#j w ocker

[rachel-sylvan-author]

"The United States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myths and Monsters" by J.W. Ocker

Thank you @thecaseofbooks for the rec! ❤️

[blackpaintedeyes]

had this book for years and its still in great condition, mostly because it keeps fucking vanishing any time i think to actually read about whats in it. popped up again today, taking this so i know i still own it. real interesting stuff on objects like the hope diamond, and places like king tut's tomb.

if i didnt like the read so much i probably would have just gotten rid of it by now, but i get the feeling it'd show back up anyways

[forthegothicheroine]

[Poe's] genius is so inescapable that we find it necessary to introduce stories of madmen, of murder, of exotic torture and obsession with death to our children in school just because we need to show them what great literature is or else fail in our roles as educators, decent people, and apex predators.

J. W. Ocker, Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe

[goodluckclove]

WRITERS - Read More Nonfiction! (With Recs)

Okay so before I start I'm making it very clear that I don't say this as some generalized statement about how All Online People Aren't Reading Right. I doubt that's true! But based on some of the threads and discourse I see on my corner on Writeblr, it definitely seems like a lot of you would greatly benefit from expanding the scope of what you read.

I think there's probably a big stigma against nonfiction for a lot of people - there was for me for the longest time. Maybe six years ago, though, I stumbled into the genre and found that it can actually be rad as shit. It's been an invaluable form of research from people who definitely know what they're talking about, as well as a way to open myself up to new ideas.

You have chronic writers block? It could potentially be because you're consuming exclusively one genre of media. If that's the case, this will definitely get the gears turning!

Below are a collection of my favorite nonfiction books from my own shelf. The funny thing I immediately learned about suggesting more than like three nonfiction books at a time is that it does paint a kind of intimate picture of who I am. Feel free to tell me if these recommendations surprise you based on who you view me to be.

Clove's Favorite Nonfiction Books!

The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth by Thomas Morris - a collection of historical medical cases back when someone would see a doctor for a gunshot wound and the doctor would treat it with a laxative. WILD stuff.

American Monsters by Linda S. Godfrey - US cryptids! Lots of first person accounts.

Cursed Objects by J. W. Ocker - Famous cursed shit. Quick read but very fun.

The Cloudspotter's Guide by Gavin Prector-Pinney - this was written by the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, a real organization. It tells you everything you need to know about clouds. Fascinating.

Gory Details by Erika Englehaupt - stories and studies of more morbid and "gross" aspects of science, like the guys who stung themselves with instincts to measure the pain or that beach that feet kept washing up on for a while. Cool interviews with science people.

Fuzz by Mary Roach - wild animals break the law a lot actually and we still as a species don't really know what to do about that.

Spook by Mary Roach - an account of Ghost Believing from all sides of the argument. There was a guy who measured dying bodies to see if he could see them get lighter as their soul escaped.

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimberly - an indigenous-influenced look at our relationship as a species to nature around us. Really beautiful prose from someone who I believe is primarily a botanist and activist?

All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell - stories and analysis from different aspects of the death industry! Embalmers to crime scene cleaners! Super interesting!

American Afterlives by Shannon Lee Dawdy - I have. A lot of death culture books. A lot. This one talks about all the neat things people in America do with their bodies after they die in the modern age. It's fun!

Dark Archives by Megan Rosenbloom - so this IS a book on the history of Anthropodermic bibliopegy, or books bound in human skin. I'm actually midway through this now and it's super fascinating and cool. Also my wife refuses to talk to me about this so I'd love someone else to talk to.

The Secret Lives of Color by Cassia St. Clair - I read like four books on color theory and pigment for a novel I wrote a few years ago and this was my favorite. It's a look into a ton of major hues and pigments throughout history as well as a peek into the timeline of color making. Did you know making green fabrics used to be illegal?

Atlas Obscura - a fucking cool look into weird and unique spots across the globe. Every artist who works with places should have access to this. It's awesome.

Every Caitlin Doughty book they're all great. She's a modern mortician and founder of the Order of the Good Death. Just an incredible human being and a super engaging and informative writer.

