Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures

A great reference for those interested in such things. Just yesterday I was reading a novel and came across a name that I was able to look up and get satisfactory information about. There are two things in particular I like about this book -- the straightforward writing and the sources added to each entry. There's also a lengthy bibliography, which I always enjoy. One criticism, however, is that this reads more like a dictionary than an encyclopedia. The author was deliberately brief in order to cover a large number of entries, so each entry is concise and introductory. Still, this will be a useful addition to my reference materials. Just remember, though, that this book is a first stop in research, not the last. ( )

Theresa Bane's _Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures_ is a more than adequate introductory text on the subject of world demonology. Bane presents in the introduction her conception of "demon", and despite using the Latin "daemon" for the Greek "daimon," is very useful in understanding how she presents the various spirits in the "Encyclopedia." This is important as many of the spirits, especially those from non Abrahamically influenced cultures, do not always fit Western culture's various understandings of the term. The book also boasts, and delivers on, a lengthy bibliography. While the "Encyclopedia" is heavy on Abrahamic and grimoire-derived demons, it includes spirits from a host of other cultures as well. Perhaps its greatest flaw is that it calls itself an encyclopedia when it is at best a dictionary.

An Early Reviewer win.
This is an excellent book with a huge bibliography and many sources. And while I sat down and read it through beginning to end, as a reference book, that's not the best way to look at it/use it.
It did, however, have the added benefit of keeping some people from sitting next to me on the bus.
I've also become entirely intrigued by Bensozia thanks to this book. I'm going to have to read Ecstasies by Carlo Ginsburg and reread Montaillou by LaDurie because I discovered she's mentioned in those books as well. (I hadn't recalled her in Montaillou, but I read that nearly 30 years ago.)
I discovered there are numerous demons of migraines, which doesn't shock me, and a demon of Morris dancing, which sent me into a laughing fit (I used to be a Morris dancer).
I had never heard about an association of Eostre with Lilith. I simply can't comprehend that one. Eostre was a Germanic pagan goddess who later gave her name to the holiday Easter. Unless the demonic association is simply because she's a pagan goddess, I can't see how the two would be related. Granted, I didn't go through the bibliography to look for a source because it's so huge. And I don't believe the author created this idea herself--I'm sure the documentation is there. It just struck me as strange.
The only quibbles I had with this book are things most readers wouldn't even notice. It was just weird things that happened in the styling of the book that I notice simply because I can't leave my job behind when I read a book (I'm a production editor, so I look for those kind of things to make sure they don't happen).
If you need a research/reference books on demons from not just one religion but many, this is definitely the book for you. ( )

Interesting concept. This book is great for someone that just wants to look up a demon and get a snippet about it. It's not something one just sits down and reads through. It might be helpful if you're reading something else that mentions a demon and you want a little more information. I was hoping for more correllation between demons and religions. As another reviewer mentioned: one culture's god is another's demon. ( )

Not a bad attempt at an encyclopedia of demons however I was hoping for more information on the demons. She used a bit too broad based on a definition of demon for my taste. I would have liked a bit more story behind each one. For a brief overview it is certainly comprehensive and extensive. In short this is useful if you just want a quick idea about a demon but not depth. I would also have enjoyed a few illustrations to help identify each one. Not one I would sit down and read through. ( )