Mystery Cults

Mystery cults are one of the most intriguing areas of Greek and Roman religion. In the nocturnal mysteries at Eleusis, participants dramatically reenacted the story of Demeter's loss and recovery of her daughter Persephone; in the Bacchic cult, bands of women ran wild in the Greek countryside to honor Dionysus; in the mysteries of Mithras, men came to understand the nature of the universe and their place within it through frightening initiation ceremonies and astrological teachings.

In the early Roman Empire, as Christianity struggled to gain a foothold and survive in the polytheistic pool of Roman theology, its greatest rivals weren't the Caesars or the Roman aristocracy but rather the faith and devotion of the common Roman legionary. The faith of these men was centered on the god Mithras, who, they believed, led them to victory upon the field of battle and had done so for nearly four centuries.

Torchlight. Drumbeat. A crowded hall breathes in unison as a priest lifts an object only initiates can see. Outside, empires rise and fall. Inside, someone believes death just lost. Mystery Religions of the Ancient World takes you inside the three most intoxicating cults of the classical Mediterranean. Walk the Sacred Way to Eleusis. Swear oaths in a Mithraic cave beneath a Roman granary. Sail at dawn with the priests of Isis as they launch a ceremonial ship and promise safe passage in this life and the next. This is history with a pulse, told with the urgency of a thriller and the rigor of...

A distraught mother seeks her kidnapped child. A young boy languishes in jail, facing a trial that could change his life forever. The 3M Detective Agency has been nearly dismantled by sudden death and an unrelenting campaign by an out-of-control district attorney. How will Natalie McMasters and the fam fight against overwhelming odds to keep from being destroyed for good? Cult! is a story that spans the U.S.A., as Nattie infiltrates a soul-sucking cult trying to take over Los Angeles to hunt for her newly discovered sister and her missing newborn son, while a couple of ancient Tai Chi ...

When Riley Matthews (niece of Daniel Matthews from the book Without Warning in the Elite Guardians series) heads to North Carolina to rescue her best friend from the Swiss Saints cult, she quickly runs into trouble. Steve Patterson, home from Afghanistan and ready to adjust to civilian life, wants that life to include Riley Matthews. But first, he has to find her, help her rescue her friend--and convince her that he's a changed man. Only Riley's not so sure she believes him. Truthfully, her heart wants to say all is forgiven, but her head won't let her forget the pain he caused her when he ...

Tribulation is a twisted mystery about an end-of-days religious cult manipulating space and traveling across planes of existence on electricity and radio signals. Cult members willingly accept seven brutal years of torture, known as their “tribulation,” to atone for their earthly sins and come out on the other side saved (or thoroughly brainwashed?). The hero of this thriller, Stacy Carlson, must uncover the mystery of the Tribulation cult after her husband Greg is kidnapped by its leader, Brother Elijah (Josh Charles), through a bizarre AM radio broadcast.

In 1632, an entire convent in the small French village of Loudun was apparently possessed by the devil. After a sensational and celebrated trial, the convent's charismatic priest Urban Grandier - accused of spiritually and sexually seducing the nuns in his charge - was convicted of being in league with Satan. Then he was burned at the stake for witchcraft. A remarkable true story of religious and sexual obsession, The Devils of Loudun is considered by many to be Brave New World author Aldous Huxley's nonfiction masterpiece.

Historians Cameron Thorne and Amanda Spencer-Gunn discover a fourteenth-century journal which confirms a long-rumored historical heresy: The medieval Church outlawed the Knights Templar because the warrior monks were secretly worshiping the ancient Goddess. The journal also sucks Cam and Amanda into the orbit of a ruthless cabal of modern-day pagans intent on pushing America into the loving arms of the Goddess—whether America wants succor there or not.

One abandoned estate. Millions of viewers. A hunger that never sleeps. Emily and Caleb thought they had won the real estate lottery—a cluster of forgotten cabins tucked away in the shadows of the mountains. It was the perfect backdrop for their viral renovation series. But as the cameras roll, the landscape begins to push back. The restoration was supposed to be a fresh start, a way to escape the crushing debt of the city. Instead, they’ve stumbled into a world ruled by ancient debts and bloody folklore. When a local recluse delivers a warning painted in blue, the couple realizes too ...

Africa may have given rise to the first human beings, and Egypt probably gave rise to the first great civilizations, which continue to fascinate modern societies across the globe nearly 5,000 years later. From the Library and Lighthouse of Alexandria to the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Ancient Egyptians produced several wonders of the world, revolutionized architecture and construction, created some of the world’s first systems of mathematics and medicine, and established language and art that spread across the known world.

