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Daimonic Reality: A Field Guide to the Otherworld Hardcover – January 1, 2003

by Patrick Harpur (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 139 ratings
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Books about monsters, apparitions, UFOs, demons & "the otherworld" tend to be fiction. But those that aren't, those that purport to document or comment on such phenomena in what passes for "real life" vary across such a wide range of quality, credulity & comprehensibility that it's tempting to dismiss them all as pure badly-written hokum. Of course, as in any genre, no matter how microscopic, there are classics. Charles Fort's Book of the Damned is surely in the forefront. But once you get past the looming shadow of Charles Fort, matters become far murkier. Patrick Harpur's Daimonic Reality is a work that would surely make the top ten lists of many Fortean scholars. Subtitled A Field Guide to the Otherworld, Daimonic Reality synthesizes the reports of many different phenomena into a single Unified Field Theory of the Strange. It's an audacious attempt that largely succeeds. Harpur has a low key writing style that makes this work easy to read. His comprehensive knowledge of a wide variety of inexplicable events is impressive & entertaining. Most importantly, he has drawn together these disparate elements with a rather interesting philosophical take that looks to Jung, Fort, Blake, Yeats & beyond. There are enough elements in this stew to make it a really tasty treat for the hungry mind. Daimonic Reality is divided into three sections thru which Harpur journeys ever deeper into the mind behind the perceptions. But he's careful not to shortchange the perceptions & events themselves. Part One: Apparitions covers apparitions of all kinds, from UFOs to lights in the sky, from aliens & fairies to sightings of Black Dogs & Big Cats. Harpur's economical coverage of these subjects makes it easy for any level of Fortean reader to enjoy the individuality of each experience. But this treatment also enables the reader to step back & see the bigger picture, to move towards the idea of the otherworld. The individual reports are carefully chosen & beautifully written. Harpur takes a more substantial step towards the otherworld in Part Two: Vision. Starting with a discussion of "seeing things", he moves on to visions of Ladies, which are dominated by (but not exclusively) visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He discusses the evidence that these encounters leave behind, from fairy shoes to crop circles. (Coming soon to a theater near you.) He talked about the part that Imagination plays in the otherworld & finally reaches the mythic land itself. In Part Three: Otherworld Journeys, Harpur gives both practical & philosophical advice for otherworld journeys. He discusses the variety of journeys that one can have, from missing time to alien encounters, from a trip to fairyland to an out-of-body experience. When Harpur sticks to the practical, he has practically no peer in writing compelling prose about otherworldly experiences. His philosophical thoughts aren't quite as page-turning, but they're pithy, fascinating & pertinent. Harpur isn't content to merely provoke thought. He wants to invoke internal debate in the reader, & does so with some formal philosophical discussion that is difficult to pull off with the authority that Harpur achieves. He's a remarkably intelligent writer & his work requires a reader of nearly equal intelligence. You don't have to be a philosopher to read Harpur's work, but it certainly helps to be philosophically inclined. This isn't mere reportage of events, but a reasoned analysis, with conclusions that go well beyond 'Is it real or are they all just a bunch of crazy yahoos?' That there is an audience for this sort of thinking is shown by the eternal sales of the works of writers such as Carlos Castenada, not to mention the immense & increasing popularity of Fortean fiction, horror, science fiction & fantasy. That's because Harpur is looking to snatch something from the center of creation, something that is partly in the human mind & partly in the otherworld. Daimonic Reality does an excellent job grasping at the ineffable & getting it in print. As of 2/2003, this title is back in print by Pine Winds Press/Idyll Arbor. They've chosen an equally nice cover print, & are publishing the book as a sturdy US hardcover. Better yet, they're a small press, so you can buy directly from them. Since Harpur has managed to wrestle the ineffable into print, we've got to thank Pine Winds Press for keeping it in print.--Rick Kleffel
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  1. Print length
    329 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pine Winds Pr
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0937663093
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0937663097
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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Today's Books rates this book a "MUST READ" -- Today's Books - September 2004

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pine Winds Pr; 1st edition (January 1, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 329 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0937663093
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0937663097
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 139 ratings

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Patrick Harpur

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
139 global ratings
Something for Everyone--And Then Some
5 Stars
Something for Everyone--And Then Some
DAIMONIC REALITY A Field Guide to the Other World by Patrick Harpur is a well-documented, scholarly work on one level, and an extremely entertaining collection of folklore, ghost stories, monsters, myths, visions, Blessed Virgins, stigmata, sacred places and UFO encounters on an equally engrossing other level. Sci-Fi and horror buffs will not be disappointed.The author suggests an alternative explanation for "paranormal" phenomena, that is, an alternative to the rigid scientific method--an explanation that likewise does not accept such phenomena as literal occurence. Instead he suggests that they spring from the "daimonic" inner space of consciousness. They do exist, but they cannot be measured, weighed, etc. At the same time, they are not the literal or concrete realities of true believers. They exist on their own terms, not so much to please us, as to tease us.ANYBODY interested in psychic & other strange phenomena will LOVE this book!The Origins of Psychic Phenomena: Poltergeists, Incubi, Succubi, and the Unconscious Mind
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Top reviews from the United States

Patrick Revels
5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and well-written book
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2022
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This book finds a very sincere way to draw you in. There is no other book like it. As hard as the author tries to write as a neutral scholar, this is an emic (religious) text and not a book of scholarship, but that contributes to rather than detracts from it's charm. It manages to strafe a weird line between scientific and mythological paradigms, between Neoplatonism, Blake, Jung, and the paranormal. Really enjoyable and warm. Thank you.
8 people found this helpful
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Consumer
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, profound, and transformative
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2012
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This tragically under-known gem is the most brilliant book on the deeper nature of the world that I've ever encountered (and I've met a *lot* of such books). On the surface it appears to be a book about UFOs, angels, ghosts, and crop circles. But once you get into it you discover that it's actually a book about an entirely different way of understanding reality in which all of those things and so much more not only make sense but are inevitable, profound, and important.

