Varla Ventura

writer, traveler, lover of the strange

Varla Ventura

I am the author of Fairies, Pookas and Changelings: A Complete Guide to the Wild and Wicked Enchanted Realm, The Book of the Bizarre; Beyond Bizarre; Among the Mermaids; and Banshees, Werewolves, Vampires & Other Creatures of the Night. I am a lover of all things truly strange and freaky, and spend a good deal of my time reading and researching stories of the unusual variety. I live in the North Woods where all manner of things tap, tap, tap at my windowpane at all hours of the night.

Skull in Stomach (And a Foot in the Brain)

Recent news of the model whose sustained injuries from a fall while hiking with her husband in Hell’s Canyon, a wilderness area along the border of Idaho and Oregon, reports that Jamie Hilton is recovering from her major brain injury, thanks to the ingenuity of doctors storing the fragment of her skull in her abdomen. […]

Skull in Stomach (And a Foot in the Brain) Read More »

Interview with Dark Harvest Radio

Hello Pumpkins and Pumpkin Eaters! It’s been ages since you’ve heard the sweet (or should I say scratchy? It’s been Dark and Stormy night…) sound of my voice. Well, the agonizing wait is over. Listen to me live Monday the 24th, at 7pm EST where I’ll be chatting with host Dan Marro on his show

Interview with Dark Harvest Radio Read More »

Coast to Coast: Friday September 21st

Werewolves, banshees, vampires, ghosts! Come tune in for TWO HOURS of lively banter with George Noory and moi! Friday, September 21st, 10pm-12pm PST Listen LIVE via the web or your local AM radio station. Remember, you have to either listen live or subscribe (for a small fee) to listen to archived shows. Click the link

Coast to Coast: Friday September 21st Read More »

Who’s That Knocking on my Coffin Lid? Vampires, Magical Creatures Part Three

Lovers of True Blood, Dracula devotees, and Twilight tweens: I offer you the ancient vamps of my Magical Creatures series! These are the stories that Stephenie Meyer and Anne Rice read when they were but wee babes, suckling on their mothers (or the  neck of their mother). These are the groundwork stories about vampirism, both

Who’s That Knocking on my Coffin Lid? Vampires, Magical Creatures Part Three Read More »