DOCSLIB.ORG

A-Field-Guide-To-Demons-By-Carol-K

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A-Field-Guide-To-Demons-By-Carol-K A FIELD GUIDE TO DEMONS, FAIRIES, FALLEN ANGELS, AND OTHER SUBVERSIVE SPIRITS A FIELD GUIDE TO DEMONS, FAIRIES, FALLEN ANGELS, AND OTHER SUBVERSIVE SPIRITS CAROL K. MACK AND DINAH MACK AN OWL BOOK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY NEW YORK Owl Books Henry Holt and Company, LLC Publishers since 1866 175 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10010 www.henryholt.com An Owl Book® and ® are registered trademarks of Henry Holt and Company, LLC. Copyright © 1998 by Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack All rights reserved. Distributed in Canada by H. B. Fenn and Company Ltd. Library of Congress-in-Publication Data Mack, Carol K. A field guide to demons, fairies, fallen angels, and other subversive spirits / Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack—1st Owl books ed. p. cm. "An Owl book." Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-6270-0 ISBN-10: 0-8050-6270-X 1. Demonology. 2. Fairies. I. Mack, Dinah. II. Title. BF1531.M26 1998 99-20481 133.4'2—dc21 CIP Henry Holt books are available for special promotions and premiums. For details contact: Director, Special Markets. First published in hardcover in 1998 by Arcade Publishing, Inc., New York First Owl Books Edition 1999 Designed by Sean McDonald Printed in the United States of America 13 15 17 18 16 14 This book is dedicated to Eliza, may she always be surrounded by love, joy and compassion, the demon vanquishers. Willingly I too say, Hail! to the unknown awful powers which transcend the ken of the understanding. And the attraction which this topic has had for me and which induces me to unfold its parts before you is precisely because I think the numberless forms in which this superstition has reappeared in every time and in every people indicates the inextinguish- ableness of wonder in man; betrays his conviction that behind all your explanations is a vast and potent and living Nature, inexhaustible and sublime, which you cannot explain. He is sure no book, no man has told him all. He is sure the great Instinct, the circumambient soul which flows into him as into all, and is his life, has not been searched. He is sure the inti- mate relations subsist between his character and his fortunes, between him and the world: and until he can adequately tell them he will tell them wildly and fabulously. Demonology is the shadow of Theology. RALPH WALDO EMERSON, "ESSAY ON DEMONOLOGY," 1875 CONTENTS Introduction / xi How to Use the Guide / xix How to Identify a Basic Demon / xxi How to Identify a Common Fairy / xxiii Approaches to the Field / xxvii Origin of the Species / xxxi WATER / 1 Tiamat, Mesopotamia • Mermaid, Global Merman, Global • Kappa, Japan • Rusalka, Russia Munuane, South America • Wahwee, Australia Madame White, China • Kelpie, Scotland Nixie, Teutonic • Tikoloshe, South Africa Nuckelavee, Scotland • Bunyip, Australia Vodyanoi, Russia • Mbulu, South Africa Merrow, Ireland • Ponaturi, New Zealand MOUNTAIN / 49 Huwawa, Mesopotamia • Tengu, Japan Huldrefolk, Norway • Abatwa, South Africa Yuki-Onna, Japan • Patupairehe, New Zealand Tommy-Knockers, North America • Kishi, Angola Gwyllion, Great Britain/Wales • Mahisha-Asura, India Yunwi Djunsti, North America • Duergar, Great Britain Mountain Fairies, China • Akvan, Ancient Persia Yaksas, Nepal • White Monkey, China FOREST / 89 Pan, Greece • Windigo, Canada Kuru-Pira, Brazil • Bori, West Africa Wood- Wives and Skoggra, Germany and Sweden Rakshasas, India • Ravana, India • Leshii, Russia Eloko, Zaire • Oni, Japan • Kumbhakarna, India Kayeri, South America • Dodo, Ghana Shedim (Judaism) • Kitsune, Japan • Khabanda, India CONTENTS / X DESERT / 133 Surem, Sonoran Desert • Set, Sahara Desert Azazel, Judean Wilderness • Iblis, Arabian Desert Djinn, Arabian Desert • Shaitan, Arabian Desert Ghoul, Arabian Desert • Devalpa, Arabian Desert Mimi, Australia • St. Anthony's Demons, Sahara Desert Palis, Arabian Desert • Mamu, Australia Ahriman, Iranian Desert • Namarrgon, Australia Ho'ok, Sonoran Desert • Satan, Negev DOMICILE / 177 Croucher, Babylonia • Asmodeus (Judaism) Changing Bear Maiden, North America Domovoi, Russia • Hiranyakashipu, India Lilith (Judaism) • Changelings, Great Britain Pazuzu, Babylonia • Isitwalangcengce, South Africa Liderc, Hungary • AI, Armenia • Fox Fairy, China Mare, Norway • Kitchen Fairies, China Fair Lady, Hungary • Nisse, Norway PSYCHE / 225 Gerasene Demon, Ancient Palestine (Jordan) Werewolf, Global • Loup Garou, North America Leyak, Bali • Dybbuk (Judaism) • Kitsune- Tsuki, Japan Mara (Buddhism) • Yezer Ha-Ra (Judaism) Seven Deadly Sins (Christian West) Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson) • Id (Freud) Shadow (Jung) • Yamantaka (Tibetan Buddhism) Quantum Daimon (Guide) Acknowledgments / 273 Bibliography / 275 Illustration Credits / 281 Index / 285 INTRODUCTION Although far more commonly sighted than angels, demons are still the most misunderstood of the ancient spirits. Many demons were once ancient deities or nature spirits who were degraded or demoted over the millennia by later cultures that settled in their areas. Together they form the most archaic spirit strata on earth and they've never lost their power to enchant us. Often described as unpredictable, magical, and riveting, demons have always lived close by — much closer than angels — too close to ignore and yet too "Other" to get to know. Humankind has always regarded demons with ambivalence: as supernatural adversaries who must be com- bated, yet also as a source of superhuman secrets, which can be wrested from them. Universally demons have been considered agents of both good and evil, and have been looked upon as vital or negative forces, but share key characteristics: all demon species are supernatural spirits of semi-divine status with limitless energy, excessively passionate natures, shape-shifting talents, and preference for concealment, "indwelling," and darkness. Demons are everywhere, in every part of the world and in every moment of recorded history. They are as invisible as microbes. They inhabit every grain of sand and drop of water. They lurk at crossroads, crouch at the door, hide in trees, slip into bed, wait in caves, slide down chimneys, hover at wed- dings and childbirth, follow caravans, pretend to be friends, mates, or grandmothers. They slip into your mind and become your self. Demons include the genii loci who imbue and protect their natural habitats at any cost and fairies who've retreated farther and farther into the remaining pockets of wilderness. These underground operatives await the trespassing human INTRODUCTION / XII traveler, expecting their usual tithes, and when ignored they can be vengeful. Other demons are personifications of our own passions, impulses, and desires, lurking about in the dark, hidden terrain of our unconscious, and their habits hold pro- found insights into the nature of our minds. Still others serve as explanations of misfortunes or aberrant events, or are seen as portents bearing chilling prophecies of death or doom. The wide array of demon functions and roles are as fascinating as their intense personalities. Some demons serve as portals to sacred ground. Because demons can be protective (at times overprotective), they were often employed as guardian spirits to watch over the sanctu- ary entrance. They stood at the portal, baring their fangs, and ferociously repelled malevolent spirits who would fly head-on into their terrific images and take off in horror. They had a riveting effect on any human who entered in the wrong spirit. This useful, evil-averting demon function is still displayed in many cultures at places of worship, and it continues in a more concealed form just as the mythic traveler approaches a forest, or attempts the ascent of a mountain, a passage through the desert, or stands at the banks of rivers, at the well, at the doorstep. This demonic protector/portal function is regarded by the Guide as one of its most relevant. In all cultures, the very presence of a demon — or of his reputation for lurking about a specific spot — alerts the traveler to some taboo that in itself indicates the presence of divine powers. The sacred nature of Forest, Desert, Water, and Mountain is to be assumed if demon warnings are in effect. These indwelling spirits are reminders to avoid a certain action or to perform it in a pre- scribed way — or risk incurring divine wrath. "Although it's commonly known that modern humankind has been destroy- ing the environment on which its existence depends; that it is ever faster exhausting nonrenewable sources of energy and other riches of this planet ... that although contemporary humanity has been aware of these dangers, it does almost nothing to confront or avert them," said Vaclav Havel. "It is my deep conviction that the only option is a change in the XIII / I INTRODUCTION sphere of the spirit, in the sphere of human conscience, in the actual attitude of man toward the world." Demons, like blazing stop signs, demanded