Ghosts, Monsters and Demons of India

Interesting tome of information with amazing art work for some of the creatures mentioned. The only thing I wished for was more artwork as it was so well done and I would have loved to have seen it for more of these beings.

Arc netgalley review

Easy to read and reference, the layout is great! Definitely a buy for me, and deep dive on some of what was within the pages. The authors didn’t lack knowledge when compiling the stories that make up this book. It does read like a encyclopedia/dictionary for those who are not into this or for those who are.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the copy. The opinion is my own.

This is a wonderful encyclopedia with entries by Alphabetic order (exceptions are entries that are more of umbrella terms that within have several entries).
Several entries have more than what the entity it is: sometimes it's context (e.g. a demon from mahabhárata and the scene associated), sometimes it's the specific legend and how they act, sometimes there are poems (!!), hystorical details, the local practices for the entity (evil entities made from human spirirts have a certain tratment post death for example), etc.
There are also illustration in some cases.
All in all, definitely worth a look if you like to read about Entities and Legends and very much looks like a great reference for those curious.

I found this a very Easy read, the layout is great and brilliant to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, this is definitely one of my reads that I will be re-reading. The authors knowledge about all of the monsters and different fables of India is mesmerising to read and when compiling the stories that make up this book they never leave you behind, and you fully understand where the myth is going. It’s like a big Encyclopedia of all of the monsters, Myths Fables of India, which is probably why it was so easy to follow.

If you are tired of retellings of vampires, werewolves, zombies, and even chupacabras have gotten a little stale, this book is a treasure trove of scary, creepy, gross, and mysterious creatures and beings. It’s always fascinating to happen upon new ghosts stories and find how all over the world the things that scare us can be so different but so similar too. I very much enjoyed the vivid, and often chilling illustrations throughout the book in with vivid details. Not the best book for anyone whose squeamish BUT a great go to guide for inspiration for anyone looking to make a horror movie or survival video game.

“Aavi means ‘vapour’ in Tamil. It is the word used for the steam from an idli cooker, the morning haze above a village lake, or the misty cloud of a person’s breath on a chilly night in the Nilgiris”. As a freak of etymology, semantics and all things horror, Ghost, Monsters and Demons of India is a book just down my alley.

This encyclopedic work gathers a wealth of information regarding the supernatural in Indian religion and folklore. Since I have no academic expertise in Indian culture, I am not in a position of evaluating the accuracy of the information provided by authors Rakesh Khanna and J. Furcifer Bhairav. Therefore, my review is based solely on my impressions as a reader and horror fan.

Ghost, Monsters and Demons of India collects hundreds of alphabetical entries on spiritual beings and daemonic creatures from the cultural traditions of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other nearby regions. As an area that has seen an intense cultural exchange and suffered colonial dominion over the centuries, a good deal of the entities described are the result of these interactions with both Western and non-Western populations.

The authors first give a general overview of the creature and often expand this by including several specific legends and further information regarding popular practices to deal with the supernatural. Some of these monstrous beings are ubiquitous in the country and some are specific to certain regions and landscapes, as is the case with the airi of the Kumaon jungles and the Masaan of Northern and Eastern India. The authors use folktales, myths, and other religious compositions as main sources, and although the title of the book suggests that the ghostly and monstrous are the focus of the book, it also offers hints at the marvelous in its broader sense. Therefore, there is plenty of space for flying horses, witches, unicorns, and dragons, but also for railway ghosts, vampires, and warrior giants.

If you are interested in non-Western mythology and folklore, if you want to explore different imagery of horror, or if you are a writer/artist in search of new sources of inspiration, I am pretty sure this book will give you a plethora of pleasure and entertainment. Oh, and there is a twenty-page-long final bibliography for you to delve into!

I really enjoyed the stories here and the way that they are laid out in an encyclopedic fashion. I do a drawing challenge every year and this volume will be a great reference guide to add to the list!!
The illustrations are really well done too!

I'm always interested in books like this that show other cultures' mythology. opening my eyes up to some different creatures and stories.

this book gives enough information about each creature. which honestly is pretty cool for research when writing.
it's well written and informative definitely worth picking up.

I was given a copy of this Arc from Netgally for an honest review

#Ghosts,Monsters and DemonsofIndia is a very informative book. I enjoyed learning about all the different folklore and stories of these beings.

Thanks to #Netgalley for the eArc in exchange for a fair and honest review