Review: "More than 100 scholars contributed to this carefully researched, well-organized, informative, and multi-disciplinary source on death studies. Volume 1, "The Presence of Death," examines the cultural, historical, and societal frameworks of death, such as the universal fear of death, spirituality and varioius religions, the legal definition of death, suicide, and capital punishment. Volume 2, "The Response to Death," covers such topics as rites and ceremonies, grief and bereavement, and legal matters after death."--"The Top 20 Reference Titles of the Year," American Libraries, May 2004.

Tales of ghosts inhabiting the Pacific Northwest include stories of haunted houses, departed loved ones, and disturbed Native American burial sites

The Handbook to the Ghost Story sets out to survey and significantly extend a new field of criticism which has been taking shape over recent years, centring on the ghost story and bringing together a vast range of interpretive methods and theoretical perspectives. The main task of the volume is to properly situate the genre within historical and contemporary literary cultures across the globe, and to explore its significance within wider literary contexts as well as those of the supernatural. The Handbook offers the most significant contribution to this new critical field to date, assembling some of its leading scholars to examine the key contexts and issues required for understanding the emergence and development of the ghost story.

HUMOROUS GHOST STORIES by DOROTHY SCARBOROUGH is a delightful collection of spectral tales that combine chills and chuckles. Scarborough's unique approach to ghost stories offers a refreshing take on the supernatural, delivering scares with a side of laughter. Whether you're a lover of ghost stories or in search of something different, HUMOROUS GHOST STORIES will entertain and amuse. Scarborough's playful prose and imaginative storytelling create a one-of-a-kind experience that's both spooky and spirited. Grab your copy of HUMOROUS GHOST STORIES today and prepare for a hauntingly hilarious reading adventure. It's a collection that will leave you smiling and shivering in equal measure!

In the first century of the Common Era, two new belief systems entered long-established cultures with radically different outlooks and values: missionaries started to spread the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth in Rome and the Buddha in China. Rome and China were not only ancient cultures, but also cultures whose elites felt no need to receive the new beliefs. Yet a few centuries later the two new faiths had become so well-established that their names were virtually synonymous with the polities they had entered as strangers. Although there have been numerous studies addressing this phenomenon in each field, the difficulty of mastering the languages and literature of these two great cultures has prevented any sustained effort to compare the two influential religious traditions at their initial period of development. This book brings together specialists in the history and religion of Rome and China with a twofold aim. First, it aims to show in some detail the similarities and differences each religion encountered in the process of merging into a new cultural environment. Second, by juxtaposing the familiar with the foreign, it also aims to capture aspects of this process that could otherwise be overlooked. This approach is based on the general proposition that, when a new religious belief begins to make contact with a society that has already had long honored beliefs, certain areas of contention will inevitably ensue and changes on both sides have to take place. There will be a dynamic interchange between the old and the new, not only on the narrowly defined level of "belief," but also on the entire cultural body that nurtures these beliefs. Thus, this book aims to reassess the nature of each of these religions, not as unique cultural phenomena but as part of the whole cultural dynamics of human societies.

Caina has a deadly problem. Specifically, she carries the Ring of Rasarion Yagar, a relic created by the tyrannical necromancer-king who once ruled Ulkaar. The deadly sorcerers of the malevolent Umbarian Order wish to seize the Ring for themselves, as do the sinister priests of the ruthless Temnoti cult. And to make matters worse, the Ring is not the only powerful relic of Rasarion Yagar. And unless Caina can escape her foes, the wielders of those relics will kill her...

