A Lycanthropy Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture presents an overall examination of the history of the werewolf in Western culture, medicine, myth, and literature.TABLE OF CONTENTSIllustrationsContributorsPrefaceAcknowledmentsIntroductionsection I: Medical Cases, Diagnoses, DescriptionsSection II: Trial Records, Historical Accounts, SightingsSection II: Philosophical and Theological Approaches to MetamorphosisSection IV: Critical essays on LycanthropySection V: Myth and LEgendsSection VI: AllegoryBibliographyIndex

    This collection goes back to the roots of the occult detective story. The earliest story in this collection—Fitz-James O'Brien's "The Pot of Tulips"—originally appeared in 1855. Rare stories by Mary Fortune and Bayard Taylor, famous tales from the end of the 19th century by E. and H. Heron, plus 20th Century stories by Robert E. Howard, Edmond Hamilton, Manly Wade Wellman, Seabury Quinn, and many more round out the book...29 classic tales in all!Included are:THE POT OF TULIPS, by Fitz-James O'BrienWHAT WAS IT? by Fitz-James O'BrienTHE HAUNTED SHANTY, by Bayard TaylorDr. Martin Hesselius in "GREEN TEA," by Joseph Sheridan Le FanuMR JUSTICE HARBOTTLE, by J. Sheridan Le FanuTHE UNINHABITED HOUSE, by Mrs. J. H. RiddellTHE PHANTOM HEARSE, by Mary FortuneAYLMER VANCE AND THE VAMPIRE, by Alice and Claude AskewTHE DOOR INTO INFINITY, by Edmond HamiltonCarnacki in "THE GATEWAY OF THE MONSTER," by William Hope HodgsonCarnacki in "THE HOUSE AMONG THE LAURELS," by William Hope HodgsonCarnacki in "THE WHISTLING ROOM," by William Hope HodgsonCarnacki in "THE HORSE OF THE INVISIBLE," by William Hope HodgsonCarnacki in "THE SEARCHER OF THE END HOUSE," by William Hope HodgsonCarnacki in "THE THING INVISIBLE," by William Hope HodgsonFlaxman Low in "THE STORY OF SADDLER'S CROFT," by E. and H. HeronFlaxman Low in "THE STORY OF BAELBROW," by E. and H. HeronFlaxman Low in "THE STORY OF YAND MANOR HOUSE," by E. and H. HeronFlaxman Low in "THE STORY OF KONNOR OLD HOUSE," by E. and H. HeronFlaxman Low in "THE STORY OF THE SPANIARDS, HAMMERSMITH," by E. and H. HeronFlaxman Low in "THE STORY OF SEVENS HALL," by E. and H. HeronSteve Harrison in "FANGS OF GOLD," by Robert E. HowardSteve Harrison in "THE TOMB'S SECRET," by Robert E. HowardSteve Harrison in "NAMES IN THE BLACK BOOK," by Robert E. HowardSteve Harrison in "GRAVEYARD RATS," by Robert E. HowardTHE HALF-HAUNTED, by Manly Wade WellmanJules de Grandin in "THE JEST OF WARBURG TANTAVUL," by Seabury QuinnJules de Grandin in "PLEDGED TO THE DEAD," by Seabury QuinnJules de Grandin in "INCENSE OF ABOMINATION," by Seabury QuinnAnd don't forget to search this ebook store for "Wildside Megapack" to see more great entries in this great series, covering mysteries, ghost stories, westerns, science fiction, historical, and much, much more!

    Contains stories such as "The Goose Girl", "Hansel and Grethel", "Cinderella", "The Golden Goose", "The Frog Prince" and many more.

    However, when ten thousand birds fall dead from the New Mexican sky, the woman he loves, an ornithologist with severe facial deformity, begs him to decipher the cause. He grudgingly agrees, a decision that plunges him into a tangle of weirdness as old as the American Southwest. Stick’s investigation reveals that the birds’ mass death is an offshoot of a much larger conflict. On one side, the Good Friends, an underground railroad for undocumented immigrants, wants Stick to oust the man they believe responsible for killing the birds and persecuting immigrants. This same man leads The Minutemen Militia, which covets Stick’s expertise in handling their genetically mutated immigrant-tracking monsters. Meanwhile, a beautiful animal theologian tries to seduce Stick into believing his existence is key to balancing an off-kilter universe. Shady characters whisper of chupacabras loose in the desert. The exsanguinated corpses of strange beasts begin to turn up, some of them Stick’s close pals. At the center of it all lurks an enigmatic antagonist who, so they say, has harnessed the power of God in an ancient hot springs and is using it to herald doomsday.Stick’s journey upends his stable life, shakes apart his fragile relationships, and sets him on a collision course with his family’s secret ancestry. Ultimately, as chupacabra-like monsters, Minutemen, and Good Friends head toward a final showdown, Stick must make a hard choice about his own identity and values.

    They did their time in Iraq, hold regular jobs, and spend some of their free time playing RPGs on their game platforms and at the table. Until the day they wake up in a different world, caught up in a half-understood web of events and personalities, hatreds and loyalties that goes back millennia. All wrapped up in a place where magic is real and far too many concepts of the role-playing game are not just real, but also a deadly serious business. Dropped into a world with little in the way of personal resources and a surplus of powerful enemies and dangerous strangers, the four must find their way home while learning all too well the concept of ‘first-level abilities’. Very little is certain in their new environment save that death is very real and the opportunities to meet it are commonplace. Four gamers with military backgrounds are thrust into a world where magic is real and the five toughest individuals on the planet want them dead: it is the worst campaign hook imaginable.

