Embedded Files
Its no surprise that besides the mountains of artbooks and manga that grace my shelves also lurk books on the supernatural, the spooky, the horrifying, and the mythical. I've been nursing on the supernatural since I was a wee tot, and damn if it hasn't colored my idea of what makes the world tick. I'm not saying that I believe colds are caused by cold fairies, but let's say I wouldn't doubt a scary looking abandoned abode wouldn't house a ghost or 3.
I picked up A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other Subversive Spirits by Carol K. and Dinah Mack, a mother-daughter team, years and years ago along with a nearly decades defunct copy of the Vampire Encyclopedia (the book didn't even have an entry for the Legacy of Kain/Soul Reaver series. Plebs). Its an interesting read, and while I wouldn't say its a very comprehensive or indeed very precise guide, it certainly is a good intro to the realm of the spirits 'round the world.
The book has a basic structure of an introduction, uses of the guide and the like, then divides the entities within by domains: Water, Mountain, Forest, Desert, Domicile and Psyche. The intro is a basic overview of the authors' intent to exploring these different entities across the world, then delves into identifying demons and fairies. This is, while entertaining, not exactly a very comprehensive or really helpful, since demons--and really most of the entities within the book aren't demons at all but supernatural creatures, even yokai or cryptids which barely fit the description--can come in all shapes and sizes, notwithstanding that shape-shifting is also common. The only real unifying selection method and characteristics in the guide is that they're all for the most part humanoid looking. Much like aliens in Star Trek or other Sci Fi, the guide chooses entities that for the most part have one head, 2 legs, 2 arms; there are exceptions, like the kelpie, or Tiamat whom is in her depicted illustration as a dragon beast. The fairy section is also oddly placed, since not every creature in the book will fall under that classification. In defense of the authors, it seems it must have been included to explain how changes in global connection between the regions of the world have shifted entities from benign or natural spirits into the catch-call "demon" that christianity thrust upon them. It does have the flavor of being ethnocentric seeing as how any and all of these and more of the spirits and entities within are examined as is they are considered "demons", "fairies", etc. I would call it unintentionally ethnocentric but its there and should be considered when trying to reconcile the selection and descriptions of the entities therein.
There are references to the fact that the concept of demons came from changing religions, sweeping these nature gods and supernatural creatures of pagan origins into the category of "not-angel" or "demon". Still, while there is an attempt to insist these entities and beings are more than just "demons" the mere fact they are all lumped together doesn't seem to change their status. It seems odd to have goddesses/gods like Tiamat or Pan alongside yokai such as Oni and Tengu, as well as including Yuki-onna and Madam White whom really are more like yurei, and then stacking them alongside the likes of Set, Satan, Pazuzu, and Ahriman, and still also creatures like kappa, kitsune, selkies, windigos and werewolves, the latter two can begin as humans who transform later according to some beliefs. Also included in the Psyche section is Mr. Hyde, the Freudian Id and the Jungian Shadow.
Nonetheless, while the selection and categories of the creatures within doesn't completely justify the title, its not a bad trial to decode some of the mysteries and interesting creatures around the world. If you have never heard of a merrow, or the bori or eloko, this book is a great teaser. The illustrations are spare, with prints and pictures from other sources, all in black and white. Some of them are traditional prints you've seen, and others appear to be reproductions of existing art. They break up the monotony of the text. Each section has an interesting spread from around the world, though the Psyche section is a rather unusual section, containing werewolves, the ID, Shadow, the literary Mr. Hyde. Its this section, along with the final "demon" named the Quantum Daimon, that postulates the idea of demons invading our minds, or perhaps becoming a thought experiment of the idea of these entities existing. The Quantum Daimon's "example" is listed as the final force left in Pandora's box: the idea of Hope. Compared with Schrodinger's Cat, this final force is neither good nor evil, but potential that can go either way. It was an interesting theory but it isn't explored as much as it could have been. Perhaps if the book was more about that as the subject then presenting different entities that might fall into that category, the book would feel more cohesive.
This isn't a bad book, as its a really good read. But as a field guide, it lacks in a few places; as some deities in this book are literal gods and need a goddesses/gods to vanquish them and would not need a guide to tell them how to kill, say, a shape-shifting Indian demons. For its minor faults of grouping the ungroupable, its a decent read.
Somewhat recommended, as a primer, but not as a truly comprehensive guide.
--Dio (10/5/16)
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