Book picks similar to
The Evil Eye: A Casebook by Alan Dundes


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The Haunting of Thomas House


Carrie Bates - 2017
    Those who have lived there only last a month or two as pure evil still permeates about. Virginia and Tom move their family to what they believe is the quiet country house, but it is far from peaceful. Strange events at the house leave them terrified, events which nearly cost them their lives. With its horrific past, Thomas House isn't a welcoming home and resents the people who walk through its doors. Doors open and close on their own, apparitions suddenly appear to threaten, and strange sounds resonate at night. Something dark and sinister lives in the house and wants them out. NOW. When Virginia and her son are almost killed by the evil apparitions, her son takes matters into his own hands.

Celtic Mythology: Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes


Philip Freeman - 2017
    Paradoxically characterized as both barbaric and innocent, the Celts appeal to the modern world as a symbol of a bygone era, a world destroyed by theambition of empire and the spread of Christianity throughout Western Europe. Despite the pervasive cultural and literary influence of the Celts, shockingly little is known of their way of life and beliefs, because very few records of their stories exist. In this book, for the first time, PhilipFreeman brings together the best stories of Celtic mythology.Everyone today knows about the gods and heroes of the ancient Greeks, such as Zeus, Hera, and Hercules, but how many people have heard of the Gaulish god Lugus or the magical Welsh queen Rhiannon or the great Irish warrior C� Chulainn? We still thrill to the story of the Trojan War, but the epicbattles of the Irish T�in B� Cuailgne are known only to a few. And yet those who have read the stories of Celtic myth and legend-among them writers like J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis-have been deeply moved and influenced by these amazing tales, for there is nothing in the world quite like them.In these stories a mysterious and invisible realm of gods and spirits exists alongside and sometimes crosses over into our own human world; fierce women warriors battle with kings and heroes, and even the rules of time and space can be suspended. Captured in vivid prose these shadowy figures-gods, goddesses, and heroes-come to life for the modern reader.

Cursed Britain: A History of Witchcraft and Black Magic in Modern Times


Thomas Waters - 2019
    Few topics are so secretive or controversial. Yet, whether in the 1800s or the early 2000s, when disasters struck or personal misfortunes mounted, many Britons found themselves believing in things they had previously dismissed – dark supernatural forces.Historian Thomas Waters here explores the lives of cursed or bewitched people, along with the witches and witch-busters who helped and harmed them. Waters takes us on a fascinating journey from Scottish islands to the folklore-rich West Country, from the immense territories of the British Empire to metropolitan London. We learn why magic caters to deep-seated human needs but see how it can also be abused, and discover how witchcraft survives by evolving and changing. Along the way, we examine an array of remarkable beliefs and rituals, from traditional folk magic to diverse spiritualities originating in Africa and Asia.This is a tale of cynical quacks and sincere magical healers, depressed people and furious vigilantes, innocent victims and rogues who claimed to possess evil abilities. Their spellbinding stories raise important questions about the state’s role in regulating radical spiritualities, the fragility of secularism and the true nature of magic.

The Penguin Book of the Undead


Scott G. Bruce - 2016
    Ghost stories as we know them did not develop until the late nineteenth century, but the restless dead haunted the premodern imagination in many forms, as recorded in historical narratives, theological texts, and personal letters. The Penguin Book of the Undead teems with roving hordes of dead warriors, corpses trailed by packs of barking dogs, moaning phantoms haunting deserted ruins, evil spirits emerging from burning carcasses in the form of crows, and zombies with pestilential breath.Spanning from the Hebrew scriptures to the Roman Empire, the Scandinavian sagas to medieval Europe, the Protestant Reformation to the Renaissance, this beguiling array of accounts charts our relationship with spirits and apparitions, wraiths and demons over fifteen hundred years, showing the evolution in our thinking about the ability of dead souls to return to the realm of the living--and to warn us about what awaits us in the afterlife.

The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A-Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic


John Matthews - 2005
    From unicorns, salamanders, satyrs, giants, elves and trolls, to dragons, nymphs, mermaids, werewolves and griffins — take an enchanting journey through the history, folklore, and mythology of these beasts from virtually every culture in the world. With stories and amazing facts on even the most obscure mythological creature, this is a cornucopia of magic and folklore.

