And when he decides to wipe out the human race, it's up to DC's mystic heroes including John Constantine - Hellblazer, Etrigan the Demon, the Phantom Stranger, Doctor Fate, Zatanna and more to try and stop him. Plus: Professor Nicodemus Hazzard tries to control the Spectre with the magical artifact known as the Spear of Destiny, sending the Spectre on a rampage that only Superman has a hope of stopping. Collects THE SPECTRE #13-22.

    But the countless movies and books inspired by this child of the night who has a predilection for human blood are based on incidents recorded as fact in newspapers and judicial archives in the centuries preceding the works of Bram Stoker and other writers. Digging through these forgotten records, Claude Lecouteux unearths a very different figure of the vampire in the many accounts of individuals who reportedly would return from their graves to attack the living. These ancestors of the modern vampire were not all blood suckers; they included shroud eaters, appesarts, nightmares, and the curious figure of the stafia, whose origin is a result of masons secretly interring the shadow of a living human being in the wall of a building under construction. As Lecouteux shows, the belief in vampires predates ancient Roman times, which abounded with lamia, stirges, and ghouls. Discarding the tacked together explanations of modern science for these inexplicable phenomena, the author looks back to another folk belief that has come down through the centuries like that of the undead: the existence of multiple souls in every individual, not all of which are able to move on to the next world after death.

    English authors such as J.R.R.Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Terry Pratchett, and J.K.Rowling, dominate the world of magic in fiction, but from the earliest times, England has also acted as home to generations of eccentrics and scholars who have researched and explored every conceivable kind of occult art. Most people are torn between a fascination with magic and an almost instinctive fear of the occult, of a world redolent with superstition and illusion. And yet more people now practice magic in England than at any time in her history. The Book of English Magic explores this hidden story, from its first stirrings to our present-day fascination with all things magical. Along the way readers are offered a rich menu of magical things to do and places to visit.

    Omnibus edition with both Obsidian Butterfly and Narcissus in Chains.

    THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ZOMBIE HANDBOOK EVER PUBLISHED In one indispensable volume, Matt Mogk, founder and head of the Zombie Research Society, busts popular myths and answers all your raging questions about the living dead.

    The dream rushes back to me. We were falling, clutching at each other, with twisting darkness all around us... The girl looks up at me and I realize I've stopped walking and am staring at her. I see something in her eyes, something like recognition.AIMEEAnd in that second I know, absolutely know, that something in my life has changed irrevocably. This is the guy from my dreams. Right here. And we are going to have to do something, save something, together. I just don't know what.TOGETHERAlan and Aimee have just met, but already they are bound to each other by something they can't quite name. Something that rattles the windows, haunts the waters... and threatens to tear them apart before they get a chance to find out what their connection means.

    Now, as governments around the world open their files and records on internal UFO investigations, the US remains steadfast in its denial of interest in the UFO issue. As more of the world's population accepts the possibility of an extraterrestrial presence, the demand is building for disclosure from the United States.Using newly declassified and Freedom of Information Act documents, eyewitness accounts, interviews, and leaked documents being authenticated, THE PRESIDENTS AND UFOS details the secret history of UFOs and the corresponding presidential administration. Starting in 1941 with the Roosevelt administration, author Larry Holcombe examines the startling discoveries facing a president preoccupied by WWII, the explosion of UFO sightings during the Truman years, first contact during the Eisenhower administration, and the possibility of a UFO connection to the Kennedy assassination. In 1975, the Nixon administration came very close to admitting that UFOs exist by funding a documentary by Robert Emenegger. Almost 40 years later, this book will examine Emenegger's findings.For the first time, the involvement of all of the modern presidents up to and including President Obama, and the rise and then fall of their influence on UFO issues, are told in one story that is an integral part of the fascinating UFO tapestry.

    Attaching her name to a monster slaying business behind her back is one thing, but agreeing to take on the universe's ultimate destructive force--well, that just proves that love makes you stupid. Faced with this kind of courtship, it'll be a miracle if Thessaly can survive long enough to smack some sense into Fetch's intangible head--never mind stopping the unstoppable doom he's unleashed.

