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They Bite
From the shadowy worlds of myth and legend...From the pages of bestsellers and the silver screen... They're searching for you. And they're hungry.
Every culture and country has its demons-and since earliest times we've tried to capture these supernatural predators through the power of storytelling. But they refuse to be tamed...
Join Bram Stoker Award winners Maberry and Kramer on a chilling journey into the nature of the beast. This compendium of creepy creatures tracks the monsters of our imagination from the whispered fireside tales of old to the books, comics, and films that keep us shivering on the edges of our seats with delight and fascination.
Biting commentaries by the modern masters of the macabre-John Carpenter, Peter Straub, Jack Ketchum, Holly Black, Kevin J. Anderson, Ray Garton, Ramsey Campbell, Christopher Golden, Kelley Armstrong, Simon Clark, Herschell Gordon Lewis, and dozens of others-help make this the ultimate guidebook to the horrific roots and modern-day expressions of our darkest fears.
With 8 pages of color illustrations by leading artists of the supernatural
- GenresHorrorNonfictionVampires
320 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2009
7 people are currently reading
180 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Maberry
516 books7,765 followersJONATHAN MABERRY is a NYTimes bestselling author, #1 Audible bestseller, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, comic book writer, and producer. He is the author of more than 50 novels, 190 short stories, 16 short story collections, 30 graphic novels, 14 nonfiction books, and has edited 26 anthologies. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was a Netflix original series starring Ian Somerhalder. His 2009-10 run as writer on the Black Panther comic formed a large chunk of the recent blockbuster film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. His bestselling YA zombie series, Rot & Ruin is in development for film at Alcon Entertainment; and John Wick director, Chad Stahelski, is developing Jonathan’s Joe Ledger Thrillers for TV. Jonathan writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and action; and he writes for adults, teens and middle grade. His works include The Pine Deep Trilogy, The Kagen the Damned Trilogy, NecroTek, Ink, Glimpse, the Rot & Ruin series, the Dead of Night series, The Wolfman, X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, The Sleepers War (with Weston Ochse), Mars One, and many others. He is the editor of high-profile anthologies including Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird, The X-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Out of Tune, Don’t Turn out the Lights: A Tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Baker Street Irregulars, Nights of the Living Dead, Shadows & Verse, and others. His comics include Marvel Zombies Return, The Punisher: Naked Kills, Wolverine: Ghosts, Godzilla vs Cthulhu: Death May Die, Bad Blood and many others. Jonathan has written in many popular licensed worlds, including Hellboy, True Blood, The Wolfman, John Carter of Mars, Sherlock Holmes, C.H.U.D., Diablo IV, Deadlands, World of Warcraft, Planet of the Apes, Aliens, Predator, Karl Kolchak, and many others. He the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. He lives in San Diego, California. Find him online at www.jonathanmaberry.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 25, 2023
A decent effort to cover the cultural origins and importance of some of the most iconic monsters in pop culture…
They Bite by David F. Kramer and Jonathan Maberry is a reference book for monsters…and their inspiration and influence on the stories we enjoy…
Unlike Vampire Universe (a highly informative monster reference book), They Bite takes a stance at covering monsters as a cultural anthropologist…along with a wealth of references and important depictions of the creatures we love.
While this book won’t have a ton of new material for those highly knowledgeable about the subject, it’s a good entry point for those interested in learning…
They Bite by David F. Kramer and Jonathan Maberry is a reference book for monsters…and their inspiration and influence on the stories we enjoy…
Unlike Vampire Universe (a highly informative monster reference book), They Bite takes a stance at covering monsters as a cultural anthropologist…along with a wealth of references and important depictions of the creatures we love.
While this book won’t have a ton of new material for those highly knowledgeable about the subject, it’s a good entry point for those interested in learning…
July 3, 2021
I thought this was fictional stories about different supernatural creatures. It’s a book telling great stuff, between real and fictional about these supernatural creatures. It was an interesting read anyway.
February 15, 2010
Just a second...(grunt) I just need to (yelp!)...do something a bit different for this... (cry!) review!
Reader Dan: Ah. That's better.
Writer Dan: Isn't it? We should split the psyche more often. I'm so sick of you reading Ketchum filth when we should be working.
RD: A good writer needs to read as much as possible, WD. Anyway, what the hell's your problem? I thought you wanted to BE Jack Ketchum?
WD: ...
