Encyclopedia Horrifica

"This book invites you to join its quest for the terrifying truth about all things ghoulish and ghastly. But beware! Surprises lurk at the turn of every page..."--Publisher's description.

A visual reference contains true stories of such creatures as vampires, aliens, werewolves, and ghosts, accompanied by photographic evidence, eyewitness accounts, and original interviews.

This fifth Gotcha! book, aimed at public and school librarians and teachers, discusses well-reviewed and kid-tested nonfiction titles for third through eighth grade readers published in 2005-2007 with a few extra oldies but goodies added in. Chapters are built around the high- interest topics kids love. Irresistible book descriptions and book talks guide librarians and teachers to nonfiction books kids want to read. New features include numerous booklists to copy and save (similar to the bookmarks in Gotcha for Guys!) and profiles and interviews of some innovative authors such as Sally Walker, Kathleen Krull, Catherine Thimmesh, Steve Jenkins, Ken Mochizuki, and others. Grades 3-8. This fifth Gotcha! book, aimed at public and school librarians, as well as elementary and middle school teachers, discusses well-reviewed and kid-tested nonfiction titles for third through eighth grade readers published in 2005-2007 with a few extra oldies but goodies added in. Chapters are built around the high-interest topics kids love as the authors provide irresistible book descriptions to guide librarians and teachers to nonfiction books kids will want to read. Features include numerous booklists that can be copied and saved (similar to the bookmarks in the authors' Gotcha for Guys!), as well as profiles and interviews of some innovative nonfiction authors such as Sally Walker, Kathleen Krull, Catherine Thimmesh, Steve Jenkins, Ken Mochizuki, and others. Grades 3-8.

This comprehensive bibliography covers writings about vampires and related creatures from the 19th century to the present. More than 6,000 entries document the vampire's penetration of Western culture, from scholarly discourse, to popular culture, politics and cook books. Sections by topic list works covering various aspects, including general sources, folklore and history, vampires in literature, music and art, metaphorical vampires and the contemporary vampire community. Vampires from film and television--from Bela Lugosi's Dracula to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood and the Twilight Saga--are well represented.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of All Things Weird Sure, you probably know that George Washington was our first president and that Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered America in 1492, but did you know that there are more plastic flamingos in the United States than there are real ones and that Disneyland employees were not permitted to wear their own underwear while dressing in character until 2001? Behind the portrait of America that history classes, news reports, and boring documentaries have painted lies a strange and perplexing country that you couldn't imagine even in your wildest dreams. Featuring 1,001 shocking facts, this book reveals all the secrets and weirdness that you never knew about the United States. From the thirty-two(!) bathrooms in the White House to the fact that a single U.S.–made hamburger may contain meat from 100 different cows, these wacky tidbits will guarantee that you'll never look at this nation the same way again!

This work explores the relationship between twenty-five enduring works of horror literature and the classic films that have been adapted from them. Each chapter delves into the historical and cultural background of a particular type of horror—hauntings, zombies, aliens and more—and provides an overview of a specific work’s critical and popular reception. Among the print-to-film titles discussed are Frankenstein, Dracula, Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Masque of the Red Death, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Phantom of the Opera, Psycho, The Exorcist, and The Shining.