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9781789140798

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[A] wide-ranging study . . . of our long-established fascination with shapeshifting in all its guises. It is ubiquitous in literature and folklore, from the countless metamorphoses in Greek myth down to the apprentice wizards of Hogwarts. Transformation is the lifeblood of narrative. . . . Kachuba refreshes the meager store of case studies from the time of the European witch craze with comparable modern accounts. --Xina Marie Uhl Literary Review Inspiring and useful in understanding the cultural contexts that gave rise to stories of vampires, werewolves, and witches in the first place. . . . The moral of the story is that monsters change principally from within not from without, and it can be a two-way process. The choice is ours. --Xina Marie Uhl Catholic Herald Kachuba has complied an extensive survey of all sorts of shapeshifting myths, legends, folktales, and fairy tales from the ages. He covers everything from the gods and goddesses of the ancient world, to the faerie folk of Europe, to the classics such as the werewolf and the vampire. He also talks quite a bit about how preoccupation with the power to transform oneself ties in deeply with cultural beliefs about race, gender, sex, and identity, and how that has played out in the evolution of these shapeshifters not only throughout oral history, but in their portrayals in popular media. If you enjoy reading nonfiction works about the origins our monsters and mythical beings as much as I do, then this is the book for you. -- Cemetery Dance Shapeshifters: A History is an extremely well researched and thorough look at the myths. legends, and stories of shapeshifters across time and cultures...It is academic AND fun to read. -- Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror Blog The book is a look at the cultural forces which generate tales of shapeshifters as much as it is a history, if not more so. The writing is engaging and the content interesting, so you will not go wrong by reading this book for diversion. --Xina Marie Uhl Historical Novel Society Finalist-- Horror Writers Association: Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction When you reach the end of Shapeshifters, it seems clear that, in addition to being a history, with most of its chapters focused on stories from antiquity through early modernity, Shapeshifters is very much a book of, and for, the twenty-first century as well. The greatest shapeshifters have always been human. --Xina Marie Uhl PopMatters Kachuba has written a terrifically entertaining exploration of shapeshifting, from ancient folklore and fairy tales to Transformers and Twilight. I loved learning about skinwalkers, French werewolves, and where in Romania to buy a bottle of Dracula Merlot. This book offers fascinating insight into the origins of the stories we continue to tell about our desire 'to be someone or something other than what we are.' --Becky Hagenston, author of Scavengers: Stories Literary Review

Inspiring and useful in understanding the cultural contexts that gave rise to stories of vampires, werewolves, and witches in the first place. . . . The moral of the story is that monsters change principally from within not from without, and it can be a two-way process. The choice is ours. --Catholic Herald The book is a look at the cultural forces which generate tales of shapeshifters as much as it is a history, if not more so. The writing is engaging and the content interesting, so you will not go wrong by reading this book for diversion. --Xina Marie Uhl Historical Novel Society Shapeshifters: A History is an extremely well researched and thorough look at the myths. legends, and stories of shapeshifters across time and cultures...It is academic AND fun to read. --Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror Blog Kachuba has written a terrifically entertaining exploration of shapeshifting, from ancient folklore and fairy tales to Transformers and Twilight. I loved learning about skinwalkers, French werewolves, and where in Romania to buy a bottle of Dracula Merlot. This book offers fascinating insight into the origins of the stories we continue to tell about our desire 'to be someone or something other than what we are.' --Becky Hagenston, author of Scavengers: Stories When you reach the end of Shapeshifters, it seems clear that, in addition to being a history, with most of its chapters focused on stories from antiquity through early modernity, Shapeshifters is very much a book of, and for, the twenty-first century as well. The greatest shapeshifters have always been human. --PopMatters

Kachuba has written a terrifically entertaining exploration of shapeshifting, from ancient folklore and fairy tales to Transformers and Twilight. I loved learning about skinwalkers, French werewolves, and where in Romania to buy a bottle of Dracula Merlot. This book offers fascinating insight into the origins of the stories we continue to tell about our desire 'to be someone or something other than what we are.' --Becky Hagenston, author of Scavengers: Stories

Author Information

John B. Kachuba is an award-winning author and creative writing instructor at Ohio University. He has investigated over one-hundred haunted locations around the world and his books include Ghosthunters and Dark Entry.

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