True Monsters

Something unimaginable occurred from 1764 to 1767 in the remote highlands of south-central France. For three years, a real-life monster, or monsters, ravaged the region, slaughtering by some accounts more than 100 people, mostly women and children, and inflicting severe injuries upon many others.

“Sharks are as timid as rabbits,” says a superintendent of the Coast Guard, dismissing the possibility that a shark could be the culprit in an unprecedented fatal attack at the Jersey Shore. It’s July, and swimming in the sea is a popular new pastime, but people up and down the East Coast are shocked and mystified by the swimmer’s death. A prominent surgeon at the shore, Dr. Edwin Halsey is the one who examines the victim, and the only one who believes the perpetrator was a shark—and that it will strike again.

Prostitutes and animals could no longer satisfy Peter Kürten’s sexual deviancy. During a burglary of a local tavern, he stumbled upon a nine-year-old girl asleep in her bed. He strangled her, slashed her throat with a pocket knife, and orgasmed upon hearing her blood drip to the floor. His crimes were halted by World War I and an eight-year prison sentence but he unleashed his urges with a spate of brutal murders in 1929 earning him the nickname "The Düsseldorf Monster."

I have researched and written over 150 books on strange and mysterious phenomena. Some of these books are based on my own experiences and most topics are based on my research. My fascination with strange things has become a major passion in my life. This book includes over sixty true stories on many different subjects to provide a lot of food for thought on these topics.

When police in Florida's Volusia County were called to investigate the murder of Richard Mallory, whose gunshot-ridden body had been found in the woods just north of Daytona Beach in December 1989, their search led them to a string of dead ends before the trail went cold six months later. During the spring and summer of 1990, the bodies of six more middle-aged white men were discovered. The police soon discovered the killings were the work of a single culprit, Aileen Wuornos, one of the first women to ever fit the profile of a serial killer.

Jeffrey Dahmer was one of the most fascinating, memorable, and gruesome serial killers in American history who took the lives of 17 young men and boys between 1978 and 1991. He was a grotesque serial rapist, cannibal, and necrophiliac who the world will never forget. In this book, we discover just what the man who got a 900+ year prison sentence got up to in his spare time, and what shaped him as a person. This series is narrated in the classic cut-and-dry factual style that true crime fans enjoy, leaving out distractions, opinions, and unnecessary embellishments.

The Black-Eyed kids are an urban legend of vast proportions. The stories of small children turning up on people's doorsteps all across the world spreading fear and terror have only increased over time. This compilation of G. Michael Vasey's books on this scary phenomena includes new material and new true stories as well as the complete texts of The Black-Eyed Demons are Coming and The Black-Eyed Kids. G. Michael Vasey, a supernatural expert, carefully investigates this truly terrifying phenomenon using real-life encounters with these scary supernatural beings.

Although it's hard to believe now, Rose West was an exceptionally beautiful little girl with long, glossy dark hair and big brown eyes. Looking at photos of young Rosie as a child, it is almost impossible to comprehend that she would grow up to become one of Britain's most notorious female murderers. But Rose's early life made her the perfect partner for Fred West, and the two committed a string of murders in Gloucester throughout the '70s and '80s. Her part in the killings is very different to that which many people believe even today.

Billy Dean is a secret child. He has a beautiful young mother and a father who arrives at night carrying the scents of candles and incense and cigarettes. Birds fly to his window. Mice run out from his walls. His world is a carpet, a bed, pictures of the holy island, and a single locked door. His father fills his mind and his dreams with mysterious tales and memories and dreadful warnings. But then his father disappears, and Billy’s mother brings him out into the world at last. He learns the horrifying story of what was saved and what was destroyed on the day he was born, the day the bombers came to Blinkbonny.

In May 2005, Natalee Holloway disappeared from a high school trip to Aruba. A 22-year-old Dutchman, Joran van der Sloot, was arrested in connection with the murder, only to be released after questioning. He admitted to being present for Holloway's death - but later recanted his statement.

