Encyclopedia Horrifica: The Terrifying Truth! about Vampires, Ghosts, Monsters, and More

by Joshua Gee

Book Overview

Bursting with eerie photos and Special Investigations, a nonfiction compendium of all things ghoulish and ghastly--from Aliens to Zombies! Vampires, ghosts, monsters, and more--ENCYCLOPEDIA HORRIFICA... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439922550
• ISBN13: 9780439922555
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Length: 129 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.3" x 10.3"
• Age Range: 8 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 3 and higher

Customer Reviews

I do like the book however

When I opened the encyclopedia of horrifica it completely fell apart,the pages fell out so I’ll probably have to glue the pages it,I love the book it is fun with cool,creepy or spooky facts but I do wish that it didn’t fall apart I’ll give it 3/5 for good book but unstable construction in pages or in the book itself

Hey. Good condition? The book fell apart when I opened it! Fkn frustrated to put it back together.

Not sure how to explain. It's like a collage of articles and pictures. Having to check all the pages that fell out of the book and put back in order, a bit disappointed.

Nostalgic Cryptozoology

I used to have this book in elementary/middle school and loved it. I would spend hours reading it over and over, and now I can read it over and over again!

"Blood sweet blood"

In spite of the `horrifica' in the title, this author's tongue was tucked firmly into his own cheek during the compilation of this witty encyclopedia. Joshua Gee never comes right out and says, for example, that vampires really exist. Instead he leads his reader on with teasers such as, "If we could ask Stoker himself whether or not he believed in vampires and werewolves, what might he say? Well, hopefully nothing. After all, he's been dead since 1912!" Mindful of the age of its intended readers, this encyclopedia doesn't go into too much shocking detail. For instance, it never does state what Vlad Dracula a.k.a. Vlad the Impaler did with all of those six-foot wooden stakes. Mr. Gee just drops a big hint: "It [impalement] is best described in a foreign language that the reader does not understand..." Nevertheless, there are lots of interesting bits of folklore and science to entertain your young Buffys and Van Helsings. For instance, did you know that vampire slayers had to ride a horse "...as black as the blackest ocean" or that vampire bat spit contains a substance called `draculin' that prevents its victim's blood from clotting? Although this is a standard, hard-bound book with multiple pictures (in gory color) per page, there are lots of interactive features to engage the computer-savvy reader, such as a quiz on the `real' versus movie Dracula: "Who would win in a furious fight to the (un)death? YOU decide." I'll go with the real Dracula whose "victims accumulated on his front lawn like `a mighty forest'!" "Encyclopedia Horrifica" has something for everyone who is interested in the supernatural, from aliens to zombies. It's not really arranged in an encyclopedic format, i.e. A to Z, but there is an index if you need to look up, say, "The Call of Cthulhu" or `fugu sashimi.' This review wouldn't be complete without mention of the many wonderful pictures that adorn this book, from the holographic spider that crawls in and out of a skull's eye socket on the front cover, to the scariest photo of all: an eyelash mite in its natural habitat on your skin, magnified 240 times to look like a wormy alligator. Ugh!

Truly terrifying!!!

I bought this book for my 12 year old brother who hates reading, and he tore through every page! And then he read his favorite parts over again! He also chose to use this book for a school project. I was amazed by his response, and have since given ENCYCLOPEDIA HORRIFICA to three other children and one fear-seeking adult -- and everyone has been thrilled. The book is fun, informative, and painstakingly crafted -- I can't recommend it highly enough!!!

The best of it's kind

Was entertained from cover to cover. My children and I love all the stories. Worth every penny. Joshua dedicated a huge amount of time and energy to make this book perfect and it shows from the content and even the cover.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

ENCYCLOPEDIA HORRIFICA is the perfect book for anyone who loves the spooky, the eerie, and the downright weird. Want to know about ghosts, vampires, ESP, werewolves, or anything else even partially paranormal? Then this is definitely the book for you! The book is broken down into four main parts: Real Nightmares, "That's the Spirit!", Every Day is Halloween, and Fearsome Fates. In part one, you can read about vampires, sea creatures, aliens, and werewolves. Part two covers ghosts: where to find them, how to catch them, when they've been caught on film, and animals who could have been extras on the movie Pet Sematary. Part three includes weird shops (where you can even buy a three-pound jar of dead flies), ESP and other psychic abilities, phobias and superstitions, and the most horrific books you could ever find on a bookshelf. Part four covers zombies, pixies and faeries, mummies, and everything death related. This book is hilariously horrifying. Although that may sound like an oxymoron, author Joshua Gee has made sure to make the facts he covers interesting, funny, and entertaining. Besides being a reference book, this is one tome that you'll find yourself reading over and over again for its pure entertainment value. Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"