Oddities: A Book of Unexplained Facts PDF book by Rupert T. Gould 1966 with Illustrations





Contents of the book:



Introduction by Leslie Shepard v preface ix I. The devil’s hoof-marks 9 ii. The vault at Barbados 2 3 iii. The ships were seen on the ice 52 iv. The berbalangs of Cagayan sulu 82 v. Orffyreus’ wheel 89 vi. Crosse’s acari I I 7 vii. The auroras, and other doubtful islands 1 24 viii. Mersenne’s numbered 163 ix. The wizard of Mauritius I 73 x. The planet Vulcan 1 94 xi Nostradamus 204





Those who delight in true mysteries — the unexplained occurrences of everyday life and the unsolved enigmas of history — will find this book a treasure of singular cases to challenge the mind and capture the imagination. It represents a special branch of literature in which the late Rupert Gould excelled, and to which he brought a rare scholarship and all the warmth and charm of a born story-teller. Here, in oddities, the reader is introduced for the first time to the Berbalangs of Cagayan Sulu, inhabitants of a small island at the southern end of the Philippines.These most unusual natives are rumored to be vampires who possess the frightening ability to leave their bodies and travel through the night in the form of luminous and deadly messengers of death. A report on their activities comes directly from the eye-witness account of a reputable British citizen. Then there is the delightful account of the devil’s hoof marks that appeared in the snow, simultaneously, over a hundred-mile area.This singular visitation was apparently undaunted by walls, locks, heights, distances or any other natural obstacle. The study is complete with maps, on-the-spot sketches, and actual accounts that appeared in the press. Gould applies his broad knowledge, enlightened scholarship, and shrewd wit to the evidence to arrive at several provocative possibilities that have never before come under consideration. The reader is next invited to ponder the validity of Crosse’s acari, insect-like creatures that were produced from dead matter by an electrical process.Gould considers the possibility that Crosse, a dedicated and skilled scientific amateur, may actually have been the first to succeed in creating life. There is, next, the case of the moving coffins in the vaults at Barbados and similar cases that occurred in England. In these instances, to the puzzlement of every- one involved, coffins which had been hermetically sealed.Author: Rupert T. GouldPublication Date:1966Updated