Matt Kaplan's book provides an entertaining catalog of monsters with his speculations about their origins and the science behind what made them possible. Although the reader is forced to accept that all of what Kaplan says about monsters is very speculative, Kaplan provides a good description of the science that he feels is key to understanding the monsters. For example, he postulates that a vampire's aversion to garlic and water is related to the behavior of people with rabies. He also postulates that the origin of the three-headed dog Cerebos or the Chimera were based upon fossil remains or multiple animals that had become mixed together before they were fossilized.

Particularly interesting was his identification of some of the earliest references to monsters like vampires and werewolves. Similarly, he provides a fascinating postulate for the gigantic whirlpool that threatened Odysseus on his trip home.

In summary, the book is entertatining and informative even though you may not be able to accept many of his speculations. ( )

Interesting at first, then it got tedious. ( )

I love to read books like this. I am a fan of Matt Kaplan now! Old Hag Syndrome and sleep paralysis is the most interesting parts for me!

In this entertaining look at beliefs in monsters of various sorts, as with his more recent book on magical powers, Science of the Magical, Matt Kaplan explores the ways in which science (and culture) create the background for belief in things fantastic. Kaplan's argument, that monsters serve an important purpose by representing deeply held fears and allowing people to “practice” facing those fears in a safe way, is hardly original, but he writes with cheerful, sometimes flippant enthusiasm, and, while bringing in plenty of real science and history, he rarely takes his imaginary subjects or his imaginative theories too seriously.

Kaplan's premise, that monsters are created due to specific and identifiable human fears combined with observable phenomena works better with some monsters than others. The link between Old Hag Syndrome and sleep paralysis is quite convincing, while the idea that the Golem of Prague was a vigilante seems, generously, a stretch. Most of Kaplan's proposed explanations for beliefs in monsters, ranging from Hercules's Nemean lion all the way to sparkly modern vampires and UFO's, fall somewhere in between these extremes of “sure, that seems plausible” and “ha!” Most often his proposals seem not unreasonable, but also, often, not fully convincing either. I'm inclined to give more credit to the wild imaginations of storytellers, who will create exuberantly hideous monsters even without needing the prompt of evolutionarily helpful fears, than Kaplan seems inclined to. Still, Kaplan's speculations are inventive and fun, and he wanders off down some interesting rabbit trails. I particularly enjoyed the story he tells about the scientific evidence for zombies, involving poison worms, Bufo toads, and puffer fish. Also, his footnotes are extensive and amusing.

I would recommend this to readers who enjoy exploring the “whys” behind belief in monsters and would give it 3 ¾ stars , rounded up to 4. ( )

Utter and absolute nonsense from beginning to end. Kaplan treats monsters as basic manifestations of human fears, and then acts as though they can be explained rationally (and dismissed of with sufficient rationalization, too). ( )