RD: Anyhoo. Here's the review for the (drumroll) non-fiction book, They Bite! by kajillion time Bram Stoker Award winners Jonathan Maberry and David F Kramer. Looks like they took time out from reinforcing their sagging mantelpiece to add another volume to their collection of nonfiction, horror orientated books.
WD: Indeed. This one being more a general overview of supernatural predators, rather than a specific study, such as in Vampire Universe. Vampires are given the biggest section, however, and the usual suspects of werewolves, zombies, demons and the rest of the cryptids get their moments in the limelight.
RD: I used to love these kind of books when I was a kid. They scared me more than the fictional ones, as these things could be creeping around your house in the middle of the night, right?
WD: I think you've been reading a little bit too much before bedtime, buddy. What did you think about the book?
RD: (Wiggles fingers)
WD: And what's that supposed to mean?
RD: It was good in places, not so good in others. The book is divided into sections, vamps, werewolves, hellhounds, etc and Maberry and Kramer give us a long, decent, deep and thoroughly researched breakdown of each one in folklore, movies, literature, etc. This reader cannot tell who wrote what, it's that seamless.
WD: Yes, the research was very, very thorough. Shows the guys have such a love for this kind of material, and it shows.
RD: But then we hit the glossaries.
WD: Ah, the glossaries. What was your problem?
RD: I started with good intentions, but for example, it's a hard slog to read through 50 something pages (don't quote me on that) of constant vampire definitions from A-Z. The ones I read were concise and enjoyable, but it just made up too big a segment of the book. I ended up skipping most of them, and for me, that's not getting value for money.
WD: I see your point, and I too skipped the majority of each glossary because if you did, I did.
RD: Figures. You always copy.
WD: We're the same person, ass clown. Although I didn't read the glossaries from A-Z, the ones I did read are on the ball and entertaining. As a writer in the horror field, I'm quite secure knowing that I have a volume of obscure creature entries on the shelf. Voila! Instant (and factual) inspiration!
RD: What did you make of the comments by many respected figures in the business? I know some of them are close friends, so be careful...
WD: Yeah, I'm not going to be specific, and I didn't make note of any names of the guilty, but the comments formed a wide spectrum from insightful to damn awful. Some were just regurgitated blurbs from novels, such as when we asked Mr Writer what he thought about werechickens, he told us that in his book Cluck at the Moon, yadda yadda yadda. I respected those that DID NOT mention their books at all. They all got their books listed after their names and some even had the covers there (all well and good), but to then go on about the same book...it felt like we were getting commercial breaks. This can't be said for the majority though, and it was excellent to see a few familiar faces such as Shaun Jeffrey, Louise Bohmer, Fran Friel, etc.
Artwork?
RD: Amazing. The full colour centre section was the icing on the cake. A nice touch. And I had no idea Maberry was such an artist! Is there anything he can't do?
WD: I know he can kick yo ass. Think about that when you deliver the star rating. Did you read the Pine Deep trilogy?
RD: Of course! I'm the reading psyche, remember?
WD: So on the five star system, what are you going to give it? I'm going all the way with a 5/5, and that's without the threat of ninja Maberry. It's a great resource to have on the shelf for any enthusiast, and it's a damn sight more entertaining than any textbook. In addition, Dog Soldiers and American Werewolf in London are ranked as the best werewolf movies and I have to agree.
RD: You and your movies! I liked the book, but couldn't shake that feeling that I'd only read half and skipped the rest because of the repetitive glossaries. Yes, this is a textbook kinda thing and a great resource, but as a reader, it didn't make it a page turner in parts. I'd have go with 3/5.
WD: So we can agree on a straight 4 star review?
RD: I think so. Before we meld back together to form our indecisive whole, did you watch the chupacabra footage that was mentioned in the book? What did you think?
(Look at each other as their faces blend together)
Both: DOG!
Reader Dan: Ah. That's better.
Writer Dan: Isn't it? We should split the psyche more often. I'm so sick of you reading Ketchum filth when we should be working.
RD: A good writer needs to read as much as possible, WD. Anyway, what the hell's your problem? I thought you wanted to BE Jack Ketchum?
WD: ...
RD: Anyhoo. Here's the review for the (drumroll) non-fiction book, They Bite! by kajillion time Bram Stoker Award winners Jonathan Maberry and David F Kramer. Looks like they took time out from reinforcing their sagging mantelpiece to add another volume to their collection of nonfiction, horror orientated books.
WD: Indeed. This one being more a general overview of supernatural predators, rather than a specific study, such as in Vampire Universe. Vampires are given the biggest section, however, and the usual suspects of werewolves, zombies, demons and the rest of the cryptids get their moments in the limelight.
