Strange World Why People Are Getting Weirder

This is a very strange world, and getting stranger all the time. Actually, it's not the "world" that's getting stranger, it's people. Their minds are full of the most bizarre ideas. People's beliefs are becoming weirder and weirder by the day. Everyone believes their own propaganda. No one accepts the Truth. Everyone makes up their own truth, based on their own opinions, beliefs, experiences and feelings. It's illiberal - politically incorrect - to tell people they are wrong. It flies in the face of multiculturalism. It seems authoritarian and fascist. It seems to contradict free speech since if you tell people they are wrong, you are implying you want them to stop speaking. And so you do. As Pythagoras said, "Be silent, or say something better than silence." Don't expect any cure. All the indicators are pointing downwards. Things will get a hell of a lot worse. The strangeness has barely begun.

Literary fiction meets the otherworldly in this “wonderfully weird and entertaining” urban fantasy for Millennial fans of Victor LaValle (Esquire). “An utterly charming, silly, and heartily entertaining coming-of-age story about a man-boy who learns to believe in himself by reckoning with evil.” —Boston Globe What do you do when you wake up hung over and late for work only to find a stranger on your couch? And what if that stranger turns out to be an Adversarial Manifestation—like Satan, say—who has brewed you a fresh cup of fair-trade coffee? And what if he offers you your life’s goal of making the bestseller list if only you find his missing Lucky Cat and, you know, sign over your soul? If you’re Billy Ridgeway, you take the coffee.

A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 A Bloomberg Best Non-Fiction Book of 2020 A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2020 A Human Behavior & Evolution Society Must-Read Popular Evolution Book of 2020 A bold, epic account of how the co-evolution of psychology and culture created the peculiar Western mind that has profoundly shaped the modern world. Perhaps you are WEIRD: raised in a society that is Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. If so, you’re rather psychologically peculiar. Unlike much of the world today, and most people who have ever lived, WEIRD people are highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical. They focus on themselves—their attributes, accomplishments, and aspirations—over their relationships and social roles. How did WEIRD populations become so psychologically distinct? What role did these psychological differences play in the industrial revolution and the global expansion of Europe during the last few centuries? In The WEIRDest People in the World, Joseph Henrich draws on cutting-edge research in anthropology, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology to explore these questions and more. He illuminates the origins and evolution of family structures, marriage, and religion, and the profound impact these cultural transformations had on human psychology. Mapping these shifts through ancient history and late antiquity, Henrich reveals that the most fundamental institutions of kinship and marriage changed dramatically under pressure from the Roman Catholic Church. It was these changes that gave rise to the WEIRD psychology that would coevolve with impersonal markets, occupational specialization, and free competition—laying the foundation for the modern world. Provocative and engaging in both its broad scope and its surprising details, The WEIRDest People in the World explores how culture, institutions, and psychology shape one another, and explains what this means for both our most personal sense of who we are as individuals and also the large-scale social, political, and economic forces that drive human history. Includes black-and-white illustrations.

In Dead Weird, Jim Hewitson is let loose on the ultimate taboo and finds that death can be fun for all the family, a good day out or the perfect excuse for a booze up or a fight. Executions, grizzly murders, raising the dead, battlefield carnage, clean-in-between-the-sheets death, traditions, proverbs, omens, anthems and premature burials - they're all here to give us a new perspective on life's greatest certainty: DEATH!

Dear audience, welcome to a danse bizarre in four acts between fictional fantastic worlds. Fans of wacky horror stories will get their money's worth in the first, 'wicked' act. In addition, there are recipes from the realm of fantasy for all gourmets - we recommend 'unicorn stew' here. In the second act we delight our audience with bizarre crime stories and tales from our 'weird world'. The whole thing is garnished with really wacky advertisements for totally smart people or masochists. Cool articles are included for free. In the third act we look beyond reality and delight the inclined audience with all kinds of fantasy stories. In addition, there are all sorts of fantastic odds and ends, including the religious outpourings of our atheistic druid. In the last act, shadows from time and a surreal game with timelines await us.

