Matthew BunsonReseñas

Catholic impact on U.S. history

I like this book, but it is a bit annoying when it says to refer to particular information in the book instead of explaining any connection to vampires in (folklore, historical accounts of vampires, vampirism or any superstitious, religious/occult related beliefs that involves vampires)
Some historical cases of vampires could be added since it does involve a vampire or unsolved crime, that still remains unsolved today. "True crime" that involves vampires could also be added in this book or a separate book. "The Atlas vampire" is a well known case that wasn't mentioned in this book, but it is relevant to the content of the book.
The explanation of Dhamphirs doesn't include the fact that they are a half-human/half-vampire creature that is the result of a human-vampire sexual union and they are the offspring of that union.
I would of the preferred it if the book was divided into separate sections for folklore, legends, lore, mythology, religious beliefs, and other sections such as art, writers-poets, artists, playwrights, film director's, actors etc..
The book is a endless list of information & there are no chapters to break up the ongoing information, but I have found this book interesting to read and I have learnt new information about vampires and the customs/beliefs of people in Europe historically, their spiritual/religious beliefs/superstitious beliefs & customs, but sometimes information in the book can be a little bit repetitive.
Every time the author has mentioned a known "serial killer" he refers to them as a "mass murderer" which are two completely different types of murderers. Mass murderers murderer a lot of people at once in a day such as blowing up a building with a bomb, or targeting a large group of people at a event/place due to the crime being racially/or involving prejudice due to race/nationality or sexual orientation of people of different ages.
Fritz Haarmann was a serial killer, that with the help of two people targeted and mutilated, raped, molested and murdered a lot of young boys over time, he never murdered a large number of people all at once which would make him or anyone a mass murderer.
It is annoying that people don't seem to understand the understand the difference between serial killer (sometimes called serial murderer) or a mass murderer. They are different types of murderers.
Either the author/people in general don't seem to understand that a person that is necrophile (a person that engages in the act of necrophilia is called a necrophile/necrophiliac.
A lot of known serial killers are either a sexual sadist, necrophile or cannibal/Vampire or all of those things as well as being a predatory serial killer) (A necrophile has the desire, obsession or urge to have sexual intercourse with the corpse of a person they have either recently murdered, dug up from a desecrated grave or they are in a hospital morgue. They see the person as their possession, their property, they were their property to do with whatever they wanted when they were alive, the same applies after they are dead, some serial killers are lonely, delusional, mentally unhinged and disturbed.
They may treat the person like they are alive, talk to them, have a relationship with them, due to the person now being dead and a corpse they cannot say no. They own them, they control what happens to the victim when they were alive and after they are used, mutilated, raped murdered, decapitated, or whatever the methodology the killer used is. Cannibals believe that if they cannibalised their victim that they would consume part of that person into them forever.
I can understand why vampires, werewolves, demons or cannibals could be thought to be vampiric or demonic in nature or connected to witchcraft/occultism-black magic or witchcraft that is darker in nature.
Some serial killers decapitate their victims, and keep their heads as a trophy, to remind them of their kill.
Ted Bundy decapitated some of his victims and put makeup on their faces to make them look pretty again, after what he did to the victims. There is a chilling interview that involves Ted Bundy talking about where he placed the decapitated head of Georgeann Hawkins. There are different types of necrophiles, some collect bones of animals/people, some people keep decapitated heads for the purpose of fellatio.
I think some necrophiles are vampires/werewolves, otherkin occultists, witches not all of them are bad people, but for the people that commit horrendous or atrocious crimes, they need help from a professional.)
I wish people would use the correct terminology or the right usage of the terminology, because it can confuse/annoy people if it isn't used correctly.
I read a lot of true crime books, so I know the difference between a serial killer, mass murderer or spree/thrill seeking killer or one-off murderers.
It doesn't mention in the book if a vampire can enter a building that is abandoned, in ruins or desecrated ground, they wouldn't need a invitation into the building.
I would like to know if a vampire can have a doppelgänger, if any vampire was/is a witch as well, if they can astral travel to consume the blood, psychic or sexual energy of their intended victim.
The connection between vampires and nocturnal animals is briefly explained but not in much detail.
I think that sometimes that the author can be a bit "preachy" about Christianity or that most spiritual beliefs that are alternative to Christianity is considered evil, or wrong just because it's different.
Any original Eastern-European occult/supernatural or folkloric belief in Vampires has existed before Christianity existed.
People in ancient civilizations believed in Vampiric, Demonic entities, Vampiric spirits, Vampiric/Demonic Gods or Deities.
Ancient civilizations in Greece, Mesopotamia and other countries believed in evil entities, evil spirits, or demons that were demonic and vampiric in nature, that the native people sacrificed animals, people and blood to them to appease them. Not everything historically is associated or was created just because Christians existed, so it offended me that the author has a narrow-minded view of the spiritual beliefs, occult related beliefs people had in ancient civilizations leading up to the modern day.
I think it is disrespectful to disregard the spiritual/occult beliefs of people from different cultures historically in ancient civilizations, people in Eastern European countries as a "superstition" People didn't understand decomposition since medicine at the time was not very advanced at the time, people believed in and were afraid of vampires, werewolves, witches, devil-worshippers or Lucifer in different eras of time and in different cultures due to occult related beliefs and spiritual/occult practices (different types of witchcraft, spiritual beliefs-spiritual practices related to their beliefs)
Just because people choose to a cynical skeptic it doesn't disprove the numerous eye witness testimonies of vampires, werewolves, witches, cryptids (Cryptozoology-The study of any animal/person of unknown species or origin) Some of the entries in the book don't have a lot of information which can be a little bit frustrating if it is hard to find out anymore detailed information about it for research purposes.
I am a believer in the supernatural/paranormal and the occult so I am tired of people being narrow-minded and treating the "true-believers" as if they are crazy or delusional you can't dispute what a person has seen or experienced, you can't it didn't happen just because you don't believe.
It doesn't disprove that it happened, there are normal explanations for some vampire/werewolf or witch sightings, which would be mental illness & delusions or hallucinations.
The hallucinations could have been caused by a fungus in bread that is causes hallucinations, which is called ergot.
However I still believe that some people did experience seeing a real vampire, werewolf (or shape-shifting witch that dedicated their soul to Lucifer to be able to take on the form of a animal to then be able to take the blood, or psychic & sexual energy of a person while they are unaware, while sleeping, since the person is vulnerable then.)
I would like to know if some sightings of anything supernatural/occult related in origin was a shape-shifter (that can take the form of a animal or anything else to lure and entice their victims to their death)
I'm surprised that the author didn't mention "vampire graves" the original custom as a preventative measure to avoid vampirism.
A stone was placed in the mouth of the corpse, or the head was decapitated and place between the feet and their heart was pierced with a weapon.
All of this was done historically in various parts of the world in various eras of time and different cultures that had/have various supernatural, paranormal, folklore or occult related beliefs and practices based on those beliefs.
Their beliefs and practices were to prevent spiritual or physical harm, vampirism, or psychic, spiritual and physical attack from a vampire, werewolf, witch, demon, familiar of a witch, shapeshifting witch/cryptid or native person that was/is a witch.
I have enjoyed reading about beliefs and spiritual practices throughout the world to prevent vampirism. I would like to read a similar book about werewolves, shapeshifters, witch's and their familiars, demons and possession.