attention and defined limits in earlier times. Their lore in the Guide expresses an animistic worldview in which wilderness held "forbidden" places and earth was believed to be imbued with sacred spirits, some beneficent, some harmful, some capri- cious. The geography of demon encounters and quellings is marked by many peoples on sacred maps, and throughout the world these places Eire still sites of ceremonies. Many peoples today believe in the literal existence of the figures and tales in the Guide, while others see them as metaphor. In either case they serve to remind us with their retaliatory gestures of avalanches, floods, sandstorms, and acts of mayhem that there are consequences to acts of greed, despoiling, and deforesta- tion, and that an attitude of humility is more appropriate than hubris in the face of nature's awesome power. Demons are also the essence of human storytelling. People everywhere tell similar tales, which serve to transmit values and contain clear messages about what traits are con- sidered desirable or undesirable. The demons are brilliant per- formers who entertain us marvelously as the mischievous trickster, the town menace, the sultry temptress, in what have become our classic plots.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Canadian Guiding Badges and Insignia Brownie Six/Circle Emblems
    Canadian Guiding Badges And Insignia Brownie Six/Circle Emblems Following the introduction of the Brownie program to provide Guiding for younger girls, and after the decision to base the new program on The Brownie Story, a further decision was made in 1919 to subdivide a Brownie Pack into smaller groups consisting of six girls. These smaller groups within the Pack were known as Sixes and were identified by a Six emblem bearing the name of some mythical fairy- like person from folklore. [Reference: POR (British, 1919)] The original Six emblems were brown felt; later versions were brown cotton with the edges bound in brown. In 1995, the term “Sixes” was replaced by the term “Circles”, and the shape of the emblems was changed as well. In 1972, three of the original twelve Six emblems were retired and in 1995 four new ones were added. Page 1 V.2 Canadian Guiding Badges And Insignia Brownie Six/Circle Emblems SC0001 SC0002 Bwbachod Badge Discontinued 1919- 19? 19? - 1972 SC0003 SC0004 Djinn Introduced 1994 1995-2004 1994 SC0005 SC0006 Dryad Introduced 1994 1995- 1994 Page 2 V.2 Canadian Guiding Badges And Insignia Brownie Six/Circle Emblems SC0007 SC0008 SC0009 Elf 1919-19? 19? - 1995 1995- SC0010 SC0011 SC0012 Fairy 1919-19? 19? - 1995 1995- SC0013 SC0014 Ghillie Dhu Badge Discontinued 1919-19? 19? - 1972 Page 3 V.2 Canadian Guiding Badges And Insignia Brownie Six/Circle Emblems SC0015 SC0016 SC0017 Gnome 1995- 1919-19? 19? - 1995 SC0018 SC0019 Imp Badge Discontinued 1919-19? 19? - 1995 SC0020 SC0021 SC0022 Kelpie (formerly called Scottish
    [Show full text]
  • Mothers Grimm Kindle
    MOTHERS GRIMM PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Danielle Wood | 224 pages | 01 Oct 2016 | Allen & Unwin | 9781741756746 | English | St Leonards, Australia Mothers Grimm PDF Book Showing An aquatic reptilian-like creature that is an exceptional swimmer. They have a temper that they control and release to become effective killers, particularly when a matter involves a family member or loved one. She took Nick to Weston's car and told Nick that he knew Adalind was upstairs with Renard, and the two guys Weston sent around back knew too. When Wu asks how she got over thinking it was real, she tells him that it didn't matter whether it was real, what mattered was losing her fear of it. Dick Award Nominee I found the characters appealing, and the plot intriguing. This wesen is portrayed as the mythological basis for the Three Little Pigs. The tales are very dark, and while the central theme is motherhood, the stories are truly about womanhood, and society's unrealistic and unfair expectations of all of us. Paperback , pages. The series presents them as the mythological basis for The Story of the Three Bears. In a phone call, his parents called him Monroe, seeming to indicate that it is his first name. The first edition contained 86 stories, and by the seventh edition in , had unique fairy tales. Danielle is currently teaching creative writing at the University of Tasmania. The kiss of a musai secretes a psychotropic substance that causes obsessive infatuation. View all 3 comments. He asks Sean Renard, a police captain, to endorse him so he would be elected for the mayor position.