Who is this Mark McLaughlin person, and why should you read him? Mark—whom I’ve had the pleasure of publishing for nearly 20 years now—is one of those unique voices in the horror field. He doesn’t tread the safe (or even sane!) path, but goes off in quirky directions, and he’s happy to have company along the way. And while he’s poking around the oddest places, he finds humor in the outrageous and the unsettling. Vampires? Of course. Zombies? Definitely. But these are never quite the monsters you’re expecting. Don’t take my word for it. Here are some other opinions: “In the most devious manner, McLaughlin’s stories achieve a high degree of demonism by perpetuating a sinister ‘humor’ at the gallows of the human comedy.” (Thomas Ligotti) “Listen up. Noel Coward is back. Salvador Dali is back. Dylan Thomas is back. And they’re all rolled into one in the shape of Mark McLaughlin who writes stories that are wonderfully witty, surrealistic and ineffably strange. Absolutely fabulous.... If your palette is jaded, come to the feast that is Mark McLaughlin.” (Simon Clark) “McLaughlin’s tales are laugh-out-loud assaults on consensus reality.” (Paul Di Filippo, ASIMOV’S) “Reading Mark McLaughlin is a little like stepping out of the door of an airplane in mid flight. The view is pretty amazing, but the shock of impact may do you in...gruesome, funny and touching. Top that: anybody....” (TANGENT) So, dig in and enjoy these 28 tales by one of the modern masters of the macabre! Part 1: Cosmic Horrors The House of the Ocelot Queen of the Vultures The Foul One Lives to Destroy Der Fleischbrunnen A Beauty Treatment for Mrs. Hamogeorgakis Toadface Shoggoth Cacciatore Mrs. Dakhamunzu Used Viol, One Previous Owner The Resurrection of Nephren-Ka PART 2: Magic, Monsters, Zombies, And Demons Adroitly Wrapped Why Cosmo Used to Wear a Lab Smock Every Halloween Largesse ZOM BEE MOO VEE Empress of the Living Dead ascloseasthis Scenes from a Foreign Horror Video, with Zombies and Tasteful Nudity Aunt Paloma Diabolical Entities and How to Deal with Them The Disciples of Monidroth PART 3: Tales of the Surreal and the Bizarre The Vainglorious Simulacrum of Mungha Sorcyllamia The Astonishing Secret of the King of the Cats Deck the Halls with Guacamole The Revelations of McDeth The Agony of Claude Bawls Don’t Look in the Little Storage Room Behind the Furnace The Tale of the Cat-Headed Man, the Man-Headed Dog, and the Lady with Rats for Hands Dr. Belmont’s Hiking Buddy If you enjoy this ebook, check out the 400+ other volumes in the MEGAPACK® series, covering not just horror, but science fiction, fantasy, westerns, romance, and many other genres (even nurse novels!). Search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press MEGAPACK" to see the complete list of available titles.

Revised and Expanded Edition. In this age of supposed scientific enlightenment, many people still believe in mind reading, past-life regression theory, New Age hokum, and alien abduction. A no-holds-barred assault on popular superstitions and prejudices, with more than 80,000 copies in print, Why People Believe Weird Things debunks these nonsensical claims and explores the very human reasons people find otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. In an entirely new chapter, "Why Smart People Believe in Weird Things," Michael Shermer takes on science luminaries like physicist Frank Tippler and others, who hide their spiritual beliefs behind the trappings of science. Shermer, science historian and true crusader, also reveals the more dangerous side of such illogical thinking, including Holocaust denial, the recovered-memory movement, the satanic ritual abuse scare, and other modern crazes. Why People Believe Strange Things is an eye-opening resource for the most gullible among us and those who want to protect them.

Machen's weird tales of the creepy and fantastic finally come to Penguin Classics. With an introduction from S.T. Joshi, editor of American Supernatural Tales, The White People and Other Weird Stories is the perfect introduction to the father of weird fiction. The title story "The White People" is an exercise in the bizarre leaving the reader disoriented and on edge. From the first page, Machen turns even fundamental truths upside-down, as his character Ambrose explains, "there have been those who have sounded the very depths of sin, who all their lives have never done an 'ill deed'" setting the stage for a tale entirely without logic.