Roberts Chad O'Dell. The Big Book of Monsters

Create Space Independent Publishing Platform, 2018. — 300 p. — ISBN 9781717425171.The Big Book of Monsters Volume One. An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Myths, Folktales and Legendary Creatures.
For as long as we have been humans, we have looked at the world around us in fear and wonder. When early man took those first steps away from being unthinking animals and towards where we are right now, we were confronted by a world which often threatened us and just as often mystified us. While the threats were easily identified – things too large for us to eat, but just large enough to try and eat us – the mysteries were often too mysterious. We didn’t know what made some of those noises in the dark, or what the stars were, how the world came to be or what happened when we died.
It may come as a surprise to hear it, but as a species, human beings hate mystery. Many people would argue and say, “No! That’s not true – I love a good mystery!’ But I would argue that what we love is the solution to a good mystery. Mysteries without solutions infuriate us. If we got to the end of a Sherlock Holmes story, or Miss Marple or Philip Marlowe, and were never told “Whodunnit,” we’d want our money back. Even further, we’d invent our own ending – because if there’s anything we humans excel at, it’s making stuff up. This explains the incredibly vast amount of mythsand legends that exist throughout the entirety of human history. Since the first person who ever sat up quickly in the dark at the sound of something going bump in the night, and asked “What was that?” we have been giving shapes to the mysteries in the shadows.
This natural skill we have – of filling in the blanks when we’re afraid or filled with wonder – is something that we all have in common, in one way or another. And it should serve to remind us, that no matter where we come from, no matter the nation, the culture, the belief system, no matter what large city or country village, we’re all pretty much the same. We look for answers in the dark.
It’s my hope that in studying the fantastic and monstrous things we’ve come up with to try and explain the mysteries of the world, we’ll come to a better understanding of how we view that world – and each other – and one day learn to see it – and each other - with none of the fear and all of the wonder.