    [Show full text]
  • Grimm's Fairy Stories
    Grimm's Fairy Stories Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm The Project Gutenberg eBook, Grimm's Fairy Stories, by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm, Illustrated by John B Gruelle and R. Emmett Owen This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: Grimm's Fairy Stories Author: Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm Release Date: February 10, 2004 [eBook #11027] Language: English Character set encoding: US-ASCII ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GRIMM'S FAIRY STORIES*** E-text prepared by Internet Archive, University of Florida, Children, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 11027-h.htm or 11027-h.zip: (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/0/2/11027/11027-h/11027-h.htm) or (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/0/2/11027/11027-h.zip) GRIMM'S FAIRY STORIES Colored Illustrations by JOHN B. GRUELLE Pen and Ink Sketches by R. EMMETT OWEN 1922 CONTENTS THE GOOSE-GIRL THE LITTLE BROTHER AND SISTER HANSEL AND GRETHEL OH, IF I COULD BUT SHIVER! DUMMLING AND THE THREE FEATHERS LITTLE SNOW-WHITE CATHERINE AND FREDERICK THE VALIANT LITTLE TAILOR LITTLE RED-CAP THE GOLDEN GOOSE BEARSKIN CINDERELLA FAITHFUL JOHN THE WATER OF LIFE THUMBLING BRIAR ROSE THE SIX SWANS RAPUNZEL MOTHER HOLLE THE FROG PRINCE THE TRAVELS OF TOM THUMB SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED THE THREE LITTLE MEN IN THE WOOD RUMPELSTILTSKIN LITTLE ONE-EYE, TWO-EYES AND THREE-EYES [Illustration: Grimm's Fairy Stories] THE GOOSE-GIRL An old queen, whose husband had been dead some years, had a beautiful daughter.
    [Show full text]
  • Elusive European Monsters Alli Starry
    1 SELKIE Seal by sea and sheds its skin to walk on land in human form. This creature comes from the Irish and Scottish and Faroese folklore to keep their women cautious of men from the sea. 0 375 750 Km 9 KELPIE 2 PHOUKA N A shapeshifting water spirit in the lochs and A shapeshifting goblin sighted by the top of rivers of Scotland. The kelpie is told to warn the River Liffey. Takes drunkards on a wild children away from dangerous waters and women night ride and dumps them in random places. 6 to be wary of strangers. The Kelpie commonly Can be a nice excuse for a takes the shape of a horse with backwards hooves night at the pub. as it carries off its victims. 5 1 3 9 2 8 8 BOLOT N IK 4 A swamp monster originating from Poland. The Bolotnik pretends to be a stepping LOCH NESS 3 stone in a swamp when people pass through, then MON STER moves; causing its victims to fall into the mud where they can then be devoured. Legend has it that Loch Ness, Scotland has plesiosaur living in its depths. Affectionately named Nessie, a fisherman once 7 CET US spotted her surfacing the 7 Cetus is a sea monster from Greek Mythology. loch and Cetus is a mix between the sea serpent and a snapped a Map By: Alli Starry Monster information from Wikipedia whale. Its tale has been passed down through fuzzy picture. Pictures from deviantart.com the ages of Grecian folktales. It now resides World Mercator Projection; WKID: 54004 among the stars as a constellation.
    [Show full text]
  • INGO GILDENHARD Cicero, Philippic 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119 Latin Text, Study Aids with Vocabulary, and Commentary CICERO, PHILIPPIC 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119
    INGO GILDENHARD Cicero, Philippic 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119 Latin text, study aids with vocabulary, and commentary CICERO, PHILIPPIC 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119 Cicero, Philippic 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119 Latin text, study aids with vocabulary, and commentary Ingo Gildenhard https://www.openbookpublishers.com © 2018 Ingo Gildenhard The text of this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the text; to adapt the text and to make commercial use of the text providing attribution is made to the author(s), but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work. Attribution should include the following information: Ingo Gildenhard, Cicero, Philippic 2, 44–50, 78–92, 100–119. Latin Text, Study Aids with Vocabulary, and Commentary. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2018. https://doi. org/10.11647/OBP.0156 Every effort has been made to identify and contact copyright holders and any omission or error will be corrected if notification is made to the publisher. In order to access detailed and updated information on the license, please visit https:// www.openbookpublishers.com/product/845#copyright Further details about CC BY licenses are available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/ All external links were active at the time of publication unless otherwise stated and have been archived via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine at https://archive.org/web Digital material and resources associated with this volume are available at https://www.