I got the cat because my therapist said I needed “connection” and my sister said I needed “less silence.” I did not realize this would involve chanting, blood contracts, or a pamphlet printed on unsettlingly good paper. At first, it’s just a cat. Aloof. Judgmental. Stares at the corner of the room like it’s watching something I can’t see. Normal cat stuff. Then he starts leaving the flat at night. Coming back smelling like incense and damp carpet. Then I find the symbol. Then the meetings. Then the gentle but very firm suggestion that I’m holding him back from his destiny. ...

Demons, jinn, possession, sinister artifacts, and gruesome archaeological discoveries haunt this new book by Dr. Heather Lynn. Evil Archaeology investigates the archaeological record for artifacts and evidence of evil entities, revealing how demons from the ancient world may be dwelling among us. It also looks at the history and lore behind real relics believed to be haunted and includes historical accounts of demonic possession that go as far back as King Solomon invoking demons to help him build his famed temple.

Big messages come from the smallest things. And sometimes, the smallest things are the most dangerous. When Gabby McAllister receives a mysterious package in the mail, she doesn't think much of it—until she opens the box and finds a handful of coins. At first glance, they seem ordinary. But her psychic senses flare to life, revealing something far more disturbing: these coins are connected to a murder. A murder that hasn’t happened yet. As visions grow darker and more intense, Gabby realizes she’s being drawn into a carefully orchestrated trap. Someone is watching her. Studying her. ...

A New York Times Bestseller 2026 Audie Award Nominee “This suspenseful YA thriller is yet another testament to Jackson’s talent.”—ELLE New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson delivers another stunning, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, following a freshman girl whose...

SOME CASES HAUNT YOU... OTHERS HUNT. As a lowly grunt in Afghanistan's killing fields, Marine Corporal Hondo Velazquez uncovers what he believes to be ritual murders. Burned bodies. Missing children. And most chilling: the discovery of a human skull with mounted antlers—a mask worn in the ceremony of murder. Despite what his superiors demand, Hondo does what any good bloodhound would do: Hunt. And when he does, he finds himself on a trail so dark and deep that it threatens to undo the threads that hold him together. As he returns stateside, the nightmares follow. Identical killings draw ...

When new neighbors move into a close-knit, cul-de-sac community, they are welcomed into the fold. Julianna, a nervous newlywed, does her best to fit in among the established clutch. Wearing the perfect outfit to holiday gatherings. Bringing the perfect gift to children’s birthday parties. And making the perfect appetizer for barbecues. Perfect, perfect, perfect. But her neighbors soon learn that Julianna’s perfection is an illusion, a painfully sought façade. There is darkness beneath her glossy surface for she was raised in a dangerous cult she escaped from as a teenager.

The series that started it all! In this powerful follow-up to his action-packed thriller The Kill Clause, Gregg Hurwitz, the new maestro of pulse-pounding suspense, ratchets up the excitement with another sensational page-turner featuring Tim Rackley, a driven lawman motivated by honor, morality...

My name is Mac Brennan, and that's the only thing I can remember about myself. Not why I woke up in a dumpster. Not why my right arm is as black as pitch and covered in glowing red tattoos, and certainly not why a vicious death cult is after me. Actually, that last part isn't true. I know why the death cult is after me. It's because I saved that damned girl from them. I didn't know who she was at the time, but I'd have done it anyway. I just don't like it when girls get beat up; call me old fashioned.

Voodoo mambo Mama Mulate suffers a fate worse than death A grieving couple hires paranormal investigator Wyatt Thomas to find the person who killed their son. But is it murder if the victim isn’t dead? Wyatt goes undercover to discover the answer and soon learns death isn’t always a person’s worst fate. Will Wyatt solve the sticky mystery or fall victim to the seemingly supernatural killer and suffer a fate worse than death? Half Past Midnight is Book 10 of Eric Wilder’s intoxicating French Quarter Mystery Series set in that ‘exotic, erotic Mecca known as New Orleans. Visit the ...

This is a story based on a true story, with an added twist. A woman goes missing in a small rural town in the mountains. As she awaits her fate unraveling the truth of her life's mysteries. She is mentally ill, desperately trying to take control by seizing the opportunity to figure out what, or who has been following her. She advances her studies trying to plant her feet, but is unsuccessful. She must go through a windy, troubling path, to move on, and find peace. Uncovering the truth she would never would have known what was making her sick, all along.