If someone wants to reblog with their favorite nonfiction books and what they got from them, be my guest! Maybe someone could use a new read to get their next idea or refine what they're currently working on!

[witchyfashion]

Meet the monsters in our midst, from bigfoot to Mothman and beyond! Welcome to the United States of Cryptids, where mysterious monsters lurk in the dark forests, deep lakes, and sticky swamps of all fifty states. From the infamous Jersey Devil to the obscure Snallygaster, travel writer and chronicler of the strange J. W. Ocker uncovers the bizarre stories of these creatures and investigates the ways in which communities embrace and celebrate their local cryptids. Readers will learn about:   • Batsquatch of Washington, a winged bigfoot that is said to have emerged from the eruption of Mount Saint Helens • Nain Rouge of Michigan, a fierce red goblin that has been spotted before every major city disaster in Detroit • Flatwoods Monster of West Virginia, a robotic extraterrestrial that crash-landed in rural Appalachia • Lizard Man of South Carolina, a reptilian mutant that attacked a teenager in the summer of 1988 • Glocester Ghoul of Rhode Island, a fire-breathing dragon that guards a hoard of pirate treasure • And many more!   Whether you believe in bigfoot or not, this fully illustrated compendium is a fun, frightening, fascinating tour through American folklore and history, exploring the stories we tell about monsters and what those stories say about us.

https://amzn.to/3PSMUVE

[statecryptids]

Went to the first annual Glawackus Day at the Historical Society of Glastonbury! Glad to see the town finally celebrating its local cryptid.

Also got some cool cryptid books from the River Bend Bookshop:

Connecticut Cryptids by Patrick Scalisi and Valerie Ruby-Omen

The United States of Cryptids by J. W. Ocker

[haveyoureadthispoll]

An illustrated compendium that reveals the true stories behind the most infamous, creepy, and bizarre real-life cursed objects throughout history. Spanning decades and continents, subjects range from the opulent Hope Diamond to the humble Busby Stoop chair. They're lurking in museums, graveyards, and private homes around the world. Their stories have inspired countless horror movies, reality TV shows, campfire tales, books, and even chain emails. They're cursed objects, and in order to unleash a wave of misfortune, all they need...is you. As a culture, we can't seem to get enough of cursed objects. But never before have the true stories of these infamous real-life items been compiled into a fascinating and chilling volume. Entries include: • Annabelle the Doll, a Raggedy Ann doll which inspired the acclaimed horror franchise The Conjuring • The Tomb of Tutankhamen, the discovery of which kicked-started media hysteria over a rumored "Curse of the Pharaohs" • The Ring of Silvianus, a Roman artifact believed to have inspired J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit • The Hope Diamond, which was owned by kings and inspired the Heart of the Ocean in James Cameron's Titanic • The Dybbuk Box, which was sold on eBay and inspired the horror film The Possession Whether you believe in curses or not, the often tragic and always bizarre stories behind these objects will fascinate you. Many of them have intersected with some of the most notable events and people in history. But beyond Hollywood and beyond the hysteria, author J. W. Ocker suggests that cursed objects are simply objects which have been witness to great human tragedy, and thereafter operate as mechanisms for remembering and retelling those stories. Cursed Objects will be equally appealing to true believers as well as history buffs, horror fans, and anyone who loves a good spine-tingling tale.

[thezombieprostitute]

"I'm going to give you the moral of the story up front for this one: be careful what you dig up in your garden; you may unleash werewolves." - Cursed Objects by J. W. Ocker.

If that's not a story prompt, I don't know what is! 😂

[silelda]

"With dolls, there's often a thin line between cursed and haunted. Dolls personify curses a little bit more than other objects, and when a cursed object can stare back at you, it's a thousand times spookier."