A Fortress in Brooklyn: Race, Real Estate, and the Making of Hasidic Williamsburg


Nathaniel Deutsch - 2021
    . . . To fully understand Satmar, of course, one has to be born into it. But to understand how political prowess and real-estate know-how shaped the group’s current iteration in Brooklyn, it would be wise to start with this outstanding book."—Laura E. Adkins, LA Review of Books The Hasidic community in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn is famously one of the most separatist, intensely religious, and politically savvy groups of people in the entire United States. Less known is how the community survived in one of the toughest parts of New York City during an era of steep decline, only to later resist and also participate in the unprecedented gentrification of the neighborhood. Nathaniel Deutsch and Michael Casper unravel the fascinating history of how a group of determined Holocaust survivors encountered, shaped, and sometimes fiercely opposed the urban processes that transformed their gritty neighborhood, from white flight and the construction of public housing to rising crime, divestment of city services, and, ultimately, extreme gentrification. By showing how Williamsburg’s Hasidim rejected assimilation while still undergoing distinctive forms of Americanization and racialization, Deutsch and Casper present both a provocative counter-history of American Jewry and a novel look at how race, real estate, and religion intersected in the creation of a quintessential, and yet deeply misunderstood, New York neighborhood.

The Flawed Princess


Alice Ivinya - 2019
    She is tired of being ignored and longs to help her people, who have been abused and suppressed by the court for generations. Their ancient magic is almost forgotten.When she is caught up in a deadly rebellion, Violet is taken hostage by the king and dragged to the capital. A prisoner deprived of friends and family, she is thrown into a dangerous world of politics and strange magic, where men and beasts are bonded together. Violet realises she must quickly learn the rules of the castle in order to be a voice for her forgotten province. But the bonds that tie people are fragile, and true evil lurks in the shadows of the castle. As war and assassination threaten to break the kingdom apart, Violet realises that to save it, she must learn to forgive her captor. And maybe even allow herself to be loved.

The Tiger's Fang: Graphic Novel


Paul Twitchell - 1967
    Here, you'll explore the last great frontier -- consciousness. Experience the deepest realms of God and self. Explore the Astral, Causal, Mental, and Soul Planes -- and venture into the heart of God Itself Former DC Comics artist, Mar Amongo, has masterfully adapted this international best-seller. In the tradition of Eckankar's retro-classic graphic novel Talons of Time, this new book sends you on an unmatched adventure beyond time and space. But be aware By the time you reach the story's end, you just may experience your own spiritual awakening

Impossible


Nancy Werlin - 2008
    Unlike her ancestors, though, Lucy has family, friends, and other modern resources to help her out. But will it be enough to conquer this age-old evil? A beautifully wrought modern fairy tale from master storyteller and award-winning author Nancy Werlin. Inspired by the classic folk ballad "Scarborough Fair," this is a wonderfully riveting and haunting novel of suspense, romance, and fantasy.

Mythology of the British Isles


Geoffrey Ashe - 1990
    The origins and legends of the Giants, the Ancient Britons, the Picts, the Scots and the English are all explained, in a work aimed at both the specialist and the casual reader. Organised into a simple system based on Robert Graves' classic Greek Myths, Ashe describes the myth or theme first followed by discussion or analysis.

The Power of Myth


Joseph Campbell - 1988
    A preeminent scholar, writer, and teacher, he has had a profound influence on millions of people. To him, mythology was the "song of the universe, the music of the spheres." With Bill Moyers, one of America's most prominent journalists, as his thoughtful and engaging interviewer, The Power Of Myth touches on subjects from modern marriage to virgin births, from Jesus to John Lennon, offering a brilliant combination of intelligence and wit.

