
The Penguin Book of Demons
Scott G. Bruce(Editor)
Penguin Classics (Publisher)
Published on 30. January 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-14-313786-3 (ISBN)
Description
Three thousand years of encounters with the malevolent beings that have invaded our waking lives and our nightmares
For millennia, societies have told tales of their fears incarnate - otherworldly couriers of plague, death, temptation and moral decline. Drawing from three thousand years of religious traditions and world literature, The Penguin Book of Demons follows these supernatural creatures - and the humans who have hunted and been haunted by them - through accounts across cultures and continents, including: the daimones of ancient Greece and Rome; the giant, biblical half humans known as Nephilim who stalked the earth before the Great Flood; corrupted angels, condemned to eternity in Hell; the djinn of Islamic Arabia; the female, child-eating gelloudes of Byzantium; the seductive incubi and succubi of northern Europe; the animal spirits of early modern China; and the cannibalistic wendigo of Native American folklore. From demonic possession to black magic, these accounts give life to a spellbinding, skin-crawling history of the paranormal.
For millennia, societies have told tales of their fears incarnate - otherworldly couriers of plague, death, temptation and moral decline. Drawing from three thousand years of religious traditions and world literature, The Penguin Book of Demons follows these supernatural creatures - and the humans who have hunted and been haunted by them - through accounts across cultures and continents, including: the daimones of ancient Greece and Rome; the giant, biblical half humans known as Nephilim who stalked the earth before the Great Flood; corrupted angels, condemned to eternity in Hell; the djinn of Islamic Arabia; the female, child-eating gelloudes of Byzantium; the seductive incubi and succubi of northern Europe; the animal spirits of early modern China; and the cannibalistic wendigo of Native American folklore. From demonic possession to black magic, these accounts give life to a spellbinding, skin-crawling history of the paranormal.
Reviews / Votes
"All the devils are here." -The Times Literary SupplementMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
438 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-313786-3 (9780143137863)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Person
Scott G. Bruce is the editor of The Penguin Book of the Undead and The Penguin Book of Hell, and the author of three books about the Abbey of Cluny. He is a professor of medieval history at Fordham University in New York City. He worked his way through college as a gravedigger.