-Cursed Objects by J. W. Ocker

[rudjedet]

I'm reading a book that talks about famous cursed objects, when it sticks to facts it's not bad. But then it veers off with shit like "that's what happens when you touch the stuff of a death obsessed culture like the ancient egyptians" j w ocker is gonna be the death of me

well speaking for me i'm gonna be the death of j w ocker because can you imagine writing that shit in the year of our lord two thousand and twenty, what the fuck

[shitpost-quote]

"“Cursed” is often used synonymously with “haunted” and “possessed”, but these three qualities are distinct. The difference is one of intelligence. Cursed items have none. They're objects that have become bad luck via someone who has purposefully cursed them or by happenstance."

-J. W. Ocker, Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items

[sandersstudies]

What does this say about me

Image description, or if the titles aren’t legible,

The Vulcan Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

The Long Walk by Stephen King

Confessions by Saint Augustine

Twelve Nights at Rotter House by J. W. Ocker

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I don’t usually post “what I read in a month” or anything bookblr around here. But I just stacked up everything I read in August and wow this is a weird assortment of books to put together.

[aislynndmerricksson]

5 Books to Try if You Like... The United States of Cryptids by J W Ocker

Monsters Among Us by Linda S Godfrey An intriguing look into the world of cryptids and monsters that have been spotted all over the United States. It is filled with unique stories and first-hand accounts of encounters that will leave readers with a sense of wonder and amazement.   Tracking the Man-Beasts by Joe Nickell This book provides an investigative look into people’s claims of sightings of…

[forthegothicheroine]

In the prison that once stood here [in Salem], Dorothy Good spent time before doing nine months in a Boston jail. The accusation of Dorothy Good was when the trials should have ended, just a few weeks after they began. The accusation of Dorothy Good is when everyone should have looked sheepishly at their shoe buckles, the accusers frozen mid-dance, the judges awkwardly clearing their throats, suddenly engrossed in their notes. Dorothy Good should have been a potent antidote to the hysteria. She was four years old when she was chained up.

J. W. Ocker, A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts

[reaganwarren]

I keep running into typos in this book by J. W. Ocker.

I’m enjoying it because I plan to visit next year but the typos should have been easily corrected and makes it difficult to take him too seriously. And I kinda think he’s rude but there’s lots of valuable information in the book.

[forthegothicheroine]

A few recs off the top of my head:

The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders

A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling

Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy

Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach

The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror by David J. Skal

A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage

What We Talk About When We Talk About Books: The History and Future of Reading by Leah Price

Supergods by Grant Morrison

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries by Rick Emerson

A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts by J. W. Ocker

Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops by Ken Mandelbaum

Let's Talk About Love: Why Other People Have Such Bad Taste by Carl Wilson

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett

Also, seconding Ghostland!

Ok tumblr friends. I’m trying to spend less time on the internet these days, and I LOVE reading non-fiction books, but trying to find recommendations for new books is a nightmare. Any time I try to look up good new non-fiction books the results are all like “would you like to read an autobiography of Paul Newman or New Reasons We’re All Doomed” and that just. Doesn’t Work for Me. So I’m asking for recs here. I’m open to books about literally any field or topic. Only caveats are that hard sciences have to be on a level I can understand as a humanities person, and medical stuff can’t be too gory (ie I loved Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Gene and The Song of the Cell, but can’t stomach The Mother of all Maladies). And nothing TOO miserable, but I have a fairly high tolerance for historical stuff. I’m particularly fond of micro-history and books that delve into multiple overlapping topics.

As a sampling, here are some books I’ve read and particularly enjoyed in the last two years:

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty

The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee

On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe by Caroline Pennock

Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs by Camilla Townsend

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Victims of Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

The Last Days of the Incas by Kim McQuarrie 

The Dream and the Nightmare: The Story of the Syrians who Boarded the Titanic by Leila Salloum Elias

Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Yeats by Andrew Knoll

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking by Anya von Bremzen

Jesus and John Wayne by Kristine Kobes du Mez

Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution that made China Modern by JIng Tsu

The Last Island: Discovery, Defiance, and the Most Elusive Tribe on Earth by Adam Goodheart

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home by Anya von Bremzen

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World by David W. Anthony

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann

Fire away!