In Practically Joking, the first full-length study of the practical joke, Moira Marsh examines the value, artistry, and social significance of this ancient and pervasive form of vernacular expression.Though they are sometimes dismissed as the lowest form of humor, practical jokes come from a lively tradition of expressive play. They can reveal both sophistication and intellectual satisfaction, with the best demanding significant skill and talent not only to conceive but al...

Before the time of books, computers, tablets and recording devices, the history of many cultures was passed down, from person to person, by word of mouth. The rich histories of so many people were told in songs, chants, poems and stories. This was the way of Native American tribes. Each in its own way enriching their stories with their own experiences. By reliving these stories and songs, we have the opportunity to bring life back to the ancient spirits that created them. We have a chance ...

An accessible, meticulously researched introduction to Viking Age oral literature – 34 stories based on the oldest texts, authentically interpreted and retold by a highly acclaimed storyteller.The ONLY book to feature little known Viking Age sagas and heroic legends alongside the Norse myths – and the FIRST major new retellings of the myths for 35 years.
Brings alive all the most significant and interesting Viking Age stories, painting vivid portraits of Viking people, culture and beliefs....

Michigan's city with a strange name has an even stranger—and spirited—past. The authors of Ghosts of Grand Rapids share its chilling tales.Kalamazoo's violent and often anguished history has given way to myriad ghostly tales surrounding some of the town's most prominent places. From the tortured souls roaming the Asylum Lake Preserve to the infamous suicide of the amateur actress Thelma, who reputedly haunts the Civic Auditorium to this day, it is no small...

"Takes the reality of boys and girls seriously, while never flinching from providing the best health information available." —Gary Alan Fine, Northwestern University, author of Manufacturing Tales: Sex and Money in Contemporary LegendsEver hear the one about the man who wakes up after a chance sexual encounter to discover he's been involuntarily relieved of one of his kidneys? Everyone knows contemporary legends, those lurid, cautionary tales, always told ...

Like a bird-watching guideà only for monstersMonsters represent the dark side of humanity–the primal, animal impulses that reside in every single one of us. They have preyed upon our imaginations and our fears since the dawn of civilization.North America is home to a wide array of fearsome beasts, including hairy monsters, flying monsters, lake monsters, and other unexplained phenomena. Monster Spotter's Guide geographically catalogs more than one ...

In today's fast-paced world, it's tough to find the time to read. But with Joosr guides, you can get the key insights from bestselling non-fiction titles in less than 20 minutes. Whether you want to gain knowledge on the go or find the books you'll love, Joosr's brief and accessible eBook summaries fit into your life. Find out more at joosr.com.How did the world begin? Why do bad things happen? Are we alone in the universe? Humans have been coming up with answers to these questions...

The author of The Big Book of Virginia Ghost Stories focuses on the "Scare City": "If you believe in ghosts, this is the book for you" ( The Roanoke Times).Roanoke, in the heart of southwestern Virginia, is one of the most haunted cities in the commonwealth. The Star City is brimming with eerie and unexplainable stories, such as the legendary "Woman in Black," who appeared several times in 1902, but only to married men on their way home at night. ...

In this offered reconstruction of the Slavic myth about Jarilo and Marzanna, a comparative method is used, where lost fragments of one ethnic myth are reconstructed with the use of similar myths that were preserved, relating to Indo-European ethnic mythological traditions. Greco-Roman, Iranian, Indian Vedic, Celtic, Germanic mythical narratives, viewed in context of the common, original Proto-Indo-European tradition, allow us to look at this well-known, but highly fragmented myth from a ne...

This book examines the figure of the returning warrior as depicted in the myths of several ancient and medieval Indo-European cultures. In these cultures, the returning warrior was often portrayed as a figure rendered dysfunctionally destructive or isolationist by the horrors of combat. This mythic portrayal of the returned warrior is consistent with modern studies of similar behavior among soldiers returning from war. Roger Woodard's research identifies a common origin of these myths in t...

Rage-fueled supervillain-cum-movie critic Mr. Satanism is back, with an entire book dedicated exclusively to werewolf movies. Why? Because he hates himself, apparently. See, despite being one of monsterdom's elite trifecta (alongside Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster) the werewolf hasn't been served too well by Hollywood, or anyone else, for that matter. (The only original Big G Monster Cereal to be permanently discontinued? Fruit Brute, the werewolf-themed one.) Seriously, name three t...

Chi Vu takes the central figure in a traditional Buddhist folktale, a deranged killer who wears his victims' fingers in a garland around his neck, and turns him into a menacing abbatoir worker who carries bloody chunks of meat home to his lodgings in plastic bags, in this suburban Gothic tale set in 1980s Melbourne, when the flight of Vietnamese refugees to Australia was at its height. The novella gives a compelling insight into the relations formed between refugees who have been displaced...