People have been fascinated by merpeople and merfolk since ancient times. From the sirens of Homer’s Odyssey to Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid and the film Splash, myths, stories, and legends of half-human, half-fish creatures abound. In modern times “mermaiding” has gained popularity among cosplayers throughout the world. In Merpeople: A Human History, Vaughn Scribner traces the long history of mermaids and mermen, taking in a wide variety of sources and using 117 striking images. From film to philosophy, church halls to coffee houses, ancient myth to modern science, Scribner shows that mermaids and tritons are—and always have been—everywhere.

Pirates and smugglers, ghost ships and sea-serpents, fishermen’s prayers and sailors’ rituals – the coastline of the British Isles plays host to an astonishingly rich variety of local legends, customs, and superstitions. In The Fabled Coast, renowned folklorists Sophia Kingshill and Jennifer Westwood gather together the most enthralling tales and traditions, tracing their origins and examining the facts behind the legends. Was there ever such a beast as the monstrous Kraken? Did a Welsh prince discover America, centuries before Columbus? What happened to the missing crew of the Mary Celeste? Along the way, they recount the stories that are an integral part of our coastal heritage, such as the tale of Drake’s Drum, said to be heard when England was in peril, and the mythical island of Hy Brazil, which for centuries appeared on sea charts and maps to the west of Ireland. The result is an endlessly fascinating, often surprising journey through our island history.

The Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience is the first one-volume, A-to-Z reference that identifies, defines, and explains all of the terms and ideas dealing with the somewhat murky world of the "almost sciences". Truly interdisciplinary and multicultural in scope, the Encyclopedia examines how fringe or marginal sciences have affected people throughout history, as well as how they continue to exert an influence on our lives today. This comprehensive reference brings together: superstitions and fads that are part of popular culture, such as fortune telling; healing practices once thought marginal that are now become increasingly accepted, such as homeopathy and acupuncture; frauds and hoaxes that have occurred throughout history, such as UFOs; mistaken theories first put forward as serious science, but later discarded as false, such as phrenology and racial typing, etc. More than 2000 extensively cross-referenced and illustrated entries cover prominent phenomena, major figures, events topics, places and associations.

A comprehensive guide to cryptozoology—the quest to identify animals that have not been officially catalogued by science and to place these unknown animals into their proper zoological categories. In this fascinating two-volume encyclopedia, author George M. Eberhart provides a comprehensive catalog of nearly 1,000 cryptids—unknown animals usually reported through eyewitness accounts and not yet described by science. Cryptids are the stuff of folklore, hoaxes, and genuine scientific breakthroughs. There are 400 now-classified cryptids once considered either extinct or pure fantasy. The cryptozoologist's job is to strip away the myth, misidentification, and mystery—and separate fact from fiction. Mysterious Creatures covers everything from dinosaurs and the emala-ntouka, an elephant-killing dinosaur-like animal of central Africa, to searches for the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, and other cryptozoological hoaxes. Entries about specific animals include the derivation or meaning of each cryptid's name, its scientific name, variant names, a physical description, behavior, description of tracks, habitat, significant sightings, present status, and possible explanations. Illustrations and photographs accompany many entries. The book also includes resources and references for further information.

Comprehensive and cross-referenced, this informative volume is a rich introduction to the world of nature as experienced by ancient peoples around the globe. 51 halftones.

The first comprehensive study of the women in Ibsen’s life and work, this landmark book provides a close reading of actual and fictional women as it re-examines the biographical and critical record. In clear, much praised writing, Templeton traces patterns of gender throughout Ibsen’s plays, from the portrayals of women in the little known early dramas to the famous protagonists of A Doll House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, and the women of the “last quartet.” Templeton offers a reappraisal of the debated question of Ibsen’s relation to feminism, arguing against a false and demeaning critical tradition, and provides important new information on the young women of Ibsen’s later years and their presence in his plays. The book has been praised as incisive, masterful, provocative, and — a rarity among scholarly books — accessible to the general reader. “Joan Templeton’s Ibsen’s Women is a book to contend with. Templeton is a major Ibsen scholar who has written a tonic evaluation of what a major dramatist actually wrought. A delight to read.” — Arnold Weinstein, Scandinavian Studies “Ibsen’s Women marks a paradigm shift in Ibsen scholarship, moving ‘the woman question’ from the marginal category of ‘an aspect of’ to the core of the dramatic oeuvre. This is dazzling close reading, sophisticated, rigorous, artful. Templeton’s command of her material is masterly.” — Mary Kay Norseng, Ibsen News and Comment “Why is A Doll House not dated? This is one of the questions Joan Templeton answers in this very important book. Her style is witty and graceful and blessedly free of jargon. Her text is aimed at a wide variety of readers.” — Barry Jacobs, The Boston Review of Books “A goldmine of information... The scope and wide-ranging coverage of this book make it indispensable for anybody wishing to teach or write about Ibsen.” — Toril Moi,Ibsen Studies “Rich and rewarding. The close textual analysis supports Templeton’s thesis that Ibsen’s plays and his women characters are quintessentially feminist. A strong argument for the connection between Ibsen’s women and Ibsen’s modernism. Recommended for all collections.” — Choice

