The Science Behind Vampires, Witches, and Ghosts

I read this courtesy NetGalley and Gareth Stevens Publishing. A perennial favorite topic is dismissing vampires, witches, and ghosts, and explaining how they couldn’t possibly exist. This book explains how people through the ages have been convinced they do, and the science behind each myth. Using facts and how they have been interpreted through the ages, Joy Lin, with Violet Tobacco’s whimsical illustrations, explains how they do exist—in our imaginations. A delightful yet commensensical read.
#TheScienceBehindVampiresWitchesandGhosts #NetGalley

This book is a delightful mash-up of supernatural folklore and real-world science. Lin breaks down the "could this really happen?" behind all things creepy, from vampire bats and bloodsuckers to the science of potions and paranormal phenomena. And she does it all with wit, humor, and enough scientific facts to make you rethink your next Halloween costume. (Spoiler: dressing as a vampire might actually make sense if you’re iron deficient!)

I loved how this book was both informative and laugh-out-loud funny. Joy Lin makes quantum mechanics sound like a breeze when she’s explaining ghost sightings, and suddenly you feel like you could host your own paranormal TED talk! Whether you're a supernatural skeptic or a science geek who loves a good witchy tale, this book is the perfect mix of spooky and smart. Who knew the undead and the unexplained could be this educational and entertaining?

I really enjoyed this book!

I thought that it was very well written and I loved the mix that was in the book and the science behind the "monsters" to start to look in to the cases and if they were real or not. The book covers vampires, vampire bats, witches and ghosts.

The book was fun and informative and there was plenty to have food for thought and to discuss too - lots in the book for the believers and non-believers out there - really entertaining

It is 4.5 stars from me for this one, rounded up to 5 stars for Goodreads and Amazon - highly recommended!

A cute and interesting booklet about vampires, witches and ghosts. It's very well structured, clear and to the point. It talks about how existence of these creature arose, as they didn't have the nowadays expertise, and why they couldn't logically exist with a few scientific facts.

How fun to have a book that combines these thrilling subjects (and possibly a seasonal lesson) and science class! Can there actually be witches, vampires and ghosts in our world? Using interesting scientific facts and research to offer logical explanations for why people can be pale, not do well in sunlight, hear/see ghosts, have 'witch-like' warts, this book will capture the interest of the reader. Have a mold problem and a ghost problem? There might be a connection.
The book also includes cute illustrations, a glossary, suggestion for further reading and a list of places on where to view unusual science.
Thanks to Gareth Stevens Publishing, Joy Lin and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was an interesting nonfiction book. It’s not a graphic novel, but leans heavily on graphic novel coloring and art. It is set up as a nonfiction book and while the information is fun and important, it feels very redundant with how things are laid out. Having said that, I know kids will check this book out repetitively if you put it on shelves.

“Before science came along, people used their imaginations to provide explanations for anything odd that happened.”

This is probably one of the cutest, informative, scientific-related books on mythical creatures and why they scientifically can't exist. It’s laid out nicely, colorful, and easy to understand—Perfect for children and adults. Oh, and let me just say, I LOVE how there is a glossary...it's the little things. 🤌

Honestly, I learned quite a bit on the history of vampires, witches, and ghosts that I was not aware of. For instance, I always thought it was just werewolves who hated silver, but apparently vampires do too (am I late to the game on that one? I feel like I knew this, maybe?).

Interesting observation: The author describes how vampires hate silver and after asking Google, they do appear to be negatively affected by silver…so why were the daylight rings from TVD made of silver? Or is the AI Overview lying…🤔

[Gif of Elena with her daylight ring—You can see fully on Goodreads.}

Also, regarding witches (or wise women I should say) and warts: “Some people even believed that a wart on a witch was like a nipple, or teat, which she used to feed her evil pets!” I’m sorry, but this made me laugh because WHAAAT! I’d never heard of this.

After learning the science behind why mythical creatures cannot possibly be real, my inner child is still telling me to believe they are. 😜 Seriously, go read this book—I’m currently looking forward to reading another by the same author, “The Science Behind Mermaids, Werewolves, and Bigfoot.”

A special thanks to NetGalley and Gareth Stevens Publishing for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. See reviews on Goodreads & Amazon. ✨💖🧚🏼

A clever science book – yes, science book – that dismisses the existence of vampires, witches and ghosts through logical STEM-based explanations. We first see what diseases might lead to someone being pinned as a vampire, but also the matter of the bloody diet and the chance of them jabbing themselves with their own fangs – with snakes that's no issue, but someone who moments ago was a human? Next, it's witches, and even Newton's Third Law is evoked to scoff at flying on brooms.

So all told, vampirism is tosh, witches' warts are viral, and a haunted house is infrasound. The book doesn't tell us to be so sceptical about everything in the world, to go seeking the science behind every other element of our beliefs, world and stories, but it's a good grounding to see these things forensically dismissed in such a readable manner. This doesn't patronise anyone, it doesn't actually scoff at anyone or anything, but it does dismiss these things in a way that will only encourage the dislike of pseudoscience going forward – and that is a great thing indeed. I can only assume the three sister books in this series have the same effect. A strong four stars.