CAINA AMALAS is the Ghost circlemaster of Istarinmul, the leader of the Emperor's spies in the city. With the aid of mysterious allies, she fights to stop the sinister plans of the ruthless Grand Master Callatas. But Callatas has spent two centuries preparing to remake humanity, and he will exterminate any who dare to oppose him. CLAUDIA ABERON DORIUS was once a sorceress of the Imperial Magisterium, yet now she is the wife of a high noble of the Empire. Civil war rips the Empire, and the rebel sorcerers have targeted her beloved husband for death. Claudia has no choice but to work with Caina, the woman she despises most in the world, to save her husband's life. But a danger comes that neither Caina nor Claudia have foreseen... KALGRI is the Red Huntress, the centuries-old assassin of legend. She has killed kings and princes, sorcerers and alchemists, young and old and rich and poor, and laughed at their screams and rejoiced at the tears of their families. She has slain countless innocents, and no one has ever stopped her. And her next target is Caina Amalas.

The good ship sped on her way across the calm Atlantic. It was an outward passage, according to the little charts which the company had charily distributed, but most of the passengers were homeward bound, after a summer of rest and recreation, and they were counting the days before they might hope to see Fire Island Light. On the lee side of the boat, comfortably sheltered from the wind, and just by the door of the captain's room (which was theirs during the day), sat a little group of returning Americans. The Duchess (she was down on the purser's list as Mrs. Martin, but her friends and familiars called her the Duchess of Washington Square) and Baby Van Rensselaer (she was quite old enough to vote, had her sex been entitled to that duty, but as the younger of two sisters she was still the baby of the family)—the Duchess and Baby Van Rensselaer were discussing the pleasant English voice and the not unpleasant English accent of a manly young lordling who was going to America for sport. Uncle Larry and Dear Jones were enticing each other into a bet on the ship's run of the morrow. “I'll give you two to one she don't make 420,” said Dear Jones. “I'll take it,” answered Uncle Larry. “We made 427 the fifth day last year.” It was Uncle Larry's seventeenth visit to Europe, and this was therefore his thirty-fourth voyage. “And when did you get in?” asked Baby Van Rensselaer. “I don't care a bit about the run, so long as we get in soon.” “We crossed the bar Sunday night, just seven days after we left Queenstown, and we dropped anchor off Quarantine at three o'clock on Monday morning.” “I hope we sha'n't do that this time. I can't seem to sleep any when the boat stops.” “I can, but I didn't,” continued Uncle Larry, “because my stateroom was the most for'ard in the boat, and the donkey-engine that let down the anchor was right over my head.” “So you got up and saw the sun rise over the bay,” said Dear Jones, “with the electric lights of the city twinkling in the distance, and the first faint flush of the dawn in the east just over Fort Lafayette, and the rosy tinge which spread softly upward, and——”...

Turn these pages and enter the world of the paranormal, where ghosts and ghouls alike creep just out of sight. Author L. B. Tayloy shines a light in the dark corners of Virginia and scares those spirits out of hiding in this thrilling collection.

It’s not hard to find restless spirits in the Big Easy. Let the popular paranormal investigator guide you through its winding streets and history. Newly revised and updated, this installment in the much-acclaimed Ghost Hunter’s Guide Series is designed for locals, new residents, and travelers seeking the haunted history of the Crescent City and nearby locations. Detailed descriptions and historical background for more than two hundred locations guide readers to sites where they might encounter ghostly apparitions. Sites and spirits in the Garden District and French Quarter include the ghosts of voodoo priestesses, victims of yellow-fever epidemics, several well-known French Quarter restaurants, and the famous Lalaurie Mansion, thought to be the most haunted house in New Orleans. A section on City Park, the Faubourg Marigny, and nearby Chalmette, the site of the Battle of New Orleans, is also provided. A chapter dedicated to day trips suggests the paranormal possibilities awaiting travelers destined for the famous River Road plantations and Baton Rouge. Praise for Jeff Dwyer’s Ghost Hunter’s Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area “While sometimes scary, [the ghost stories] more often serve as reminders of the sometimes quirky, and oftentimes tragically haunting, history of the people of California.” —The Reporter (Vacaville, CA) “I thought I knew everything about the wine country, but I apparently overlooked the protoplasmic ‘walk by night’ world.” —Mick Winter, author of The Napa Valley Book