A good source for information on the Catholic Church with the exception of Post Vatican II material.

Comprehensive.

This is a fantastic reference book for a wide variety of reasons - especially for those who don't have Internet access or who don't want their children to do searches on the Internet.

Our Sunday Visitor has been publishing an annual Catholic Almanac for over one hundred years. Teachers, educators, parents and many others will find a great deal of useful and well-organized information at their finger-tips.

The text is divided into four main sections with numerous sub categories beneath each one. Here's a quick overview:

Part One: News and Events:

The Year in Review and News in Depth(includes segments on Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Documents and Announcements, Special Reports on International News, Special Reports on National News, Life Issues and Meetings of U.S. Bishops)

Part Two: The Teachings of the Catholic Church

Doctrine of the Catholic Church, Glossary, The Church Calendar, Liturgical Life of the Church, The Sacraments of the Church and The Communion of Saints.

Part Three: The Church Universal

Dates and Events in Catholic History, The Papacy and the Holy See, The Roman Curia, Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, The Universal Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, The Catholic Church in the U.S., United States Hierarchy, Biographies of American Bishops, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Minority Catholics in the U.S., Statistics of the Church in the U.S., The Catholic Church in Canada, The Catholic Church in Mexico.

Part Four: The Life of the Church in the World

Consecrated Life, Apostolates and Ministries, Catholic Social Services, Education, Catholic Communications, Ecumenism and Interreligous Dialogue, Separated Eastern Churches, Reformation Churches, Interreligious Dialogue.

