This book has a good combination of familiar names--well, familiar if you've been reading about mythological monsters already--and unfamiliar. Each entry also has at least one of the original stories the spirit in question came from, providing some useful context to better understand what you're reading about.

So. Incredibly. Boring. I couldn't force my way through the whole thing.

I was not expecting a closure like that but still it's a very interesting book to read if you don't have an extense background on demons and such.

I like reading about fairies and the like. I like indulging my childish side, what can I say. I also enjoy reading about various mythologies and religions, and this book also indulges that side.

Broken up into areas such as forests, deserts, domiciles and psyche, this 'guide' presents demons and the like that inhabit the world and where they live. It is also highly multicultural, with demons et al from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, America and Australia. This wide-ranging research comes along with religious ideals, dating from Babylonia to today. In the Psyche section, it also presents ideas from Freud and Jung, along with stories such as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

There are a few points where Mack&Mack confuse certain mythologies. In the Water section, while talking about Mermaids, they briefly mention Selkies without acknowledging it as such. However, this is a minor complaint, and in scope of the wider text, just a small error.

What I particularly liked is that although it is essentially a young adult novel, it's written in an adult manner. Like other reviewers have stated, this would be a good guide for authors, as it is not only split into regions, but it also has the country of origin, the behaviour and ways to dispel the demons.

Overall, interesting, useful and amusing.

This is a totally fun, fascinating look at demons and malevolent spirits from all over the world. At times it is of necessity disappointingly brief in its descriptions, but the wide-ranging bibliography at the back of the book provides more than enough fodder for those who want to delve deeper into the subject.

Highly readable, and also informative in trying to find some common themes in a profusion of stories from around the world (but not going overboard with interpretation).

Interesting anthology/encyclopedia about the mythology and lore surrounding supernatural creatures. To me it's reminiscent of a textbook that would be used at Hogwarts :-). It does concern me though, that the author seems go put a lot of stock into what she calls "dispelling and disarming techniques". These things aren't real - as far as I know - and yet there are legitimate ways to scare them off. Good "fairy tale" book but I wouldn't treat it as a "field guide".

A fantastic collection of folklore tales from all over the world, presented as the warning they used to be to warn ourselves from our own inner monsters.

A fantastic collection of folklore tales from all over the world, presented as the warning they used to be to warn ourselves from our own inner monsters.

Not awesome. But ok. I really don't have a lot to say about it. Many you have heard before. Many I don't think are 100% accurate. For example, there are things about the Inari in this book that I know to be false. Still, helpful in pointing out supernatural beings that I hadn't heard of before. I would do your own research after finishing this book.