With his New York Times bestselling Doc Ford novels, author Randy Wayne White has been hailed as “the best new writer since Carl Hiaasen” (Denver Post). But decades ago, under the pen name Randy Striker, he was already delivering non-stop thrills with ex–Navy SEAL Dusky MacMorgan, who is about to go to war in a most lethal battleground. MacMorgan is living the good life on his stilt house a mile off Fleming Key. The skies are as blue as the sea, and there’s not a cloud in the sky. But there’s a storm coming in the form of the beautiful April Yarborough. She’s the daughter of an old pal, and she’s come to ask for the kind of help only MacMorgan can provide. The Yarboroughs have been in Florida longer than anyone can remember. Even today, many of them live off the grid, deep in the Everglades. Now, someone is waging a campaign of violence and destruction to drive them off their cherished swampland. And when MacMorgan dives into the fray, he finds that the deadliest danger in the swamp isn’t quicksand or ’gators, but big money—armed with some big guns.

Weird stuff happens! The mysteries of the unexplained examined with a critical eye of a highly-respected, prize-winning paranormal investigator. An authoritative, intelligent, and well-reasoned examination of strange artifacts and events that have long perplexed scientists, Unexplained! Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena is an award-winning exposition of the strange and mysterious. Journey to the outer limits of science and nature and explore a wide range of unknown and enigmatic phenomena. The truth is out there, and looking for it is the real fun. Unique in the depth of examinations, this fascinating guide delivers Spontaneous Human Combustion, Cattle Mutilations, Crop Circles, Devil’s Footprints, the Tunguska event, Wheels of Light, Giant Octopus, Sasquatch, Bigfoot, Yeti, Wildman, Alligators in Sewers, White River Monster, Black Dogs, Chupacabras, Fairies, Hairy Dwarfs, Little Green Men, Mad Gassers, Merfolk, Mothman, Thunderbirds, Werewolves, Yowie, Bermuda Triangle, Cottingley Fairy Photographs, Devil’s Sea, Hollow Earth, Jersey Devil, Martian Mummies, Noah’s Ark, Ball Lightning, Roswell, Loch Ness, Ancient Astronauts, Objects from the Sky, and more than 200 other absorbing puzzles!! What really happened? What is the truth? Should you dismiss what you can't explain? Or should you pay attention to the startling evidence and frightening personal accounts of those involved? Learn of hoaxes, witness the creation of various modern myths, and learn of frightening personal accounts and startling historical documents. Documenting the evidence and hearing witnesses out, Jerome Clark brings an engaging narrative to the stories, objectively presents their many possible explanations, and lets the reader make his or her own judgment in this one-of-a-kind book. Seeing Is Believing. Or Is It? Decide for yourself with Unexplained! Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena!

From the seas of antiquity to the city streets of today, A Mermaid's Tale explores the myth and meanings of the mermaid. Beginning with Melusina, the bathing mermaid par excellence, Amanda Adams goes on to describe the seductive sirens and their honeyed songs, the powerful Arctic sea goddess Sedna, and the long-haired rusalki or Russian lore, among other legendary mermaids. As she tells their stories, she also expresses a love of the mermaid that surely no sea-bound sailor could ever match. Grounded in cultural anthropology, folklore studies, and intellectual rigor, A Mermaid's Tale also draws on literature, poetry, and mythology for its insights. It is a book filled with depth and detail as it describes Adam's swim through the ocean of her own life in search of the unusual, the beautiful, and the perfectly extraordinary.