Although this is a complete list of main categories and general topics, it doesn't give a sense of the detail and usefulness of the overall content. I'll try to give a few examples that might be particular useful to Catholic homeschool families, to give a sense of the content:

In the section on "The Papacy and the Holy See" from Part Three, you'll find (among other things) a complete lists of popes as well as a more detailed overview of the Popes of the 20th Century. Here's a one of the segments (entitled "Peace Efforts") of the mini-biography of Pope Pius XII, who was Pope during World War II. I think this gives a good sense of the important facts which have been carefully chose and supported in the text:

Before the start of World War II, he tried unsuccessfully to get the contending nations - Germany and Poland, France and Italy- to settle their differences peaceably. During the war, he offered his services to mediate the widened conflict, spoke out against the horrors of war and the suffering it caused, mobilized relief work for its victims, proposed a five-point program for peace in Christmas messages from 1939 to 1942, and secured a generally open status for the city of Rome. He has been criticized in some quarters for not doing enough to oppose the Holocaust. This is a matter of historical debate, but it is a fact that through his direct intercession many thousands of Jews in Rome and Italy were saved from certain death, and he resisted wherever possible the threat of Nazism to human rights. Such were his contributions to assisting Jews that the rabbi of Rome, Dr. Abraham Zolli, was converted to Catholicism, and upon his death, Pius was praised by Golda Meir for his efforts. After the war, he endorsed the principles and intent of the U.N. and continued efforts for peace.

Also, in the same overall section is a 36 page country-by-country overview of Catholic statistics (number of religious, Catholic population, percent of the total population that is Catholic and things like that) and a paragraph briefly explaining the history of the faith in each country. It's a wonderful supplement to geographical studies and a place to find interesting information on current missionary efforts of the Church. I could readily imagine homeschool families choosing countries with small minorities of Catholics (such as Turkmenistan, which has only two priests to serve a population of approximately 1000 Catholics).

Here is a list of some of the other resources contained in this Almanac that may be of interest (there are many, many more besides these):

* Books of the Bible (including information on books that are rejected by Protestant denominations and overviews of each book)
* A mini Old Testament Bible timeline
* A list of Apostolic Fathers, Fathers of the Church and Doctors of the Church with a brief biography of each
* A 32 page Catholic Glossary
* A detailed liturgical calendar
* An overview of major Holy Days and other Observances
* Extensive listing of saints, including a list of traditional Patrons and Intercessors and recent Canonizations
* A ten page timeline of Catholic History
* A listing of all Papal Encyclicals from 1740 to the present day (The most recent encyclical included here is Deus Caritas Est)
* A Chronology of U.S. Catholic History
* A list of missionaries (with very brief biographies) to the Americas
* Lists of Cathedrals, Basilicas and Shrines in the United States
* An extensive listing of Catholic Colleges and Universities, including website and phone number, and current enrollment.

Because of the nature of this resource, I have not done a thorough read-through, but everything I've seen (and I've spent a number of hours poring through this) has been very solid. The book does contain some material that may not be suitable for young children, including a mention on the front cover of "An Update on the Sexual Abuse Scandal".

The Vampire Encyclopedia is a must-have reference for anyone who writes in the horror genre or is interested in vampire fiction or folklore. Bunson does not bother to document his sources, but that shortcoming is not uncommon in encyclopedias. The other shortcoming of this extensive list is that Bunson lends equal weight to fictional, historic, and folkloric accounts.

Ritenuto per molto tempo un oscuro periodo di transizione, il Medioevo è stato finalmente riconosciuto come una fase fondamentale, ricca di cambiamenti e di vivaci sviluppi in tutti i campi.
I secoli che vanno dalla caduta dell'Impero Romano d'Occidente all'alba del Rinascimento hanno visto nascere infatti, in una vastissima area che si estende dalla punta più settentrionale delle Isole Britanniche fino alle steppe dell'Asia centrale, movimenti e idee che hanno creato il mondo moderno.
Il Dizionario universale del Medioevo tratta in modo chiaro e in tutta la sua ampiezza questa straordinaria fase storica. Racconta di come Carlo Magno abbia riunito quella che sarebbe divenuta l'Europa moderna, della diffusione dell'Islam in Medio Oriente, in Africa e nella Penisola Iberica, delle Crociate e di molto altro ancora.
Dalle leggende arturiane ai Vichinghi, da san Tommaso d'Aquino a Riccardo Cuor di Leone, da Giovanna d'Arco alla setta degli Assassini, questo volume esamina tutti gli aspetti di un periodo tra i più vivaci della nostra storia.
L'edizione italiana è stata curata da Ludovico Gatto, tra i maggiori esperti di storia medievale.

In edicola il 29/07/2006

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