Little Johnny Slimeseed isn't like the other monsters living in Nightmare. The gentle swamp creature hates scaring human kids and wishes his fellow ghouls would find another hobby. So he comes up with a brilliant plan—fill the land with oozy, goopy slime trees! If he can plant enough seeds, the monsters won't frighten anyone because they'll be too busy having fun in the sludge! Can Johnny achieve his freaky forest dream?

Monsters and maniacs, ghosts and ghouls, brutes and beasts. In this latest volume of real-life nightmares, author John Harker presents listeners with chilling accounts of strange creatures, evil entities, and demonic deviants. Combining historical tales with modern day testimonies, Monsters and Maniacs is an enthralling, if not disturbing, look at the seen and unseen fiends in our midst.

True Werewolves of History uses archival chronicles and new research to bring to life the stories of 100 werewolves. This unique tour-de-force focuses on real tales of werewolves (not to mention "werebears,” “werejaguars” and others) from throughout the world and across the centuries. You'll find them all in this volume for your delectation and enlightenment.

Sie haben Menschen vergiftet, erschossen oder mit ihren eigenen Händen umgebracht. Sie haben ihre Opfer zerstückelt, vergraben oder verspeist. Charles Manson, Issei Sagawa, Dorothea Puente sind kaltblütige Massenmörder. Aus ihren Taten machen sie noch dazu ein Mordsgeschäft. Als "Ikonen des Horrors" verkaufen sie Fanartikel, laden zu kostspieligen Rede-Shows oder versteigern Marathon-Sex.

Charles Manson, Issei Sagawa und Dorothea Puente sind kaltblütige Massenmörder. Aus ihren Taten machen sie ein Mordsgeschäft. Als "Ikonen des Horrors" verkaufen sie Fanartikel, laden zu kostspieligen Rede-Shows oder versteigern Marathon-Sex. Micael Dahlén, schwedischer Wirtschaftsprofessor mit Kultstatus, hat sich in den Bannkreis der "Monster" begeben und fünf von ihnen hautnah erlebt.

For decades, osteopathic physician Larry Nassar built a sterling reputation as the go-to doctor for America's Olympians while treating countless others at his office on Michigan State University's campus. It was largely within the high-pressure world of competitive gymnastics that Nassar exploited young girls, sexually assaulting hundreds of them under the guise of medical treatment. In Start by Believing, John Barr and Dan Murphy confront Nassar's acts, which represent the largest sex abuse scandal to impact the sporting world.

Dive into the story of Larry Gene Bell, one of the first killers who used phones to terrorize people. Uncover the origins of this local monster as we peel back the layers of his past. Discover the complexities of his twisted personality that led to national attention. Step by step, follow the details of Bell's heinous, cunning acts, from victim selection to killing methods. You will see why it took innovative investigative techniques to get Bell behind bars.

Michael Ross was a serial killer who raped and murdered eight young women between 1981 and 1984, and several years ago the state of Connecticut put him to death. His crimes were horrific, and he paid the ultimate price for them. When journalist Martha Elliott first heard of Ross, she learned what the world knew of him - that he had been a master at hiding in plain sight.

In tears as he sat on the witness stand at 16 testifying against his father, one of his many abusers that stole his childhood, Walt McKinley found the strength to fight for himself for the first time. In that life-changing moment, he made a promise to himself he would do whatever it took to take his power back, become a warrior of his abuse, and break the generational cycle. Monsters in My House is a true story of extremely shocking abuse and a child’s fight to stay alive. Walt’s grit and compassion shine through as he shows us the unbreakable nature of the human spirit.

Barbra Reifel, former wife of notorious Body Snatcher Michael Mastromarino, has appeared on Oprah, Nancy Grace, ID Discovery, and Lifetime. Never before has her raw account been laid so bare. Fairytale shattered, deceit and danger beyond her wildest nightmares, betrayal, addiction, abuse, ultimate crime, and utter destruction beyond reason - her riveting story is one of so many. To survive, protect her children and family, and combat the monster who was her husband, Barbra evolved...a dreamer turned badass, playing his game to the bittersweet end.