The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals

by Aaron Mahnke Narrated by Aaron Mahnke

Overview

A chilling, lavishly illustrated who's who of the most despicable people ever to walk the earth, featuring stories from the Lore podcast-now a streaming television series-including “Black Stockings,” “Half-Hanged,” and “The Castle,” as well as rare material.

Some monsters are figments of our imagination. Others are as real as flesh and blood: humans who may look like us, who may walk among us, often unnoticed, occasionally even admired-but whose evil deeds and secret lives, once revealed, mark them as something utterly wicked.
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In this illustrated volume from the host of the hit podcast Lore, you'll find tales of infamous characters whose veins ran with ice water and whose crimes remind us that truth can be more terrifying than fiction. Aaron Mahnke introduces us to William Brodie, a renowned Scottish cabinetmaker who used his professional expertise to prey on the citizens of Edinburgh and whose rampant criminality behind a veneer of social respectability inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Then there's H. H. Holmes, a relentless and elusive con artist who became best known as the terror of Chicago's 1893 World's Fair when unwitting guests were welcomed into his “hotel” of horrors . . . never to be seen again. And no rogues' gallery could leave out Bela Kiss, the Hungarian tinsmith with a taste for the occult and a collection of gasoline drums with women's bodies inside.
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Brimming with accounts of history's most heinous real-life fiends, this riveting best-of-the-worst roundup will haunt your thoughts, chill your bones, and leave you wondering if there are mortal monsters lurking even closer than you think.

The World of Lore series includes:
MONSTROUS CREATURES ¿ WICKED MORTALS ¿ DREADFUL PLACES

Editorial Reviews

NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile

Award-winning podcaster Aaron Mahnke narrates his own collection of stories that explore the darkest corners of our history. He delves into the truths and folklore surrounding a miscellany of depravity, including the acts of infamous serial killers and swindlers to the hysteria, hypocrisy, and violence of witch hunts. Though this audiobook is not for the squeamish, Mahnke’s fact-based approach should be digestible enough for a general audience. He taps into the core themes of these stories but never revels in the grisly details. Discerning listeners can even find some important lessons about the unsavory side of the human condition. Altogether, Mahnke strikes a perfectly calibrated tone. He’s a well-informed historian but also has the energy of a master storyteller spinning a yarn on a dark night. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

Praise for the Lore podcast
 
“Truth can often be much scarier than fiction—something [Aaron] Mahnke proves as he dives deep into the world of folklore and the darker side of history in a quest to root out the fragment of truth at the bottom of our fears.”—Entertainment Weekly
 
“Unlike so much horror that needs over-the-top viscera to scare you, this podcast leans on history—folklore, myth, the stuff people once thought was true—to tell its tales.”—The Atlantic
 
“Narrated by Mahnke in a style that evokes spooky campfire stories, Lore is a history lesson like no other.”—Esquire

NOVEMBER 2018 - AudioFile

Award-winning podcaster Aaron Mahnke narrates his own collection of stories that explore the darkest corners of our history. He delves into the truths and folklore surrounding a miscellany of depravity, including the acts of infamous serial killers and swindlers to the hysteria, hypocrisy, and violence of witch hunts. Though this audiobook is not for the squeamish, Mahnke’s fact-based approach should be digestible enough for a general audience. He taps into the core themes of these stories but never revels in the grisly details. Discerning listeners can even find some important lessons about the unsavory side of the human condition. Altogether, Mahnke strikes a perfectly calibrated tone. He’s a well-informed historian but also has the energy of a master storyteller spinning a yarn on a dark night. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171995812
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	05/29/2018
Series:	The World of Lore , #2
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

 
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Excerpted from "The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Aaron Mahnke.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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