Sunday, October 2, 2011

Countdown to Halloween - The World of the Unknown

When I was a kid I didn't have many friends what with growing up in a cemetery and all...so I read alot and the subject matter I chose made me (ie. warped me) into the monster I am today. All summer long I would spend hours at the public library reading and rereading the same books over and over again and these three were among my top picks.

Usborne The World of the Unknown - All About Monsters



Printed in 1977 the book has that "In Search of..." feel to it and tried to cover as many varied aspects of Monster-dom as it could at a meager 32 pages. The Illustrations were spectacular and held my fascination for hours. Just look at that cover screaming 70's obsession with the Loch Ness Monster...

 



 

 


Usborne The World of the Unknown - All About Ghosts



Again 32 pages but covering a variety of topics relating to ghosts, including haunts from folklore and literature, to real-life hauntings from the modern era, and even methods for creating a hoax.






Check out the detailed "Haunted House"


 

 

 

 

 

 And last but not least in the pantheon of 70's Crypto fascination

Usborne The World of the Unknown - All About UFOs



Again another 32 page illustration laden masterpiece whose subject matter was seemed particularly riveting to my Dad back in the 70's. He watched "In Search of.." all the time, had a Moa statue, watched documentaries on Ancient Astronauts whenever they were on television (that and Hammer Dracula movies) so this book was a must have.


 Awwww now I need to go find these books for my daughter






12 comments:

  1. Wow, I haven't seen these books in over 25 years! I used to check them out from the school library back in grade school. Thanks so much for sharing :)

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  2. Those are exactly the kind of books I would have loved as a kid, or even now.

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  3. Great books. I especially like the one about ghosts. They walk through walls because they're taking the same route they did when they were alive! And I have to try that "Flogging Ghosts" idea. . .

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  4. I had the Monsters book (and a non-creature book of Transportation, which had some COOL spacecraft).

    Good memories, Tom!

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  5. OMG, I read the crap outta these books as a kid. Thanks for the flashback!

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  6. Here's an overlooked Usborne - Creepy Computer Games... from prehistory!
    There's a PDF online:
    ftp://ftp.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/books/CreepyComputerGames.pdf

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  7. My brothers and I had All About Monsters and All About Ghosts. I loved them both, the second one especially which was among my usual autumn read in the months leading to Halloween. All About Monsters was more like my summer read.

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  8. As a kid I had a book which included all 3 of these in 1! It had many many more ghost pictures and stories too.

    Can't for the life of my remember what it was called, but I found this page looking for it! :D

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    Replies
    1. Mysteries of the unknown I still have it

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    2. Mysteries of the unknown I still have it

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  9. FOUND IT! Just seconds after posting my comment...

    "Mysteries of the Unknown", 1987, with this cover https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/114636049/mysteries-of-the-unknown-usborne-book

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  10. hey has anyone read a book like these in the past about a race of frog people who capture humans and use them like beast of burden riding on there backs like horses?

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