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The Weird 100
Including aliens and alien abduction, ESP, ghosts, life after death, palmistry, time travel, Stonehenge, and the Shroud of Turin, a fascinating guide to paranormal phenomena delves into bizarre events that have mystified the world throughout history. Original.
- GenresNonfiction
425 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 19, 2024
I came across this book at my local library as a kid and checked it out countless times. When I was a teen I found it for sale at a bookstore and it has been a mainstay on my bookshelf ever since.
This book takes a super fun and light approach to 100 weird/paranormal/spooky/scary topics. Some topics are surface level like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster but it covers many lesser known topics such as Animal Psi, The Philadelphia Experiment, and Fortean Phenomena.
I’ve revisited this book frequently throughout the years and I will keep revisiting it in this life and the next ;)
This book takes a super fun and light approach to 100 weird/paranormal/spooky/scary topics. Some topics are surface level like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster but it covers many lesser known topics such as Animal Psi, The Philadelphia Experiment, and Fortean Phenomena.
I’ve revisited this book frequently throughout the years and I will keep revisiting it in this life and the next ;)
April 30, 2011
This book took me back to my youth and the days I was fascinated (still am although to a lesser extent) with all things weird. What counts as weird? Well, even though I don't blame you for thinking I might make an appearance in this book it actually chronicles such topics as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, UFO's, The Shroud of Turin, prophecy etc.
There might only be 100 unexplained subjects but the book itself is over 400 pages in length and each subject is explored as well as it can be in such a limited volume.
To get the reader in the correct state of mind the author starts each of his 100 topics with a Haiku which is a Japanese poetic form consisting of three lines of five syllables , seven syllables and another five syllables. I can't say these worked for me although I was impressed with the effort and talent it took to create one for every topic.
Each of the 100 chapters, following the Haiku, has a quote from an expert or knowledgeable text regarding what the reader is about to discover. I found these more helpful and apt than the Haiku and overall the structure of 'The Weird 100' was excellent with each chapter being given the same treatment. After the quote comes five pieces of information kept in a summarized form. They are...
Definition - a definition of the phenomena at hand.
What the Believers Say - A synopsis of the arguments in favor of the phenomena.
What the Skeptics Say - A synopsis of the arguments against the phenomena being real.
Quality of Supporting Evidence - The evidence that's available to analyse rated from "negligible" through "excellent".
Likelihood Phenomena are Paranormal - The authors opinion on whether it's real or not.
I loved the 100 topics chosen for this book as they are fairly diverse and cover a whole spectrum of phenomena. Some of my personal long time favorites are in there too such as 'The Lost Colony of Roanoke' (a whole colony of people who just vanished in 1590 leaving behind nothing but the word "croatoan" on a post), Men in Black, Ouija Boards and reincarnation (that last one is a favorite of mine as when I was a child I used to claim I lived in a big house on a certain hill with lots of other children, near where my grandmother lived, every time we walked past it. I was only three or four at the time and there was no house there. I was adamant I lived there before I was born, when I was a girl no less, and so my mum and grandmother done some research. Turns out that many years before an orphanage used to exist on top of that hill).
I didn't always agree with the author's conclusion about certain phenomena, for instance he believes the men in black phenomena has a low likelihood of being real whereas I'm a true believer, but each chapter is set out so well that you can make your own conclusion and not be forced into a channel set by the author. In that respect it's quite refreshing as books studying paranormal phenomena are usually written by a firm believer or a total skeptic.
I actually got this book, signed by the author no less although that was just luck, from Betterworldbooks.com bargain bin for $3 including shipping and so in that respect it was damn bargain! I wouldn't have bought it at full price, $16.95, as there's nothing really new in terms of information within the book. However, it does cover 100 weird phenomena very well and is an excellent starting point for those wanting to explore strange and unusual happenings and even if you're a seasoned paranormal reader this makes an excellent digest.
There might only be 100 unexplained subjects but the book itself is over 400 pages in length and each subject is explored as well as it can be in such a limited volume.
To get the reader in the correct state of mind the author starts each of his 100 topics with a Haiku which is a Japanese poetic form consisting of three lines of five syllables , seven syllables and another five syllables. I can't say these worked for me although I was impressed with the effort and talent it took to create one for every topic.
Each of the 100 chapters, following the Haiku, has a quote from an expert or knowledgeable text regarding what the reader is about to discover. I found these more helpful and apt than the Haiku and overall the structure of 'The Weird 100' was excellent with each chapter being given the same treatment. After the quote comes five pieces of information kept in a summarized form. They are...
Definition - a definition of the phenomena at hand.
What the Believers Say - A synopsis of the arguments in favor of the phenomena.
What the Skeptics Say - A synopsis of the arguments against the phenomena being real.
Quality of Supporting Evidence - The evidence that's available to analyse rated from "negligible" through "excellent".
Likelihood Phenomena are Paranormal - The authors opinion on whether it's real or not.
I loved the 100 topics chosen for this book as they are fairly diverse and cover a whole spectrum of phenomena. Some of my personal long time favorites are in there too such as 'The Lost Colony of Roanoke' (a whole colony of people who just vanished in 1590 leaving behind nothing but the word "croatoan" on a post), Men in Black, Ouija Boards and reincarnation (that last one is a favorite of mine as when I was a child I used to claim I lived in a big house on a certain hill with lots of other children, near where my grandmother lived, every time we walked past it. I was only three or four at the time and there was no house there. I was adamant I lived there before I was born, when I was a girl no less, and so my mum and grandmother done some research. Turns out that many years before an orphanage used to exist on top of that hill).