    Strange as you've never seen him before: as an eye-patch-wearing wielder of black magic! See him take on the deadliest foes in any dimension: Khat, Erlik Khan, Shuma-Gorath, Enitharmon the Weaver and more! Guest-starring the Defenders, Valkyrie, Cloak and Dagger, and some of Strange's closest friends - including Rintrah, Topaz, Clea and Wong! Collecting the Dr. Strange stories from STRANGE TALES (1987) #1-19 and the Cloak & Dagger story from #7.

    Lankford also uncovers paranormal activities park visitors have experienced, such as the chupacabra that roams the swamps inside Big Thicket National Preserve and the teenage bigfoot who rolled a park service campground with toilet paper.She also reports on long-forgotten unsolved murders, such as the savage stabbing of a young woman on Yosemite's trail to Mirror Lake, and the execution style shooting of two General Motors executives at Crater Lake. The witnesses to the supernatural occurrences are highly credible people-rangers, park historians, river guides, and the like-and each tale has factual relevance to the cultural or natural history of the park.Haunted Hikes provides readers with all the information they need: for each hike: a "fright factor rating" is listed along with trailhead access information, detailed trail maps, and hike difficulty levels. Most of the haunted sites included in the book can be reached by the average hiker, some are wheelchair accessible, and others are for intrepid backpackers willing to make multi-day treks into wilderness areas. Intriguing photographs of many sites are included.Haunted Hikes is sure to satisfy readers looking for those spine-tingling moments when you begin to wonder if maybe, just maybe, we are not alone.

    Now, Gischler turns his attention to werewolves, alchemists, ghosts, witches, and gun-toting Jesuit priests in Vampire a Go-Go, a hilarious romp of spooky, Gothic entertainment. Narrated by a ghost whose spirit is chained to a mysterious castle in Prague, Gischler's latest is full of twists and surprises that will have readers screaming - and laughing - for more.

    Eerie red marks on the apartment's ceiling kept Zack and his wife on edge. The landlord warned them not to open a door in the apartment that led to nowhere. "Our Japanese visitors had no problem putting a name to it . . . they would sense the vibes of the place, look around a bit and inevitably say 'Ahhh . . . yurei ga deteru.' There is a yurei here."Combining his lifelong interest in Japanese tradition and his personal experiences with these vengeful spirits, Davisson launches an investigation into the origin, popularization, and continued existence of yurei in Japan. Juxtaposing historical documents and legends against contemporary yurei-based horror films such as The Ring, Davisson explores the persistence of this paranormal phenomenon in modern day Japan and its continued spread throughout the West.Zack Davisson is a translator, writer, and scholar of Japanese folklore and ghosts. He is the translator of Mizuki Shigeru's Showa 1926–1939: A History of Japan and a translator and contributor to Kitaro. He also worked as a researcher and on-screen talent for National Geographic's TV special Japan: Lost Souls of Okinawa. He writes extensively about Japanese ghost stories at his website, hyakumonogatari.com.

    These essays, stories, music reviews, the occasional chemically-induced rant, and a couple of recipes— because, for whatever reason, everyone seems to love his recipes—represent a cross-section of the past seven years’ worth of Warren’s writing online. From jumping around Britain, Europe and North America to just dragging his carcass up to the local pub for a think, this is the unedited spillage from the inside of the writer’s head during the ’00s. Some of it even makes sense.

    She also died 10 years ago and doesn’t know why she’s come back through that door. Perhaps it has something to do with the new road they’re building through the rundown part of town. The plans are sparking protests, and Annie knows those derelict houses hold a secret in Gemma’s past. Will stopping the demolition help Gemma be at peace again? Annie, George, and Mitchell get involved in the road protest, but they are more concerned by mysterious deaths at the hospital—deaths that have also attracted the attention of the new Hospital Administrator.

    The Vanishing Hitchhiker was Professor Brunvand's first popular book on urban legends, and it remains a classic. The culmination of twenty years of collection and research, this book is a must-have for urban legend lovers.