This book is currently on my ‘want’ list: Hidden Realms, Lost Civilizations, and Beings from Other Worlds (Amazon US and UK), by influential Fortean writer/researcher Jerome Clark.
Claims of supernatural realms, parallel worlds, and lost civilizations are put to the test in this well-researched guide to the unexplained. Firsthand accounts and historical documents are explored, and in-depth coverage is provided on the mysteries of imagination, culture, perception, consciousness, being, and more. Included in this collection are Richard S. Shaver’s personal experience of hell—replete with demons and ghouls—modern and ancient accounts of fairyland, life on Mars, alien worlds, parallel universes, and mystery airships. Also examined are the supernatural myths surrounding Mount Shasta, which include accounts of telepathic Lemurians living on its slopes, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. More than 40 beliefs, doctrines, experiences, and places are described and explored in this truly comprehensive guide to the wacky, weird, and otherworldly.
Not sure the description does it justice – make sure you click on the ‘Search Inside this Book’ link at Amazon and peruse the contents, and read the opening pages. Jerry has said the that book is about “the relationship of imagination to experience and brings, I hope, some fresh ideas to the discussion.” Seems to me like a must for any writer or researcher, purely as a reference book, let alone for the enjoyment value. Definitely worth taking a look at.