They Bite: Endless Cravings of Supernatural Predators

by Jonathan Maberry, David F. Kramer

Overview

From two award-winning authors, a collection of horror legends and folklore from the world of supernatural and paranormal storytelling.
 
The ultimate guidebook to the horrific roots and modern-day expressions of our darkest fears, with contributions from the modern masters of the macabre.
 
Wary mortals have always lived in fear of monsters that feast on human flesh and blood to energize their evil essence. Every culture and country has its demons—and since earliest times we've tried to capture these supernatural predators through the power of storytelling. But they refuse to be tamed . . .
 
Join Bram Stoker Award winners Maberry and Kramer on a chilling journey into the nature of the beast. You'll unearth graves and venture into forbidden caves and forests to discover the evolution of supernatural predators throughout centuries of scares. From ancient heroes battling dragons to wary vampire hunters opening cobweb-enshrouded coffins, this compendium of creepy creatures tracks the monsters of our imagination from the whispered fireside tales of old to the books, comics, and films that keep us shivering on the edges of our seats with delight and fascination.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806532165
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	08/25/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

JONATHAN MABERRY is a New York Times bestselling and five-time Bram Stoker Award-winning horror and thriller author, editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. He was named one of the Today’s Top Ten Horror Writers by Horror Novel Reviews. His award-winning young adult novel Rot & Ruin is an American Library Association Top Pick. His novels Extinction Machine  and V-Wars are in development for TV, and Rot & Ruin is being developed for film. His books have been published in more than two-dozen countries. He lives in southern California. Readers are invited to visit him on Facebook and at www.jonathanmaberry.com.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction: The Nature of the Beast xv

1 They Thirst: Vampires in All Their Guises 1

More Than Blood 2

Story and Myth 2

The Allure of the Vampire 18

Digging Up the Truth 34

The Family of the Fang: Vampires Around the World 49

2 They Hunt: Hell Hounds and Monster Dogs 127

Bad Dog! 127

Monster Dogs 129

Monster Dogs in Pop Culture 132

Monster Dogs in Folklore 136

3 They Howl: Werewolves and Wolf-Men 152

The Big Bad 152

The Werewolf Variations 161

Werewolves in Pop Culture 166

Werewolves in Folklore 180

4 They Hide: Cryptids and the Science of Cryptozoology 185

Something Is Out There 185

Cryptids Around the World 190

5 They Haunt: The Unquiet Dead 238

Ghost of a Tale 239

Pop-Culture Poltergeists 244

A Darker Shade of Pale 248

6 They Defile: Hellfire and Demons 269

Demonology 101 269

Demons and Fallen Angels 273

7 They Deceive: Tricksters and Seducers 300

Weird and Wicked 301

Dead Sexy: Succubi, Incubi, and Their Ilk 305

Tricksters: Jokers in the Pack 307

8 They Kill: A Miscellany of Monsters 324

Just Plain Weird 324

Monsters in Storytelling 326

The Bestiary 332