The lusty vampire, the sympathetic werewolf, the tragic banshee are just a few of the dark and frightening creatures you’ll discover in Banshees, Werewolves, Vampires, and Other Creatures of the Night. Huffington Post Weird News columnist and author Varla Ventura takes readers on a wild ride through the shadowy hills of rural Ireland, the dark German forests, and along abandoned farms and country roads across the world to discover some of the most frightening and freak-tacular tales, tidbits, and encounters with all those beasties that go bump in the night.
Along with classic pieces from Bram Stoker, Elliot O'Donnell, Sabine Baring-Gould, William Butler Yeats and many others, Ventura includes:
• Famous vampires you may not know
• The identity of the author of the first English vampire novel (and his relationship to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein)
• Excerpts from the first psychic vampire novel ever written
• Stories of 19th century werewolf hunters
• Why banshees are the most feared of supernatural creatures
”Many a lonesome night has been spent listening with trepidation to the howl of the wind. In spite of our rational minds and our sound judgment there is nearly always—especially in that passage of time between midnight and three in the morning—a sound that simply cannot be explained away. Oh, but we try. To the rattle of the windowpane and the thump upon the porch we say “’Tis only the wind!” To the squeak of the floorboards and the bang on the roof we declare,
“This old house is settling!” But deep inside, and we have all likely felt it at one time or another, there is an uneasy understanding that something very supernatural is afoot. And the odds are this feeling of uneasiness is very likely accurate. There are many, many things out there clawing in the night, snarling in the shadows.” —From the Introduction
Praise:
"If you’re looking for the perfect book to spend the Witching Season with, one to sink your teeth into as you burrow under the covers to escape the cold and dread of October’s grim, then I have just the book for you. Banshees, Werewolves, Vampires, and Other Creatures of the Night: Facts, Fictions, and First-Hand Accounts by Varla Ventura is a delightful little tome, filled with delicious illustrations and wondrous tales, both real and imagined. I loved this book. I think you will too." –The Occult Detective, Bob Freeman
Varla Ventura is the author of Varla Ventura’s Paranormal Parlor: Ghosts, Seances and Tales of True Hauntings, as well as Fairies, Pookas, and Changelings: A Complete Guide to the Wild & Wicked Enchanted Realm, along with several other books on spooky ooky stuff. She can often be found lurking about the deep dark woods, lakes, streams and parlors on the hunt for beastly things and hidden history. Visit her online at www.varlaventura.net