Arabian Nights: Volume 1


Marty Ross - 2018
    Adapted by the great Marty Ross, whose previous audio dramas include Romeo and Jude, Dark Shadows, Doctor Who and Treasure Island, listeners can expect to hear Scheherazade, Ali Baba & the Forty Thieves and Julnar of the Sea as they've never done before. Step out of your comfort zone and indulge in the dark and fantastical world we've created. Travel with Mermen across the White City, go in search of treasures in hidden caves with Ali and Kasim and let yourself be guided by Scheherazade’s vision as she gives in to a deadly romance with Sultan Shahriya. About the storiesIn Scheherezade, a woman finds herself the object of desire of a powerful Sultan with murderous desires. Her only chance at saving her life is by using the one power she herself possesses: her gift for telling enchanting stories, the very stories that follow in this drama.... Ali Baba & the Forty Thieves tells the tale of an impoverished husband and wife whose lives change drastically when husband Ali discovers the cave where a local gang of bandits are hiding their treasure. A happy ending? Not quite, as the money brings dangerous complications in the form of the greed of Ali's brother and sister-in-law and the determination of the bandits not to be stolen from. Can Ali save himself - or will his wife, Marjana, have to do all the work - in this taut romantic thriller? In Julnar of the Sea, a merwoman finds the love of a mortal King and they produce a son, Prince Badr Basim. Julnar will have to look out for her son, Badr, as, true to his undersea birthright, he seeks out the love of Princess Jawhera of the Merfolk. She is haughty and her father King Es Semendel positively hostile, casting Badr into a dramatic odyssey which will take him to the island of a beautiful sorceress who makes literal pets of her lovers. Can Julnar and her brother, Salim, find and save Badr in time? The cast:This drama features Omid Djalili (The Mummy, Gladiator, The Omid Djalili Show), Abraham Popoola, Adam Sina, Alyssa Kyria, Anoushka Rava, Atilla Akinci, Bamshad Abedi-Amin, Betsabeh Emran, Daniel Naddafy, David Ahmad, Gisele Payvandi, Ian Abeysekera, Jonathan Morrison, Mandana Jones, Michael Franklin, Mitra Djalili, Nezar Alderazi, Philip Arditti, Raghad Chaar, Richard Reed, Pezh Maan, Tara Jaffar, Walles Hamonde, Zahra Ahmadi and Hemi Yeroham.

Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths


Bruce Feiler - 2002
    Thoughtful and inspiring, it offers a rare vision of hope that will redefine what we think about our neighbors, our future, and ourselves.In this timely, provocative, and uplifting journey, the bestselling author of Walking the Bible searches for the man at the heart of the world's three monotheistic religions -- and today's deadliest conflicts.At a moment when the world is asking, "Can the religions get along?" one figure stands out as the shared ancestor of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. One man holds the key to our deepest fears -- and our possible reconciliation. Abraham.Bruce Feiler set out on a personal quest to better understand our common patriarch. Traveling in war zones, climbing through caves and ancient shrines, and sitting down with the world's leading religious minds, Feiler uncovers fascinating, little-known details of the man who defines faith for half the world.Both immediate and timeless, Abraham is a powerful, universal story, the first-ever interfaith portrait of the man God chose to be his partner. Thoughtful and inspiring, it offers a rare vision of hope that will redefine what we think about our neighbors, our future, and ourselves.

The Crimson Fairy Book


Andrew Lang - 1903
    Princes and princesses, kings and queens, giants and dwarfs, monsters and magicians, fairies and ogres—these are the companions who thrill young boys and girls of all lands and all times, as Andrew Lang's phenomenally successful collections of stories have proved. From the day that they were first printed, the Lang fairy books of many colors have entertained thousands of boys and girls, as they have also brought pleasure to the many parents who have read these unforgettable classics to their children.The Crimson Fairy Book contains a fascinating collection of tales from many countries: Hungary, Russia, Rumania, Finland, Iceland, Japan, and Sicily are only some of them. Filled with imagination, excitement, and adventure, these tales will delight children with their illogical yet strangely reasonable events, and will offer parents a pleasant change from the well-worn favorites. One story (The Cottager and His Cat) tells of how cats were introduced into Iceland; another Japanese tale (The Crab and the Monkey) tells how a crab gets the best of a roguish monkey; and a remarkable tale (Little Wildrose) from Rumania tells how a beautiful child was reared in an eagle's nest. All in all, the collection contains 36 stories, all narrated in the clear, lively prose for which Lang was famous. Not only are Lang's generally conceded to be the best English versions of standard stories, his collections are the richest and widest in range. His position as one of England's foremost folklorists as well as his first-rate literary abilities make his collections unmatchable in the English language.

Scottish Ghost Stories


Elliott O'Donnell - 1911
    We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.