RD: I used to love these kind of books when I was a kid. They scared me more than the fictional ones, as these things could be creeping around your house in the middle of the night, right?
WD: I think you've been reading a little bit too much before bedtime, buddy. What did you think about the book?
RD: (Wiggles fingers)
WD: And what's that supposed to mean?
RD: It was good in places, not so good in others. The book is divided into sections, vamps, werewolves, hellhounds, etc and Maberry and Kramer give us a long, decent, deep and thoroughly researched breakdown of each one in folklore, movies, literature, etc. This reader cannot tell who wrote what, it's that seamless.
WD: Yes, the research was very, very thorough. Shows the guys have such a love for this kind of material, and it shows.
RD: But then we hit the glossaries.
WD: Ah, the glossaries. What was your problem?
RD: I started with good intentions, but for example, it's a hard slog to read through 50 something pages (don't quote me on that) of constant vampire definitions from A-Z. The ones I read were concise and enjoyable, but it just made up too big a segment of the book. I ended up skipping most of them, and for me, that's not getting value for money.
WD: I see your point, and I too skipped the majority of each glossary because if you did, I did.
RD: Figures. You always copy.
WD: We're the same person, ass clown. Although I didn't read the glossaries from A-Z, the ones I did read are on the ball and entertaining. As a writer in the horror field, I'm quite secure knowing that I have a volume of obscure creature entries on the shelf. Voila! Instant (and factual) inspiration!
RD: What did you make of the comments by many respected figures in the business? I know some of them are close friends, so be careful...
WD: Yeah, I'm not going to be specific, and I didn't make note of any names of the guilty, but the comments formed a wide spectrum from insightful to damn awful. Some were just regurgitated blurbs from novels, such as when we asked Mr Writer what he thought about werechickens, he told us that in his book Cluck at the Moon, yadda yadda yadda. I respected those that DID NOT mention their books at all. They all got their books listed after their names and some even had the covers there (all well and good), but to then go on about the same book...it felt like we were getting commercial breaks. This can't be said for the majority though, and it was excellent to see a few familiar faces such as Shaun Jeffrey, Louise Bohmer, Fran Friel, etc.
Artwork?
RD: Amazing. The full colour centre section was the icing on the cake. A nice touch. And I had no idea Maberry was such an artist! Is there anything he can't do?
WD: I know he can kick yo ass. Think about that when you deliver the star rating. Did you read the Pine Deep trilogy?
RD: Of course! I'm the reading psyche, remember?
WD: So on the five star system, what are you going to give it? I'm going all the way with a 5/5, and that's without the threat of ninja Maberry. It's a great resource to have on the shelf for any enthusiast, and it's a damn sight more entertaining than any textbook. In addition, Dog Soldiers and American Werewolf in London are ranked as the best werewolf movies and I have to agree.
RD: You and your movies! I liked the book, but couldn't shake that feeling that I'd only read half and skipped the rest because of the repetitive glossaries. Yes, this is a textbook kinda thing and a great resource, but as a reader, it didn't make it a page turner in parts. I'd have go with 3/5.
WD: So we can agree on a straight 4 star review?
RD: I think so. Before we meld back together to form our indecisive whole, did you watch the chupacabra footage that was mentioned in the book? What did you think?
(Look at each other as their faces blend together)
Both: DOG!
August 25, 2015
Good informational book, detailing several well-known and some lesser-known creatures of folklore. I enjoyed the humor that made the experience of reading more fun than slogging through a textbook. There were a few minor errors - a few dates were incorrect, but the vast majority of the book presented (to my knowledge) accurate information. I enjoyed the glossaries, but really would have enjoyed an index. All in all, a very informative and interesting read!
October 1, 2011
Just picked this up as I do to like to know a little bit more of the mythology of many of the monsters I adore. It seems like an interesting pop culture exploration of creatures that go bump in the night, at least the ones that may actually sink their teeth into you. And I have learned some new perspectives on creatures I thought I knew everything about.
October 18, 2011
Although a lot of the sections such as vampires and werewolves held a lot of known information, I love the chapters such as "Cryptids" that give information on the lesser known creatures out there. Great informational book.
March 17, 2011
It's a good research book. But not a good lesiurely read.
December 15, 2012
A good book if you are looking for some history for the creatures it covers. There are a few unique insights in some of the sections and a pretty good list of cryptids.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews