Between Gods And Ghosts

How do individuals inscribe their spiritual identities and diasporic ethnicities in the city? Through a series of sociological and photographic essays, Terence Heng maps the various rituals, collectives, individuals and events that characterise Chinese religion practices in Singapore. From spirit mediums to the Hungry Ghost Festival, each chapter engages with the social, the spatial and the ephemeral, and in so doing it will explore the significance and relevance of Chinese religion in a secular nation-state; reveal the strategies and tactics used by diasporic individuals to perform and retain their identities; uncover the importance of flow and fluidity in the making of sacred space; and evidence the value and efficacy of the use of photographs in social research. Of Gods, Gifts and Ghosts is a ground-breaking exploration into the intersections between visual sociology, cultural geography and creative photographic practice. A visual monograph that gives equal importance to image and text, it interrogates the tensions between sacred and profane, official and unofficial, state and individual, physical and spiritual, peeling away the myriad layers of the spiritual imagination.

Demon warrior puppets, sword-wielding Taoist priests, spirit mediums lacerating their bodies with spikes and blades—these are among the most dramatic images in Chinese religion. Usually linked to the propitiation of plague gods and the worship of popular military deities, such ritual practices have an obvious but previously unexamined kinship with the traditional Chinese martial arts. The long and durable history of martial arts iconography and ritual in Chinese religion suggests something far deeper than mere historical coincidence. Avron Boretz argues that martial arts gestures and movements are so deeply embedded in the ritual repertoire in part because they iconify masculine qualities of violence, aggressivity, and physical prowess, the implicit core of Chinese patriliny and patriarchy. At the same time, for actors and audience alike, martial arts gestures evoke the mythos of the jianghu, a shadowy, often violent realm of vagabonds, outlaws, and masters of martial and magic arts. Through the direct bodily practice of martial arts movement and creative rendering of jianghu narratives, martial ritual practitioners are able to identify and represent themselves, however briefly and incompletely, as men of prowess, a reward otherwise denied those confined to the lower limits of this deeply patriarchal society. Based on fieldwork in China and Taiwan spanning nearly two decades, Gods, Ghosts, and Gangsters offers a thorough and original account of violent ritual and ritual violence in Chinese religion and society. Close-up, sensitive portrayals and the voices of ritual actors themselves—mostly working-class men, many of them members of sworn brotherhoods and gangs—convincingly link martial ritual practice to the lives and desires of men on the margins of Chinese society. This work is a significant contribution to the study of Chinese ritual and religion, the history and sociology of Chinese underworld, the history and anthropology of the martial arts, and the anthropology of masculinity.

Jonah Rowe knew that he didn't know everything about his abilities as an 11th Percenter - a human who could access the power of their auras. But he knew enough to not believe in the myths of the Greek Gods. Those were stories for kids. Hollywood. Until the Sibyl came along. Eva McRayne wanted nothing more than to get back to her Hollywood life after a senseless tragedy derailed it. So when she and her film crew went to Rome, North Carolina to film an episode for her show, Grave Messages, she had no idea that she was walking straight into a trap. One that only Jonah Rowe could help her escape from.

A collection of the beautiful and descriptive tales of ghosts and myths from the Hawaiian Islands, complete with a glossary of Hawaiian place names and words. Fans of ghost stories and Hawaiian history will enjoy this book.

What worlds stand beyond the land of the living? In the wide open spaces beyond this existence, there is an infinite number of possible interpretations of ghosts, demigods and gods. It is within such impossible settings that the stories of "Spirit Legends" take place. Picture a Titans of ancient Greek mythology facing down a weary pantheon and try to stop man's destruction at the hands of Zeus. Imagine Aztec gods battling for supremacy in the city streets of your hometown. A Celtic legend will come out of the moonlight and rescue a woman from her murderous husband, and the ghost of a young girl will exact her retribution against the man who murdered her father. This anthology explores that which lies beyond this mortal coil, with a multitude of pantheons represented, including Greek, Incan, Celtic, Christian, Native American and Norse. There are tales of sadness and despair, of retribution and triumph. Mixed into every story is an expression of humanity that often touches or torments the soul. Each one of us must face our own mortality, and we frequently choose to make our way through life connecting with things greater than ourselves to help overcome the travails and challenges of existence. In many respects, that's what "Spirit Legends" is all about. Whether you believe in God, a god or gods, or none of the above, the stories herein will take you to new notions of "the great beyond" and perhaps help you understand your own existence just a little better.

With its award winning cover, the third instalment in the ongoing Ghost Hunter series is a compelling and thought provoking supernatural thriller with a hard fantasy twist. Join Malachi, Teena, and Carolyn as they investigate a haunting that is anything but straightforward, and become embroiled in an increasingly desperate and dangerous struggle between opposing occultists for control of Camulos, the hitherto mythical Pagan God of Warfare. In the face of betrayal, fear, and mortal danger, they must find a way to prevail; or the consequences will be dire and far-reaching.

Irish writer Edward J. M. D. Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany, ranks among the twentieth century's great masters of supernatural and science fiction. An outstanding dramatist whose supernatural plays anticipated the theater of the absurd, Dunsany was also a virtuoso writer of short stories and essays. This selection presents the finest of his works, gathered from long-out-of-print sources. Contents include the famous "Three Sailors' Gambit," possibly the best chess story ever written; the remarkable trilogy about Nuth and the Gnoles, Thangobrind the Jeweller, and the Gibbelins; exploits of the Gods, including both "The Gods of Pengana" and adventures from other books; and favorite adventures of Jorkens, prince of liars. Dunsany's spellbinding tales are complemented by the remarkable visions of Sidney H. Sime, whose delicate illustrations form an indispensable complement to the stories.