Alien Hand Syndrome and Other Too-Weird-Not-To-Be-True Stories


Alan Bellows - 2009
    This collection of too-weird-not-to-be-true stories gives the freakish details behind odd curiosities, from unusual drug side effects to the Alien Hand Syndrome--a disorder wherein a person's hand develops a will of its own.

For Single People Who Still Understand the Value of Relationships


Rob Hill Sr. - 2012
    This book gives vital insight on the different dynamics of relationships and love in an uncanny fashion. Relationship expert, Rob Hill, is setting a new standard for singles, new couples, as well as seasoned lovers. Not only will they value relationships more, they’ll have a better understanding of what it takes to date, relate, and grow as individuals to better their chances of finding, enjoying, and sustaining a healthy relationship in today’s times. This book is fun, energetic, and filled with wisdom. Get ready for the journey of a lifetime.Courtesy of Amazon.com

Child Possessed


David St. Clair - 1977
    Nothing has been added in the interests of sensationalism. What happened in the small town of Watseka, Illinois, between the years 1865 and 1878 may strain credibility, as well as shock. But it did happen...Mary Roth, a gentle, unassuming 19 year old girl, died suddenly on the night of July 5th, 1865, in the town of Watseka, Illinois. Her death was strange, but her life had been stranger. For several years she had been subject to sudden, unaccountable "fits" - sometimes horrifically violent, sometimes so chilling in their effects her parents thought her insane: she would speak in German, or in a man's bass voice, as if possessed... But death brought to an end her sad and disturbing case...Thirteen years later, in 1878, Mary Roth reappeared - in the living body of Lurancy Vennum...

Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure and Preposterous Words


Josefa Heifetz Byrne - 1960
    A supplemental reference provides an offbeat source of unusual, obscure, and very legitimate English language terms, clearly and whimsically defined for the benefit of those needing "just the right word."

'Pataphysics: A Useless Guide


Andrew Hugill - 2005
    Originating in the wild imagination of French poet and playwright Alfred Jarry and his schoolmates, resisting clear definition, purposefully useless, and almost impossible to understand, 'pataphysics nevertheless lies around the roots of Absurdism, Dada, futurism, surrealism, situationism, and other key cultural developments of the twentieth century. In this account of the evolution and influence of 'pataphysics, Andrew Hugill offers an informed exposition of a rich and difficult territory, staying aloft on a tightrope stretched between the twin dangers of oversimplifying a serious subject and taking a joke too seriously. Drawing on more than twenty-five years' research, Hugill maps the 'pataphysical presence (partly conscious and acknowledged but largely unconscious and unacknowledged) in literature, theater, music, the visual arts, and the culture at large, and even detects 'pataphysical influence in the social sciences and the sciences. He offers many substantial excerpts (in English translation) from primary sources, intercalated with a thorough explication of key themes and events of 'pataphysical history. In a Jarryesque touch, he provides these in reverse chronological order, beginning with a survey of 'pataphysics in the digital age and working backward to Jarry and beyond. He looks specifically at the work of Jean Baudrillard, Georges Perec, Italo Calvino, J. G. Ballard, Asger Jorn, Gilles Deleuze, Roger Shattuck, Jacques Pr?vert, Antonin Artaud, Ren? Clair, the Marx Brothers, Joan Mir?, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, James Joyce, Flann O'Brien, Raymond Roussel, Jean-Pierre Brisset, and many others.

Pills-A-Go-Go: A Fiendish Investigation into Pill Marketing, Art, History & Consumption


Jim Hogshire - 1999
    To Hogshire, pills are the quintessence of Western culture, embodying our desires, fears, ambivalence about life and death, health and freedom -- as well as our faith in the quick fix.Hogshire muses on pill naming and marketing, presents up-to-the-minute pill news, and discusses celebrities and their pills of choice. Along the way, he provides histories of drug manufacturers and examines how pills are the product of decades of scientific exploration and the result of billions of dollars in research.

Subliminal Seduction


Wilson Bryan Key - 1973
    PSYCHOLOGICALLY POWERFUL COVERT MIND CONTROL METHODS REVEALED: This innovative book teaches radically Potent Covert Seduction Secrets on how to attract and seduce women or men with subliminal mind control techniques.

Everyman's War


Raghu Raman - 2013
    Defence, internal security and terrorism are important yet closely guarded issues. Even as outrage over safety of women and rising terror take centrestage, there continues to be limited access to information on the subjects of national defence and security - especially in a language that a layman can understand. Raghu Raman, an expert on security and terrorism, presents issues of defence, strategy and national security in an engaging narrative, with historical and contemporary examples. He recalibrates the great ‘India rising’ story with its real and present dangers and the role of a regular citizen in this everyman’s war.

