World Folklore

One day in 1872, self-taught Assyriologist George Smith was sifting through a pile of clay tablets when he realized he was reading about "a flood, storm, a ship caught on a mountain, and a bird sent out in search of dry land". This is the riveting story of the discovery of the world's first literary epic, the "Epic of Gilgamesh".

Explore the enchanting world of Polynesian folklore in this beautiful collection of traditional stories. A woman falls in love with the king of the sharks. Two powerful sorcerers compete in a battle of magical wits. The king of Maui's fastest messenger races to bring a young woman back from the dead. In these traditional tales, the borders blur between life and death, reality and magic, and land and sea.

Embark on an extraordinary journey into the enigmatic world of cryptids with The Worldwide Search for Bigfoot: Uncovering Sasquatch, Yeti, and Their Global Counterparts by Ricardo D. Rebelo, a renowned cryptozoologist and author of six bestselling cryptid books on Amazon. This captivating exploration delves into the legends, sightings, and scientific investigations surrounding elusive creatures such as Bigfoot, the Yeti, and their global counterparts. Drawing from historical accounts, cultural narratives, and cutting-edge research, Rebelo provides a balanced perspective that bridges ...

A dealer of rare books, Deen is used to a quiet life spent indoors, but as his once-solid beliefs begin to shift, he is forced to set out on an extraordinary journey; one that takes him from India to Los Angeles and Venice via a tangled route through the memories and experiences of those he meets along the way.

The mythologies of the world are collective cultural dreams, and as such should be analyzed first from cultural perspectives. How do myths of the ancient Egyptians or Greeks, for instance, reflect the realities of the Egyptian and Greek cultures? When compared, however, mythologies reveal certain universal themes or motifs that point to larger trans-cultural issues such as the place of the human species in creation or the nature of deity as a concept. World Mythology: A Very Short Introduction is organized around the universal motifs.

A Mystery of Magic, Loyalty, and Ancient Secrets Strange things are stirring again in the quiet village of Doona. When a fisherman returns from the dead and whispers of leprechauns begin to spread, twelve-year-old Bridgie Campbell finds herself at the heart of a growing mystery. The Leprechauns of the Western Wild—thirteen in all, led by the cheerful but weary King Rua—have been locked out of their hidden home, Doona Hollow, nestled deep beneath the Sandy Banks. Without the Doona Hollow Key, a powerful magical relic once hidden in a chest of ancient Spanish gold, they cannot return. And...

Some mirrors don’t reflect. They remember. When Eleanor Winslow returns to her ancestral home after years away, she intends only to settle her brother’s estate and leave the past behind. But Fogwatch House has been waiting—and it hasn’t forgotten her. Whispers follow her through empty hallways. Doors lead to rooms that were never built. And in the attic, a cracked mirror holds more than dust—it holds versions of herself she tried to forget. As Eleanor peels back layers of memory, she uncovers a hidden history of her family, the town of Darnwick, and the strange figure watching ...

When Heimdall and Hyrrokkin abandon their "children" to go on holiday, Odin sends Baldur—Thor's half brother and god of making Loki look bad—to babysit. As Baldur and Thor bond, Loki's attempts to prove he's good start getting a bit desperate. After the drama teacher casts him as the villain in the school play, Loki starts to wonder whether there's any point in being good when everyone seems convinced of his villainy.

A controversial examination of the influence and presence of the Norse god Odin in contemporary history and culture.

Greek Mythology is one of the most popular of mythologies. The creativity and imagination of the Greek has lingered through time and inspired as well as influenced many of the heroes of nowadays Western fiction.

A tall ship is trapped on a sandbar in 1885, broadsided by heavy seas and doomed to destruction on a lonely Brazilian Beach. Thus begins an incredible sea odyssey by a North American sea captain, his wife, and two sons. To return his family to safety, Captain Joshua Slocum builds a new boat out of the wreckage of the old. With his family, he sails along the perilous South American coast, crosses the Caribbean Sea, and navigates up the United States coast to Washington, D.C.

Seersana University is worlds-renowned for its xenopsychology program, producing the Alliance's finest therapists, psychiatric nurses and alien researchers. When Jahir, one of the rare and reclusive Eldritch espers, arrives on campus, he's unprepared for the challenges of a vast and multicultural society... but fortunately, second-year student Vasiht'h is willing to take him under his wing. Will the two win past their troubles and doubts and see the potential for a once-in-a-lifetime partnership? Book 1 of the Dreamhealers Duology.

After thousands of years of magical conflict, wonders and dangers fill the world. Three sisters will uncover its secrets, and one secret most of all: the plot of a tyrant with an ancient grudge.One sister is a spymaster, one is a revolutionary, and magic will transform one. Accompanied by nine rogues, they will adventure amongst legends, dragons and sleeping gods–discovering it is in their power to shape the fate of not just one world, but many. If they don’t kill each other first. In a world forged by millennia of magical conflict, wonders and dangers lie in every shadow. "Iron Waifs" ...

King David Kalākaua introduces us to the people upon whom the legend of the Pele family is based. They departed Samoa as war refugees in the 12th century, settling in the foothills of Mauna Loa. As earthquakes and eruptions occurred during their interactions with the Hawaiians, this family of kahuna were accorded what the king described as “unique sanctity and power”. Pele was as mighty as she was beautiful. The tales of the volcano goddess earned the attention of Kamapuaa, the outcast son of the chief of Oahu who terrorized the island with his band of renegades.

Return to the Hallowed Grounds of Fenway, Massachusetts, and Bear Witness to a Startling Prophecy. The chosen few have been beckoned by a mysterious trio, summoned for a rendezvous delving into matters of destiny, fate, and the nightmares yet to come. Amidst clashes of temperament and souls burdened with distrust, they must confront the sinister truths and the repercussions caused by the enigmatic Llewyn Glass and his deal with the Devil. Strange Reckoning serves as a tie-in story to the mind-bending seven-novel series of macabre, fantastical, and mystical stories, while also foreshadowing ...

Rich in detail derived from the author's fieldwork and the anthropological literature, this work paints a picture of possession as one of the usually positive and most widespread of human religious experiences. It also details the ritual of exorcism, which is applied when things go wrong.

Overlooking the Border continues the dialogue surrounding the social history of Jerusalem. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the book juxtaposes Israeli and Palestinian personal narratives about the past with contemporary museum exhibits, street plaques, tourism, and real estate projects that are reshaping the city since the decline of the peace process and the second intifada. As sites of memory, Jerusalem's homes, streets, and natural areas form the setting for emotionally charged narratives about belonging and rights to place.

A fascinating guide to the monsters that are part of our collective psyche, from the host of the hit podcast Lore. They live in shadows - deep in the forest, late in the night, in the dark recesses of our mind. They're spoken of in stories and superstitions, relics of an unenlightened age, old wives' tales, passed down through generations. And yet, no matter how wary and jaded we have become, as individuals or as a society, a part of us remains vulnerable to them.

A dealer of rare books, Deen is used to a quiet life spent indoors, but as his once-solid beliefs begin to shift, he is forced to set out on an extraordinary journey; one that takes him from India to Los Angeles and Venice via a tangled route through the memories and experiences of those he meets along the way.

In the hottest hour of the hottest day of the year, a fateful wind blows into Oaxaca City. It whistles down cobbled streets and rustles the jacaranda trees before slipping into the window of an 11-year-old girl named Clara. Unbeknownst to her, Clara has been marked for la Lotería. Life and Death deal the Lotería cards but once a year, and the stakes could not be higher. Every card reveals a new twist in Clara’s fate - a scorpion, an arrow, a blood-red rose. If Life wins, Clara will live to a ripe old age. If Death prevails, she’ll flicker out like a candle.