How did our ancestors use the concept of demons to explain sleep paralysis? Is that carving in the porch of your local church really what you think it is? And what’s that tapping noise on the roof of your car..?The fields of folklore have never been more popular – a recent resurgence of interest in traditional beliefs and customs, coupled with morbid curiosities in folk horror, historic witchcraft cases and our superstitious past, have led to an intersection of ideas that is driving...

Requested for the Wolfson History Prize 2024.Devon has a long and rich folkloric heritage which has been extensively collected over many years. This book consolidates more than a century of research by eminent Devon folklorists into one valuable study and builds on the vital work that was undertaken by the Devonshire Association, providing insightful analysis of the subject matter and drawing comparisons with folklore traditions beyond the county.The first ...

Ben and Leila wanted to be parents for so long, but the beautiful little girl that they brought in the world is no ordinary girl. Phoenix sees children that aren’t there, appears in places that she couldn’t possibly be, and seems to know things that she shouldn’t. As the years go by, her unique destiny is revealed.Phoenix Kassim is destined to be the protector of the human race. The fate of the human world and all benevolent Jinn, are in the hands of this young child, the direct de...

Although many have heard of the Crusades and some of the more famous orders like the Templars, few know about the Livonian Crusade or the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. This organization was one of many Catholic military orders that sprung up during the Middle Ages in response to the papacy’s call for holy war, and the Livonian Crusade is the term used to group together dozens of military actions undertaken by German knights in Eastern Europe.In essence, the Holy Roman Empire soug...

In the final installment of Dedra L. Stevenson’s Middle Eastern supernatural folk tale, The Hakima’s Tale, the reader is taken around the world as Phoenix Kassim, now a powerful woman and a capable leader, fights for the survival of humanity. The Jinn, magical creatures of Arab folklore, grow in strength and launch their attack on the human world.In peril, the humans don’t know how to defend themselves against an enemy that they can’t see. Phoenix’s army of human friendly jinn and ...

It is hard to find an island on the map more central than Sicily. Located at the crossroads between Europe and Africa, and between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, Sicily has rarely been governed as an independent, unified state. Nonetheless, the island has always occupied a front-row seat to some of the most important events in history, and nowhere is this more obvious than during antiquity.After the Punic Wars, Sicily would remain a Roman domain until the end of antiquity, ...

Parole officers (POs) support rehabilitation and desistance but face mental health challenges and occupational stressors. Parole Work in Canada provides novel insight into the occupational routines, mental health impacts, and identities of this oft-overlooked group of correctional workers. The authors conducted 150 interviews with POs employed in Canada’s federal correctional system and traverse prison and community spaces in their analyses. They also examined how workplace cultur...

One of the more famous stories in children' s literature, The Prince and the Pauper has become an adult classic as well. Twain' s tall tale about a bedraggled street urchin who becomes king for a day, and his twin, the pampered Prince of Wales left to fend for himself among his seedier subjects, showcases the author' s satirical wit and his acute sense of political irony. The scenes of a young Tom Cantry, wearing the trappings of a prince, but possessing the heart of a beggar, stir both th...

Jim Smiley was a betting man. He bet on horse races, dog-fights, cat-fights, even how long it took a straddle-bug to cross the border into Mexico. If there was a bet to be made, chances were the "uncommonly lucky" Smiley was behind it. So it seemed life easy money when a gullible stranger came to town and Smiley boasted to him that his pet frog-Dan'l Webster-could "outjump any frog in Calaveras County." But while Smiley was out scouting for the competition, the stranger came up with a plan...

Well over a century has passed since the publication of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1876, but time has done little to diminish the appeal and enjoyment of this classic story of growing up in midwestern America. The world Mark Twain envisioned for his precocious hero is a "boy-perfect" one, where life is perpetual vacation, where good and evil are clearly defined, awe-inspiring contradictions, and where the joys of independent discovery always outweigh the severity of punishment. "Altho...

When Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn join together, a rousing adventure is never far behind. In this classic tale, Tom and Huck might be in for more than even they can handle when they are kidnapped by a mad scientist in a balloon-powered airship. His unscrupulous plan is to end his flight around the world in a fiery crash-taking Tom and Huck with him. Now Tom must depend on his Mississippi River experiences to save him from new dangers.

The title story of this collection of short stories features the tale of the "most honest and upright" town of Hadleyburg, whose residents boast of their unsmirched moral character. A stranger, offended by the pious reputation of the town, devises a plan to bring its honored residents to shame. Is there even one righteous man in Hadleyburg?