Bloodsucking Creatures

Examines animals that feed on blood, including mosquitoes, vampire bats, lice, leeches, lampreys, and fleas, and looks at their anatomy, behavior, and interactions with people.

"Describes a variety of popular monsters, including real-life accounts that inspire the legends behind the creatures"--Provided by publisher.

Is it difficult to find your way in the dark? Perhaps it would help if you had night vision like an owl, large funnel-shaped ears like a fennec fox or padded feet like a tiger! Then, like the unusual creatures in theis book, you would feel perfectly at home under cover of darkness. (Back cover)

Bloodsuckers don't have the best reputation, if those itchy mosquito bites from last summer have anything to say about them, but before you jump to any conclusions, these little pests are more than meets the eye. Everyone knows about high-jumping fleas, classic vampire bats, and shudder-inducing leeches, but how about blood-sucking birds, butterflies and snails? Did you know that only 15-20 percent of people react to bed bug bites? Or that there are bloodsuckers that feed on other bloodsuckers? And that even dinosaurs were bugged by bloodsuckers? Sink your teeth into the world of these important creatures!

Monsters have been spotted everywhere, not just hiding under a child’s bed, lurking in the closet, or springing forth from folkloric tales. Exploring the history, mythology, pop culture, and the world of the supernatural, The Monster Book: Creatures, Beasts, and Fiends of Nature is a comprehensive resource of the monster menagerie from around the world. Examining the lore and legends, as well as the first-person accounts of bizarre freaks of nature and spine-tingling paranormal entities, it details each beast with thorough research, while recounting the facts in an engaging narrative. This fascinating look at monsters investigates nearly 200 beings, beasts, freaks, and fiends, ranging from the renowned and celebrated to the little-known and inglorious, including Werewolves, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, the chupacabra, Mothman, the Abominable Snowman, the Mongolian Death Worm, Living Pterosaurs, Alien Big Cats, Lizard Man, Lake Worth Monster, the Monstrous Monitor, South American Sasquatch, the Jersey Devil, Sea Serpents, Phantom Black Dogs, and much, much more.

Interesting information about a variety of insects and other "bugs" is presented in an question and answer format.

We all know “there’s no such thing as monsters,” but our imaginations tell us otherwise. From the mythical beasts of ancient Greece to the hormonal vampires of the Twilight saga, monsters have captivated us for millennia. Matt Kaplan, a noted science journalist and monster-myth enthusiast, employs an entertaining mix of cutting-edge research and a love of lore to explore the history behind these fantastical fictions and our hardwired obsession with things that go bump in the night. Ranging across history, Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite tackles the enduring questions that arise on the frontier between fantasy and reality. What caused ancient Minoans to create the tale of the Minotaur and its subterranean maze? Did dragons really exist? What inspired the creation of vampires and werewolves, and why are we so drawn to them? With the eye of a journalist and the voice of a storyteller, Kaplan takes readers to the forefront of science, where our favorite figures of horror may find real-life validation. Does the legendary Kraken, a squid of epic proportions, really roam the deep? Are we close to making Jurassic Park a reality by replicating a dinosaur from fossilized DNA? As our fears evolve, so do our monsters, and Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite charts the rise of the ultimate beasts, humans themselves.

First published in 1988. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.