They Bite: Endless Cravings of Supernatural Predators

by Jonathan Maberry, David F. Kramer

Overview

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:	9780806541433
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	08/31/2021
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	994,039
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Jonathan Maberry is a New York Times bestselling author, five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, and comic book writer. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was a Netflix original series. He writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and action; for adults, teens and middle grade. He is the editor many anthologies including The X-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Don't Turn Out the Lights, Nights of the Living Dead, and others. His comics include Black Panther: DoomWar, Captain America, Pandemica, Highway to Hell, The Punisher, and Bad Blood. He is a board member of the Horror Writers Association and the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. Visit him online at www.jonathanmaberry.com

David F. Kramer is the Bram Stoker Award-winning co-author of The Cryptopedia: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange and Downright Bizarre. He is a longtime newspaper and magazine writer, editor and Web designer. He has written horror fact, fiction comics, and on dark music of all persuasions. He is vice president of the Pennsylvania-New Jersey Chapter of the Horror Writers Association. He lives in Philadelphia.

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