I didn't always agree with the author's conclusion about certain phenomena, for instance he believes the men in black phenomena has a low likelihood of being real whereas I'm a true believer, but each chapter is set out so well that you can make your own conclusion and not be forced into a channel set by the author. In that respect it's quite refreshing as books studying paranormal phenomena are usually written by a firm believer or a total skeptic.
I actually got this book, signed by the author no less although that was just luck, from Betterworldbooks.com bargain bin for $3 including shipping and so in that respect it was damn bargain! I wouldn't have bought it at full price, $16.95, as there's nothing really new in terms of information within the book. However, it does cover 100 weird phenomena very well and is an excellent starting point for those wanting to explore strange and unusual happenings and even if you're a seasoned paranormal reader this makes an excellent digest.
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September 23, 2014Ho preso questo libro come allegato a Focus, pi�� che altro curiosa di vedere quali fossero i 100 fenomeni trattati.
Alla fine, la lista dei fenomeni con relativa descrizione �� la parte pi�� interessante del libro, il resto �� abbastanza penoso.
Quella degli haiku iniziali potrebbe essere una cosa simpatica, se nel 90% dei casi non facessero piet��.
Poi mi ha sorpreso il fatto che nessuno abbia riletto il volume prima di stamparlo e distribuirlo: sono presenti errori di stampa e di formattazione del testo (per esempio il titolo di un capitolo, invece di apparire in cima a una pagina nuova, �� appiccicato alla fine del capitolo precedente, gli haiku sono in un formato diverso in ogni capitolo, a volte in grassetto, a volte no, a volte allineati a sinistra, a volte centrati etc).
La cosa peggiore di tutte �� poi il commento e le conclusioni dell'autore, che invece dovrebbe essere la parte pi�� importante: estremamente di parte, a volte sono indicati come probabilmente sovrannaturali fenomeni assurdi e campati in aria e invece etichettati come fasulli fenomeni un po' pi�� plausibili, il tutto con scarse motivazioni.
Io sono piuttosto scettica sui fenomeni sovrannaturali, ma mi piace leggere libri o articoli che ne parlino in maniera obiettiva e questo libro non lo �� affatto.
Alla fine, la lista dei fenomeni con relativa descrizione �� la parte pi�� interessante del libro, il resto �� abbastanza penoso.
Quella degli haiku iniziali potrebbe essere una cosa simpatica, se nel 90% dei casi non facessero piet��.
Poi mi ha sorpreso il fatto che nessuno abbia riletto il volume prima di stamparlo e distribuirlo: sono presenti errori di stampa e di formattazione del testo (per esempio il titolo di un capitolo, invece di apparire in cima a una pagina nuova, �� appiccicato alla fine del capitolo precedente, gli haiku sono in un formato diverso in ogni capitolo, a volte in grassetto, a volte no, a volte allineati a sinistra, a volte centrati etc).
La cosa peggiore di tutte �� poi il commento e le conclusioni dell'autore, che invece dovrebbe essere la parte pi�� importante: estremamente di parte, a volte sono indicati come probabilmente sovrannaturali fenomeni assurdi e campati in aria e invece etichettati come fasulli fenomeni un po' pi�� plausibili, il tutto con scarse motivazioni.
Io sono piuttosto scettica sui fenomeni sovrannaturali, ma mi piace leggere libri o articoli che ne parlino in maniera obiettiva e questo libro non lo �� affatto.
November 25, 2010
Hee, good stuff.
The funny, well-researched entries are actually something I come back to from time to time when discussing these oddities with the paranoids in my life. My favorite part of this book is the complete list of amazing coincidences between the Lincoln/JFK assassinations, which is quite stunning in its, er, completeness (never seen another list more thorough, truly.) I also like the author's rips on the fake conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51, namely, the b.s. that suggests the government is hiding aliens there. And his recap of the so-called Paul Is Dead "phenomenon" is hysterical--until I found this book, I really had no idea what that mess was "about."
The funny, well-researched entries are actually something I come back to from time to time when discussing these oddities with the paranoids in my life. My favorite part of this book is the complete list of amazing coincidences between the Lincoln/JFK assassinations, which is quite stunning in its, er, completeness (never seen another list more thorough, truly.) I also like the author's rips on the fake conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51, namely, the b.s. that suggests the government is hiding aliens there. And his recap of the so-called Paul Is Dead "phenomenon" is hysterical--until I found this book, I really had no idea what that mess was "about."
May 14, 2011
i have always been fascinated with the weird, the strange, the unexplained. when i saw this book, i immediately grabbed it. and i'm glad i did.
even though most of the topics presented i already knew about, it doesn't make me like this book any less. topics like the earth being hollow and suppressed inventions, new to me, really intrigued me. the author's approach was not-so-serious with a bit of humor, which scored extra points for me.
read this everywhere. in the bathroom, on the kitchen table, on the bus, anywhere. it's that interesting. 4 stars.
even though most of the topics presented i already knew about, it doesn't make me like this book any less. topics like the earth being hollow and suppressed inventions, new to me, really intrigued me. the author's approach was not-so-serious with a bit of humor, which scored extra points for me.
read this everywhere. in the bathroom, on the kitchen table, on the bus, anywhere. it's that interesting. 4 stars.
February 23, 2009
This was worth the read because it had some interesting things that I had never heard of (or wasn't exactly sure of), but there didn't seem to be a lot of science behind all this. There were different evidences supporting and negating each "weird" item, but it wasn't too deep or thought provoking.
June 1, 2016
It's a book easy and smooth, but very interesting. I recommend it to all those who are curious and want to know more about the great mysteries!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews