
Bigfoot, Yeti, and the Last Neanderthal: A Geneticist's Search for Modern Apemen
Bryan Sykes - 2014
Is the yeti just a phantasm of our imagination, or is it a real creature? A survivor from our own savage ancestry? This is the mystery that Bryan Sykes set out to unlock.Three hair samples from the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan are the cause of the investigation. The hair samples were from the miogi, the Bhutanese yeti, that legendary creature of the high snows that has haunted the imagination of travellers for centuries. Professor Sykes was asked to identify the hairs using DNA analysis. The miogi hairs did not surrender their secrets easily, but eventually two were identified as known species of bear. The third remained a mystery. Ten years later two scientific developments caused the migoi to enter Professor Sykes' thoughts again. The first, a purely technical improvement, meant that it was now possible to get a very good DNA signal from a single hair. The second development came from the surprising conclusion of an article published in 2010. This paper contained the details of the DNA sequence from another human species, Homo neanderthalensis, the Neanderthals, widely thought to be extinct. One of the many theories to account for the yeti legend is that there were small groups of Neanderthals that had managed to survive until recent times, or maybe even until the present day. If so, would it be possible to detect recent interbreeding between our own species and Neanderthals in the genomes of indigenous people living in remote regions. Locations where the yeti legends are strongest and the sightings most numerous?Professor Sykes set a goal to locate and analyse as many hair samples as possible, with links the yeti. In doing so Professor Sykes found himself entering a strange world of mystery and sensationalism, fraud and obsession and even the supernatural. Protected by the ruthless vigour of genetic analysis he was able to listen to the stories of the yeti without having to form an opinion. The only opinion that mattered was the DNA.Two years on the project is almost complete, and there have been some surprising and significant discoveries. The yeti remains an enigma. There is something out there. But what?
Lord Darcy
Randall Garrett - 1966
where magic is a science and science is an art... where the great detective Lord Darcy and the sorcerer Sean O'Lochlainn combine occult skills and brilliant deductions to bring criminals to the King's Justice and thwart those who plot against the Realm. Welcome to a world where murder may be committed by magic most foul, but crime still does not pay - as long as Lord Darcy is on the case.
I Am Legend and Other Stories
Richard Matheson - 1954
Every other man, woman, and child on Earth has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood.By day, he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn.How long can one man survive in a world of vampires?I am legend --Buried talents --The near departed --Prey --Witch war --Dance of the dead --Dress of white silk --Mad house --The funeral --From shadowed places --Person to person.
Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience
Shaun Usher - 2013
Kennedy, Groucho Marx, Charles Dickens, Katharine Hepburn, Mick Jagger, Steve Martin, Clementine Churchill, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut and many more.
Amphigorey
Edward Gorey - 1972
As always, Gorey's painstakingly cross-hatched pen and ink drawings are perfectly suited to his oddball verse and prose. The first book of 15, "The Unstrung Harp," describes the writing process of novelist Mr. Clavius Frederick Earbrass: "He must be mad to go on enduring the unexquisite agony of writing when it all turns out drivel." In "The Listing Attic," you'll find a set of quirky limericks such as "A certain young man, it was noted, / Went about in the heat thickly coated; / He said, 'You may scoff, / But I shan't take it off; / Underneath I am horribly bloated.' "Many of Gorey's tales involve untimely deaths and dreadful mishaps, but much like tragic Irish ballads with their perky rhythms and melodies, they come off as strangely lighthearted. "The Gashlycrumb Tinies," for example, begins like this: "A is for AMY who fell down the stairs, B is for BASIL assaulted by bears," and so on. An eccentric, funny book for either the uninitiated or diehard Gorey fans.Contains: The Unstrung Harp, The Listing Attic, The Doubtful Guest, The Object Lesson, The Bug Book, The Fatal Lozenge, The Hapless Child, The Curious Sofa, The Willowdale Handcar, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Insect God, The West Wing, The Wuggly Ump, The Sinking Spell, and The Remembered Visit.
Bleak History
John Shirley - 2009
Status: Civilian. Paranormal skills: Powerful. Able to manipulate AS energies and communicate with UBEs (e.g. "ghosts" and other entities). Psychological profile: Extremely independent, potentially dangerous. Caution is urged....As far as Gabriel Bleak is concerned, talking to the dead is just another way of making a living. It gives him the competitive edge to survive as a bounty hunter, or "skip tracer," in the psychic minefield known as New York City. Unfortunately, his gift also makes him a prime target. A top-secret division of Homeland Security has been monitoring the recent emergence of human supernaturals, with Gabriel Bleak being the strongest on record. If they control Gabriel, they'll gain access to the Hidden -- the entity-based energy field that connects all life on Earth. But Gabriel's got other ideas. With a growing underground movement called the Shadow Community -- and an uneasy alliance of spirits, elementals, and other beings -- Gabriel's about to face the greatest demonic uprising since the Dark Ages. But this time, history is not going to repeat itself. This time, the future is Bleak. Gabriel Bleak.
Nine Tomorrows
Isaac Asimov - 1959
Nine stories: Profession; The Feeling of Power; The Dying Night; I'm in Marsport without Hilda; The Gentle Vultures; All the Troubles of the World; Spell my Name with an S; The Last Question (one of Asimov's most often requested stories); and The Ugly Little Boy (Asimov's own personal favorite).
Haunted Ohio III: Still More Ghostly Tales from the Buckeye State
Chris Woodyard - 1994
Book by Woodyard, Chris
The Classic Fairy Tales
Maria Tatar - 1998
The Classic Fairy Tales focuses on six tale types: "Little Red Riding Hood," "Beauty and the Beast," "Snow White," "Cinderella," "Bluebeard," and "Hansel and Gretel," and presents multicultural variants and sophisticated literary rescriptings. Also reprinted are tales by Hans Christian Andersen and Oscar Wilde."Criticism" gathers twelve essays that interpret aspects of fairy tales, including their social origins, historical evolution, psychological drama, gender issues, and national identities.A Selected Bibliography is included.
The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai
Matthew Meyer - 2012
From the mists of Japanese prehistory, through the medieval ages, up to today, the bestiary of Japanese folklore contains a wide range of monsters. There are women with extra mouths in the backs of their heads, water goblins whose favorite food is human anus, elephant-dragons which feed solely on bad dreams, dead baby zombies, talking foxes, fire-breathing chickens, animated blobs of rotten flesh that run about the streets at night... "The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons" is a massive illustrated bestiary choc full of yokai. It features over one hundred traditional Japanese monsters, each one beautifully illustrated in full color by yokai artist Matthew Meyer. Each yokai is described in detail, including origins, habitat, diet, and legend, based on translations from centuries-old Japanese texts. Read this book, and the next time you watch an anime or a Godzilla movie, you'll be able to recognize their folkloric ancestors dating back centuries. You'll find out about all of the strange mythical animals you can see at temples and shrines, on beer can labels, and even on Japanese money. Meet the predecessors to Pokemon, Power Rangers, scary J-horror girls, and all of the strange creatures that pop up in Japanese video games. "Night Parade" will turn anyone with a passing interest in Japanese folklore into a full-blown yokai expert!
Monsters You Should Know
Emma SanCartier - 2018
Illustrator Emma SanCartier captures the bizarre and hilarious elements of 17 monsters from around the world in a light, tongue-in-cheek tone, from the Japanese dream-eater Baku and the Persian carnivorous unicorn Shadhavar to the Eastern-European Shurale, a literal tickle monster. Packaged in a textured three-piece case and illustrated in lush watercolor, Monsters You Should Know is a perfect primer for the many strange, frightening, and compelling things that go bump in the night.
Ask a Historian: 50 Surprising Answers to Things You Always Wanted to Know
Greg Jenner - 2021
Responding to 50 genuine questions from the public, Greg whisks you off on an entertaining tour through the ages, revealing the best and most surprising stories, facts, and historical characters from the past. Bouncing through a wide range of subjects - from ancient jokebooks, African empires, and bizarre tales of medicinal cannibalism, to the invention of meringues, mirrors, and menstrual pads - Ask A Historian spans the Stone Age to the Swinging Sixties, and offers up a deliciously amusing and informative smorgasbord of historical curiosities, devoured one morsel at a time.
Irish Tales of Terror
Peter HainingElliott O'Donnell - 1970
22 bewitching stories of Irish magic and mystery. An exceptional anthology of folklore and fright. Features an all-star cast: James Joyce, H.P. Lovecraft, W.B. Yeats, Daniel Defoe, Ray Bradbury, Oscar Wilde, et al. Covers the dark and supernatural from the 12th century to the present day.CONTENTS"The Legend of Fin M'Coul" by William Carleton"The Fairies' Revenge" by Sinead de Valera"The Coonian Ghost" by Shane Leslie"The Friendly Demon" by Daniel Defoe"Hell Fire" by James Joyce"The House In The Laurels" by William Hope Hodgson"The Man-Wolf" by Giraldus Cambrensis"Witches, Fairies and Leprechauns" by Lady Wilde"Wicked Captain Walshawe" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu"A Wild Night In Galway" by Ray Bradbury"Teig O'Kane and the Corpse" by Anonymous"The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde"The Banshee's Warning" by Charlotte Riddell"Julia Cahill's Curse" by George Moore"The Haunted Spinney" by Elliott O'Donnell"The Moon-Bog" by H.P. Lovecraft"The Parricide's Tale" by Charles Robert Maturin"The Crucifixion of the Outcast" by William Butler Yeats"The Dead Smile" by Francis Marion Crawford"The Soul Cages" by T. Crofton Croker"The Man From Kilsheelan" by A.E. Coppard"Witch Wood" by Lord Dunsany
Powers of Detection: Stories of Mystery & Fantasy
Dana StabenowDonna Andrews - 2004
GreenLovely - John StraleyThe Price - Anne BishopFairy Dust - Charlaine HarrisThe Judgement - Anne PerryThe Sorcerer's Assassin - Sharon ShinnThe Boy Who Chased Seagulls - Michael ArmstrongPalimpsest - Laura Anne GilmanThe Death of Clickclickwhistle - Mike DOoganCairene Dawn - Jay CaselbergJustice is a Two-edged Sword - Dana StabenowAbout the Authors
Japanese Ghost Stories
Lafcadio Hearn - 2019
Here are all the phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore: 'rokuro-kubi', whose heads separate from their bodies at night; 'jikininki', or flesh-eating goblins; and terrifying faceless 'mujina' who haunt lonely neighbourhoods. Lafcadio Hearn, a master storyteller, drew on traditional Japanese folklore, infused with memories of his own haunted childhood in Ireland, to create these chilling tales. They are today regarded in Japan as classics in their own right.