The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens & the I Ching


Dennis J. McKenna - 1975
    A thoroughly revised edition of the much-sought-after early work by Terence and Dennis McKenna that looks at shamanism, altered states of consciousness, and the organic unity of the King Wen sequence of the I Ching.

Pan and the Nightmare


James Hillman - 1972
    G. Jung's famous saying: "The Gods have become our diseases." Chapters on nightmare panic, on masturbation, rape and nympholepsy, on instinct and synchronicity, and on Pan's female loves-echo, Syrinx, Selene, and the Muses-show the goat-God at work and play in the dark drives and creative passions of our lives. Hillman's insights present the archetypal figure in the depths of nature and archetypal psychology as a method of revelation.Pan and the Nightmare (which includes a full translation of Wilhelm Roscher's masterful 19th-century mythological-pathological treatise on Pan and the demons of the night) is the most radical study of this God ever undertaken.

The Left-Hander Syndrome: The Causes and Consequences of Left-Handedness


Stanley Coren - 1990
    And in another century your proclivity might have gotten you accused of witchcraft.Any left-handed person, or the spouse, parent, or friend of one, will be captivated by this essential and eye-opening book. With bracing wit and a flawless command of current research, psychologist Stanley Coren answers such questions as:Is left-handedness acquired genetically or socially?Are southpaws more creative than their right-handed fellows?Why do left-handers seem to die younger than right-handers?What can left-handers do to counteract the perils and prejudices that confront them in a world that leans to the right?

Wilder Mann: The Image of the Savage


Charles Fréger - 2012
    People literally put themselves into the skin of the "savage," in masquerades that stretch back centuries. By becoming a bear, a goat, a stag, a wild boar, a man of straw, a devil, or a monster with jaws of steel, these people celebrate the cycle of life and seasons. The costumes amaze with their extraordinary diversity and prodigious beauty. Work on this project took leading French photographer Charles Fréger to eighteen European countries in search of the mythological figure of the Wild Man.

Recovering Agency: Lifting the Veil of Mormon Mind Control


Luna (Lindsey) Corbden - 2014
    Jensen acknowledged that members are leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "in droves." Access to the internet is often credited and blamed for this mass exodus, where members learn about problematic doctrines and cover-ups of LDS history.Many are happy as Mormons. And many are not. Those who leave, and those doubters who stay, face struggles that few others can understand. Much of this suffering is caused by manipulative and controlling techniques pervasive throughout LDS doctrines and culture. Understanding these techniques will help recovering Mormons overcome the effects of belonging to a high-demand group. As a former Mormon, Luna Lindsey experienced this coercive persuasion firsthand. Recovering Agency presents years of research into social psychology and the science of cult dynamics, to describe 31 mind control techniques, alongside examples of their use in Mormon scripture, lessons, and from the pulpit. Even if you have never been Mormon, chances are that coercive influence techniques have been used to manipulate you at some point. Turn the pages and learn the answers to longstanding questions about this unique American religion and about the human mind.

The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel


Felicitas D. Goodman - 1981
    The rites were administered by two priests of the Catholic Church to free Anneliese of the six demons they believed possessed her. Seemingly as a result of the exorcisms the girl died. Worldwide publicity followed when the girl's parents and the two exorcists were brought to trial and convicted of negligent homicide. Here a noted anthropologist offers her own interpretation of the exorcisms of Anneliese Michel. Drawing on interviews with the two exorcists, the girl's parents and friends, transcripts of the trial, and tape recordings made during the exorcisms, as well as studies of religious experience in various cultures.Felicitas Goodman has written a fascinating, compelling book, one that finally tells what happened in this strange case as it delves into the age-old mystery of demonic possession.

Annie's Girl: How an Abandoned Orphan Finally Discovered the Truth About Her Mother


Maureen Coppinger - 2009
    She was just three years old.      She remained in the orphanage until the age of 16, subjected to cruelty and neglect, and starved of love and affection. One of her closest friends was taken away to an asylum after her spirit was broken by repeated beatings, and Maureen herself faced a constant battle against despair. It was an environment from which no one emerged unscathed.      Throughout these tormented years, Maureen dreamed only of escape, and when she was contacted again by her mammy she believed all her dreams were about to come true. Life in the outside world brought its own challenges, however, and Maureen was thrown into turmoil when she discovered that the truth about her past was more murky than she had ever realised.      Annie's Girl stands apart as a poignant testimony to the resilience of the human heart. This touching and evocative memoir is the incredible story of an illegitimate industrial-school survivor's profound struggle to overcome a shame-filled past and solve the mystery of her origins.