    [Show full text]
  • Heavenly Priesthood in the Apocalypse of Abraham
    HEAVENLY PRIESTHOOD IN THE APOCALYPSE OF ABRAHAM The Apocalypse of Abraham is a vital source for understanding both Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism. Written anonymously soon after the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple, the text envisions heaven as the true place of worship and depicts Abraham as an initiate of the celestial priesthood. Andrei A. Orlov focuses on the central rite of the Abraham story – the scapegoat ritual that receives a striking eschatological reinterpretation in the text. He demonstrates that the development of the sacerdotal traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham, along with a cluster of Jewish mystical motifs, represents an important transition from Jewish apocalypticism to the symbols of early Jewish mysticism. In this way, Orlov offers unique insight into the complex world of the Jewish sacerdotal debates in the early centuries of the Common Era. The book will be of interest to scholars of early Judaism and Christianity, Old Testament studies, and Jewish mysticism and magic. ANDREI A. ORLOV is Professor of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity at Marquette University. His recent publications include Divine Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2009), Selected Studies in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2009), Concealed Writings: Jewish Mysticism in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2011), and Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology (2011). Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 130.209.6.50 on Thu Aug 08 23:36:19 WEST 2013. http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139856430 Cambridge Books Online © Cambridge University Press, 2013 HEAVENLY PRIESTHOOD IN THE APOCALYPSE OF ABRAHAM ANDREI A. ORLOV Downloaded from Cambridge Books Online by IP 130.209.6.50 on Thu Aug 08 23:36:19 WEST 2013.
    [Show full text]
  • Tracing Fairy Tales in Popular Culture Through the Depiction of Maternity in Three “Snow White” Variants
    University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses College of Arts & Sciences 5-2014 Reflective tales : tracing fairy tales in popular culture through the depiction of maternity in three “Snow White” variants. Alexandra O'Keefe University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/honors Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, and the Comparative Literature Commons Recommended Citation O'Keefe, Alexandra, "Reflective tales : tracing fairy tales in popular culture through the depiction of maternity in three “Snow White” variants." (2014). College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses. Paper 62. http://doi.org/10.18297/honors/62 This Senior Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts & Sciences at ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. O’Keefe 1 Reflective Tales: Tracing Fairy Tales in Popular Culture through the Depiction of Maternity in Three “Snow White” Variants By Alexandra O’Keefe Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Graduation summa cum laude University of Louisville March, 2014 O’Keefe 2 The ability to adapt to the culture they occupy as well as the two-dimensionality of literary fairy tales allows them to relate to readers on a more meaningful level.
    [Show full text]
  • Folklore of The
    1 Cailleach – old woman Altough the Cailleach lives in various mountain homes every year she comes to the Coire Bhreacain (Cauldren of the Plaid) to wash her massive yellow plaid in the swirling waters in order to summon the cold winds as Scotia’s Winter goddess. During archeological excavations in 1880 a figure of an ancient goddess was discovered in the peat bogs of Scotland, a figure who 2,500 years ago stood near the shore of Loch Leven as a symbol of an ancient religion or deity that has now been lost to time. Today she is known as the Ballachulish Woman & is a figure who stands at almost five feet tall & carved from a single piece of alder wood, her eyes are two quartz pebbles which even today, have a remarkable ability to draw the attention to the face of this mysterious relic. Although the identity of the Ballachulish Woman still remains a mystery many have speculated as to who this figure represented, there are some who believe that she is a depiction of a deity known as the Cailleach Bheithir, an ancient goddess of winds & 2 storms, also known as the Winter Hag, who had associations with a nearby mountain called Beinn a’Bheithir. (Hill of the thunderbolt) Another theory is that she could represent a goddess of the straits, this is due to the figures location near the straits where Loch Levan meets the sea, & was a deity that prehistoric travellers would make offerings too in an attempt to secure their safety while travelling dangerous waters.
    [Show full text]
  • Trompe L'oeil and Financial Risk in The
    Carrington Bowles (publisher). The Bubblers Medley, or a Sketch of the Times: Being Europe’s Memorial for the Year 1720, 1721. Engraving. © Trustees of the British Museum. Carrington Bowles (publisher). The Bubblers Medley, or a Sketch of the Times: Being Europe’s Memorial for the Year 1720, 1721. Engraving. © Trustees of the British Museum. 6 https://doi.org/10.1162/grey_a_00287 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/grey_a_00287 by guest on 28 September 2021 Trompe L’oeil and Financial Risk in the Age of Paper MAGGIE M. CAO Three hundred years ago, in the summer of 1720, the bursting of the South Sea Bubble marked the first recorded stock market crash. The ensuing financial crisis provided great fodder for the British satirical press, which took to caricaturing both the company’s gullible victims and manipulative executives. Among the rich material trove of that historical moment are a pair of prints published by the London shop of John Bowles and Carington Bowles.1 Titled The Bubblers Medley, or A Sketch of the Times: Being Europe’s Memorial for the Year 1720, the prints depict a scattered array of paper artifacts in collage-like, random fashion. Sheets overlap and furl on the edges, creating a trompe l’oeil effect that encourages viewers to misread the artwork as a collection of the actual ephemera it represents. Trompe l’oeil–style prints like these, also called medley prints, developed in 1700s London, and in the century that followed they enjoyed episodic popularity, often at moments of fiscal uncertainty. As Mark Hallett argues, this print type, like other satirical images referencing public discourses and debates, was meant to be read as well as viewed.