    Immediately however, an unseen mysterious woman begins giving him warnings during nocturnal visits to leave the house at once. Soon he begins hearing strange ominous sounds emanating from the tiny lake at the back of the house coupled with a permeation of sickly odors. An evil presence then begins to visit him during the witching hours of the late night, challenging him to a battle of wits from which there can be only one victor. Is his mysterious female visitor there to help and encourage him to flee from the house, or is she working in tandem with The Thing From the Lake? A gripping, occasionally frightening tale, Ms. Ingram wastes no time in grabbing the reader into the story and manages to weave a tale that will leave the reader guessing at every turn of events. (Summary by Roger Melin)(from Librivox)

     A group of estranged friends, now in their forties, reunite in Gerlach, Nevada for their 30-year high school reunion at the time of the annual Burning Man Festival. They soon find themselves at the heart of a viral apocalypse and are forced to rely on the very people they were at odds with to survive.

    This is his story:For the low price of five dollars, Dexter “Dex” James will exorcise your demons: the demon of lust, drink, and gluttony. Unfortunately, he’s new in town, and few people take him seriously. The ones that do, don’t have a dime to spare. Desperate for money, he elicits help from a boy named Boo and a beautiful woman, named Miss Leslie—she’s half his age and a prostitute, but Dex is smitten.After performing a supposed miracle, Dex becomes the talk of Titusville. His billfold and ego grow with each exorcism. Only Miss Leslie’s love could make him happier. However, when an evil entity threatens a young girl, Dex must make a choice: take the coward’s way out or stay and fight?

    The fire brigade have been doing their best, as have the other emergency services, but whoever is behind the fires has been systematically running them ragged. Whitehall is worried. Something doesn’t add up, so they’ve dispatched a warlock – a former illegal mage, pressed into service of the government to deal with matters of the arcane – to look things over. Jameson Parker is that warlock, and he’s pretty okay with that. His freedoms might be heavily restricted, and any unauthorised use of magic means he’ll be struck down dead instantly, but it could be worse. He gets more or less free rein to swan around Humberside like the big I am, and it gives him a way to atone for his less than stellar past. He’s better off without magic, and he knows it. But is magic better off without him? The warlocks of Humberside don’t seem to think so, and there are rumblings that, as well as the fires, something big is about to go down. Jameson is not best pleased.

    This novella is from Gina Ranalli, an author of bizarro fiction, including Chemical Gardens and 13 Thorns (with 0utsider artist Gus Fink). Suicide Girls in the Afterlife is weird and fun and hauntingly bittersweet. I read it in one evening and enjoyed it very much. -Brian Keene, author of The Rising and The Conqueror Worms

    Enumerates and categorizes the various inhabitants of the world of fairy folklore from a cross-cultural perspective, viewing them both as lesser divinities and mythical archetypes.

    Harshwardhana, the leader, believes they will win…Until he falls upon a sinister secret of the dark forces.Centuries later… Prithvi Sen is a regular college-going boy. His growth from childhood to adulthood has been plagued by an uncanny disease. Although medicines have it under control, Prithvi feels that the illness hasn’t revealed its truest nature yet. During his existential crisis, a drastic series of events occur and bring the most unexpected twist into his life. Could there be a link between Prithvi and the Dharmayodhas?

    Ancient pieces of technology that seem to have minds of their own, the relics interface with human psychology, granting the power to bend space and time—and often inducing psychosis. When the colonists of Andromeda first discovered the relics, long before Anka was born, humanity was plunged into chaos. Now Anka is carrying a relic in her pack, tasked with securing the object before it can do any harm. She and her companions set out across the desert by foot, marching towards the distant city— even as the relic begins to whisper in her mind...

    Rejected by both her bloodlines, she’s turned her back on her people to become a freelance investigator, hiring herself to take care of common problems like hen-stealing goblins.When Ember’s best friend asks for her help, it leads them both into a glittering world of conspiracy and danger. Angel’s little brother has vanished, and Ember must race against time to save his life. But when Ember discovers what’s happened to DJ, both she and Angel find themselves recruited into Herne’s elite squad of bounty hunters. Now, Ember must not only face her heritage, but she’s bound to preserve the balance between the Fae Courts, for if order isn’t maintained, war and chaos will spill out into the mortal realm.

    Loved it!"★★★ A clever mash of X-files, Tombstone, and Dresden Files! ★★★In 1885, President Grover Cleveland commissioned a special group of agents to investigate paranormal activities plaguing the nation. Unwilling to accept failure, he granted each the authority to operate outside the law. His directive was simple. No rules. No excuses. Just get it done.Remy Kincaid and his cynical steed, Fable, head to the town of Wharton, Texas, to investigate the disappearance of several young children. As clues lead them from a decrepit old house to an abandoned silver mine, they soon learn that an ancient evil is trying to release itself upon the world.★★★ If you enjoyed The Survivalist Series, you'll love The Watchman! ★★★