Ghouls, giants, ogres, vampires, cannibals, little people, Bluebeard and Tuatha De Danna are all bogeymen created to help us confront fear, argues Warner in this fascinating look at things which go bump in the night. In an impressive trawl, she has collected myths, stories and pictures of the bogeymen who materialise fear in a living shape - from Zeus through Struwwelpeter to aliens and Hannibal Lecter. Lullabies and nursery stories (often violent and bloodthirsty) help us to face evil, in the belief that uttering the fear will keep it at bay, but we also use laughter as a defensive tactic. In an analysis of current society, Warner argues that the new bogeys - paedophiles - are symptomatic of modern life because "their practices condense a wider cultural pederasty of childlikeness". A must-read for anyone who has ever checked the doors after watching a horror movie.