Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia (Paperback)

by Carol Rose (Author) "This is the name of an evil spirit or devil in the folklore of the Basque people of southwestern France and northwestern Spain..." (more)
Key Phrases: nursery bogie, important encantado, nuisance spirit, Little People, Soviet Republic, Native American (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
The variety of cultures represented is breathtaking. . . . Rose's encyclopedia will enrich reference collections in several thousand little ways. -- Rettig on Reference

Product Description
A fabulously entertaining work with over 100 delightful illustrations--Library Journal calls Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins its "favorite work of 1996." In more than 2,000 alphabetically arranged entries, readers will meet angels, demons, elves, encantados, fairies, familiars, keremets, nats, nymphs, and many other strange beings from around the world. Carol Rose introduces the reader to the little--and not so little--folk, delightfully various and, at the same time, strikingly similar from country to country. Wherever humans have lived, the supernatural beings have dwelt alongside us. People serve to explain the unexplainable--the strange disappearance of a traveler in a dark wood, that odd thumping in the attic, the fresh cream turned sour overnight. Often they reveal the stoic humor with which human societies have faced their difficulties. But whatever their source, our guilts, fears, dreams, or imaginations, the spirits have fascinated and enchanted us through the millennia. Chosen by Library Journal as a Best Reference Source.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (August 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393317927
• ISBN-13: 978-0393317923
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #254,791 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, May 10, 2000

By A Customer

This book is incredible. It not only contains thousands of entries, encyclopedia-style, but it cross-references them geographically and by type of creature. I've learned tons. I read this book not only for fun, but as a resource in my work as a writer of fantasy. I have other books like it, but this one is essential.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous reference, December 27, 2000

By A Customer

This book is superb. It is comprehensive, authoritative, and an invaluable reference guide for writers and other researchers. I was hesitant when I saw the listed reading level as age 4-8. That's clearly an error. This is a book for adults, and a really good one.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what the title indicates, September 24, 2002

By	Melusine (www.FantasyLiterature.net) (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is an amazingly comprehensive volume cataloguing spirits--supernatural beings less powerful than deities--from cultures around the world.

A book like this is hard to summarize in a review, but it suffices to say that this is a wonderfully broad overview of the subject, covering every culture and every spirit you can think of, with only a little bit of oversimplification. (Durga, for example, is referred to as evil, which is somewhat less than accurate.) Spirits, demons, djinns, faeries, and their kin are all present and accounted for. Use this as a first reference, then make sure to look more deeply into whatever interests you most.