Out of the Dark: The Complete Guide to Beings from Beyond

by Brad Steiger

A renowned paranormal expert presents a fascinating foray into the realm of supernatural and legendary creatures by providing true accounts of actual encounters and discussing the origins of ghosts, half-human/half-animal monsters, water creatures, vampires, werewolves, elves, and much more. Original.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Monsters, Occult, Paranormal, Ghosts

Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

Reviews

[Lisa M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always loved these types of books. One benefit of them is that whether or not they are good, if the author has any writing talent, they are often campy and enjoyable in a humorous way. I own so many of these types of books that as a responsible adult who moves frequently, I have to be careful which ones I pick up. So, I only try to buy them if something unique stands out about them. In this book, it was chapters seven and eight: "Creatures Who Serve the Darkness" and "Inner Earth Empire of Evil." I wasn't sure what the author meant by either category - and I had to find out.

Instead of reading something with the potential to be more serious on my trip to New York City, I picked this book to read on the train. I'm very busy and stressed so I needed something to give me a break! I asked my boyfriend on the train if the cover looked erotic and he said "definitely." Hahaha! I liked the cover, I thought it was unique.

I wish the book had been organized a little differently. Chapters 1 - 3 (Ghosts, "Manimals" (Bigfoot,) and Monsters of Lake and Sea) should have been integrated differently. One of the unique things about this book is that the author is able to connect these phenomenon in many ways. He makes many suggestions about what each phenomenon might be, and how they are potentially similar/connected. I wish the organization of the book reflected that a little more.

Each chapter dealt with its content and offered subcategories/related categories to the overall theme. Many of these subcategories were unique: I expected Bloodsuckers to be primarily about vampires but it included chupacabras, werecreatures to be about werewolves and it included werecats (which is a rare one and not often seen in texts,) etc. I also liked the inclusions of the unique chapters, because I felt like the topics were unique. "Creatures Who Serve the Darkness" included incubus, sucubus, and demons that compel people to kill. (More on the later in a second." "Inner Earth Empire of Evil" was basically about evil dwarves - how much cooler can it get? I also liked "The Wee People" chapter. Fairies don't always get included in these collections.

The content of the book was interesting. I expected this book to be more heavy on the "Detailed descriptions" on the back for some reason - like an encyclopedia. But, I was wrong. I would say for most chapters the book gives some brief background but relies heavily on encounters. Each chapter included detailed encounters people claim to have with the creatures at hand. I enjoyed it and even though some were silly, they were entertaining. It was nice to read adult encounters with some of the more unusual ones, like "the wee people." We don't always get that in these books.

"Bloodsuckers" and "Creatures Who Serve the Darkness" also included real life crimes that involved people who thought they were vampires/people hearing voices of demons who compelled them to kill. Now, I love campy books and stories like the next person. But especially with the demon voices portion, this was hard to handle. The author's over the top language and the implication that the people listed were not mentally ill in any way, but compelled by evil, was hard to swallow. I work in the mental health field so that was difficult for me. It also wasn't necessary, the stories were spooky in and of themselves and the author could have introduced them differently and kept them. I really enjoyed them, I consider myself a true crime buff and I hadn't heard of several. I googled them as I went along to learn more.

Overall a good book with a spooky vibe that covered various aspects of these phenomenon. Whether you believe or not, if you can just go on the author's journey for an afternoon, you'll probably enjoy it. I know I did!

[Christian Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes a look at the beasties that go bump in the night or occupy a certain space in our minds. Vampires, Bigfoots, etc. are all covered. It is a collection of sightings, stories, myths and legends surrounding various creatures. Good book.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Fun.

[Tom Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a "In Search Of" kid. Stories of the unknown, the unknowable, the weird, Fortean stuff -- I ate it all up. Steiger wrote some number just south of 200 books. He was a true believer (which I am not), but also a de facto folklorist of a sort. He was a collector of stories. This book is just one of his many. Very entertaining accounts of Bigfoot and family, sea monsters, ghosts, demons, and subterranean terrors. Loved it.

[Alex Apostol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book that I turn to often for my Kamlyn Paige series for research. There are so many monsters and creepy things in there that I never even heard of before, and some of them have made their way into my own books.