Series: The World of Lore
Author: Aaron Mahnke
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Publication Year: 2017
Language: English
Format: Hardback
Pages: 299
A fascinating, beautifully illustrated guide to the monsters that are part of our collective psyche, from the host of the hit podcast Lore, soon to be an online streaming series.
They live in shadows--deep in the forest, late in the night, in the dark recesses of our minds. They're spoken of in stories and superstitions, relics of an unenlightened age, old wives' tales, passed down through generations. Yet no matter how wary and jaded we have become, as individuals or as a society, a part of us remains vulnerable to them: werewolves and wendigos, poltergeists and vampires, angry elves and vengeful spirits.
In this beautifully illustrated volume, the host of the hit podcast Lore serves as a guide on a fascinating journey through the history of these terrifying creatures, exploring not only the legends but what they tell us about ourselves. Aaron Mahnke invites us to the desolate Pine Barrens of New Jersey, where the notorious winged, red-eyed Jersey Devil dwells. He delves into harrowing accounts of cannibalism--some officially documented, others the stuff of speculation . . . perhaps. He visits the dimly lit rooms where seances take place, the European villages where gremlins make mischief, even Key West, Florida, home of a haunted doll named Robert.
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The World of Lore (or Lore, to make it short) is a collection of short stories taken from the podcast Lore. For those of you who don’t know, Lore is a podcast created by Aaron Mahnke which talks about certain folklores and the history surrounding it. This book is basically the written version of the podcast. Because of that, it’s written in an engaging conversational style which makes it familiar for long listeners of Lore to ease into this book.
This book is the first in the World of Lore series, subtitled as Monstrous Creatures. It examines the folklore around infamous supernatural creatures from vampires, elves, and werewolves to ghosts and cryptids like Moth man and the Dover Demon. This book is divided into several sections. The first section “The Dead Returned” collects stories about vampires and zombies. “A Little Problem” contains stories revolved around elves, gremlin, and the like. “Back to Nature” collects various stories about werewolves, wendigo, and sea monsters. “Our Other Halves” revolves around things that in a sense are almost human such as creepy living dolls, demon, and the Moth Man. While the last and also the longest section “Beyond the Veil” contains stories about ghosts and hauntings.
In general, The World of Lore provides fascinating information about dark history on human civilization. However, since I’m a dedicated listener of the podcast, this book feels redundant. There’s no new story in the book. Although reading the text is different from listening to it and I get more clarity on things that I missed when I listened to the podcast. But I expected new information or perhaps deeper background on each subject and this book doesn’t deliver those.
Overall, Lore as a book perhaps could reach broader audience than the podcast. Yet it might not give new details for those who have already listened to the podcast. Consuming the stories in the written form may give different perspectives, especially since the stories are grouped according to specific themes. Even so, I recommend this book for those who are interested in folklores and haven’t listened to the podcast.
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