Harpur is Cambridge educated and it shows. *Daimonic Reality* is brimming with classical sensibility and academic rigor. Yet he blends his myriad references to Western arts and sciences into an approachable alchemy that is easily grasped. Yet what is grasped is so radical and elusive that it may take several readings over several years for it to fully permeate one's consciousness.

This book transformed my understanding of the world. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

(I've also had the pleasure of meeting Harpur at one of his Mythic Imagination courses. He is completely charming and is even more insightful and inspiring in person!)
25 people found this helpful
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WillB
5.0 out of 5 stars Blake, Plato, Folklore, Jung and UFOs, all in one excellent book
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2018
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Harpur has written a masterpiece. If you have always been baffled by UFOs and such matters, Harpur gives a wonderful guide and explanation about these phenomena. The book is well researched and full of example encounters, which are explained in terms of his Platonic world of Imagination. I think this is the best book I have read on the subject of Blake's Imagination, Jung's Collective Unconscious, the Platonic Realm, UFOs, Folklore and other such matters, and I have read many such books on the subject.
24 people found this helpful
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Ellzeena
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2010
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Patrick Harpur has really hit the proverbial nail on its head with this work. I've studied philosophy, comparative religion, psychology, spiritualism, metaphysics, the paranormal, myth, mysticism, cryptozoology, ufology, et al for decades and have actually come to the same conclusions Harpur has. I especially share his belief that "thought forms" ("daimons") are REAL (become so) and as I read this work I began to further develop my own idea that the ubiquitous consciousness of "Creator" (or whatever one calls "It") has an influence on creation (all of it) in a manner that science and religion are totally unable to define (and unwilling to define). I highly recommend this book and suggest that it be preceded by "The Trickster and The Paranormal".
28 people found this helpful
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Scare Crow
5.0 out of 5 stars Patrick Harpur is my favorite author.
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2020
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This was the first book of his that I ever read. It was so different, more so than any other book I had ever read. Since, I have consumed all of Patrick Harpur's writings. He is a special kind of thinker, one whose writings are ensouled. I cannot recommend this book enough. Along with Jeffrey Kripal, there are few writers who I've found that can strike such a balance between prose, information, and wonder through their work. He has that rare mythological perspective that employs all the tools of supercomparativism (to use a P.K. Dick term). If you are a "believer" - then Harpur may not strike a chord with you. But if you are an "imaginer" - then he is for you. Believe nothing, imagine everything.
19 people found this helpful
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Ann Bracke
4.0 out of 5 stars A good book on Celtic faeries.
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2024
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I found it a little hard to follow. But that's because I am not really into the aspects of mischievous fairies.
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E.D. Gunn
5.0 out of 5 stars I can't stop talking about it.
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2010
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This book is by far one of my favorites. People try to punch me all the time because I always talk about the ideas this book puts forward.

It makes you think. With apsects such as collective unconscious, the entire paranormal spectrum, mythology, the reality of imagination, etc., this book has it all. I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to challenge his normal views about the world around him. Patrick Harpur, with his Irish charm, did Joseph Campbell, Carl G. Jung, and Terence Mckenna proud.

Plus! It comes in a beautiful, quality, hardback edition!
8 people found this helpful
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Jimmer Hardy
5.0 out of 5 stars Clearly things up.
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2015
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what a scholarly and fascinating take on the things that go bump in the night skies and lands.
when the ufo/high strangeness phenomenons are analyzed by this author, it all becomes clearer, understandable and consumable.
his conclusions are far from the popular meme.
this read is highly recommended!
how did I hear about it?
from a dr. john e. mack lecture.
he was all over it.
12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Paolo Ettore Della Bianca
5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary book
Reviewed in Italy on August 20, 2021
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First of all, this is not a book for simple weird phenomena buffs which are not going to engage themselves in a complex but revealing reading.

The author guides the reader through a journey to understand the nature of the strange phenomena which have been occurring in all times and civilizations although without any claim to explain them because, owing to their nature itself, they defy any attempt to explain in the scientific meaning of this word.

I took a while to go through this book with the due attention but after finishing it, I consider it one of the best and most meaningful ones I have ever read.

Also, I plan on reading it again some time soon - which I rarely do even with books I appreciated - to understand more deeply its concepts.

This book is a must-have.
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Elyn
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabuloso!
Reviewed in Spain on June 3, 2021
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This book is eye-opening, mind-bending, and provides fascinating perspectives on the nature of reality, faeries, crop circles, UFOs--and so much more. A must-read for anyone interested in expanding their view of the world and its mysteries.
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Mr V
5.0 out of 5 stars I love it
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 11, 2019
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At this moment, possibly one of my favourite books ever.

I discovered this book with such timing that it chimed perfectly with other reading and lines of thought; some would call it synchronicity. Patrick Harpur has helped elucidate certain concepts that I have been meandering towards for a while, and for that I am grateful. This book has accelerated the growth of a world view that has been incubating with me for some time. I will be buying more books by the same author.
7 people found this helpful
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MJD1967
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
Reviewed in Canada on November 4, 2016
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Bought this for my partner and she loves it... as do I when I flipped through! Thorough and quality writing.
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Magnomaly
5.0 out of 5 stars brief review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2015
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one of those books that change the readers world view. this is as good as Lyall Watson's Supernature.
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