    [Show full text]
  • The Open Notebook’S Pitch Database Includes Dozens of Successful Pitch Letters for Science Stories
    Selected Readings Prepared for the AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows, May 2012 All contents are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. Table of Contents INTRODUCTION PART ONE: FINDING IDEAS 1. Lost and found: How great non-fiction writers discover great ideas—In this topical feature, TON guest contributor Brendan Borrell interviews numerous science writers about how they find ideas. (The short answer: In the darndest places.) 2. Ask TON: Saving string—Writers and editors provide advice on gathering ideas for feature stories. 3. Ask TON: From idea to story—Four experienced science writers share the questions they ask themselves when weighing whether a story idea is viable. 4. Ask TON: Finding international stories—Six well-traveled science writers share their methods for sussing out international stories. PART TWO: PITCHING 5. Ask TON: How to pitch—In this interview, writers and editors dispense advice on elements of a good pitch letter. 6. Douglas Fox recounts an Antarctic adventure—Doug Fox pitched his Antarctica story to numerous magazines, unsuccessfully, before finding a taker just before leaving on the expedition he had committed to months before. After returning home, that assignment fell through, and Fox pitched it one more time—to Discover, who bought the story. In this interview, Fox describes the lessons he learned in the pitching process; he also shares his pitch letters, both unsuccessful and successful (see links). 7. Pitching errors: How not to pitch—In this topical feature, Smithsonian editor Laura Helmuth conducts a roundtable conversation with six other editors in which they discuss how NOT to pitch.
    [Show full text]
  • Last Children of the Gods
    Last Children of The Gods Adventures in a fantastic world broken by the Gods By Xar [email protected] Version: alpha 9 Portals of Convenience Portals of Convenience 1 List of Tables 3 List of Figures 4 1 Childrens Stories 5 1.1 Core Mechanic ............................................... 5 1.2 Attributes.................................................. 6 1.3 Approaches................................................. 6 1.4 Drives.................................................... 7 1.5 Considerations ............................................... 8 2 A Saga of Heroes 9 2.1 Character Creation............................................. 9 2.2 Player Races ................................................ 9 2.3 Talents.................................................... 11 2.4 Class..................................................... 13 2.5 Secondary Characteristics......................................... 14 2.6 Bringing the character to life ....................................... 14 2.7 Considerations ............................................... 14 3 Grimoire 16 3.1 Defining Mages............................................... 16 3.2 The Shadow Weave............................................. 16 3.3 Elemental Magic .............................................. 16 3.4 Rune Magic................................................. 16 3.5 True Name Magic.............................................. 16 3.6 Blood Magic ................................................ 17 3.7 Folklore ..................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It the Harvard Community Has
    The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters. Jonathan L. Zittrain, The Future of the Internet -- And How to Citation Stop It (Yale University Press & Penguin UK 2008). Published Version http://futureoftheinternet.org/ Accessed July 1, 2016 4:22:42 AM EDT Citable Link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:4455262 This article was downloaded from Harvard University's DASH Terms of Use repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms- of-use#LAA (Article begins on next page) YD8852.i-x 1/20/09 1:59 PM Page i The Future of the Internet— And How to Stop It YD8852.i-x 1/20/09 1:59 PM Page ii YD8852.i-x 1/20/09 1:59 PM Page iii The Future of the Internet And How to Stop It Jonathan Zittrain With a New Foreword by Lawrence Lessig and a New Preface by the Author Yale University Press New Haven & London YD8852.i-x 1/20/09 1:59 PM Page iv A Caravan book. For more information, visit www.caravanbooks.org. The cover was designed by Ivo van der Ent, based on his winning entry of an open competition at www.worth1000.com. Copyright © 2008 by Jonathan Zittrain. All rights reserved. Preface to the Paperback Edition copyright © Jonathan Zittrain 2008. Subject to the exception immediately following, this book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S.
    [Show full text]