Folklorist Details History and Meaning of Architectural Symbolism

Gary R. Varner, a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies, has recently released a book on the symbolism found in European and American architecture—including gargoyles, grotesques and Green Men. Strangely Wrought Creatures of Life & Death: Ancient Symbolism in European and American Architecture traces the history of gargoyles from ancient Greece and Egypt to contemporary Manhattan and San Francisco. In his seventh book on folklore and symbolism, Varner provides a look at the strange and grotesque images we see everyday on our churches, banks and in our cemeteries. Images with origins far older than the structures they adorn.

Illustrated with over 50 photos taken in Britain and across the United States, Varner tells how these carvings became acceptable on Christian churches even though their origins and meanings were primarily pagan.

What are the meanings behind these grotesque creatures, these gargoyles that create a sense of humor and fear at the same time? Why are carvings of griffins and dragons, unicorns and Green Men found throughout the world on churches and cathedrals, government buildings and even apartment buildings?

This is a book for anyone interested in symbolism and folklore, architectural history and the development of religions.

The author has written six other books on folklore and myth, including The Mythic Forest, the Green Man and the Spirit of Nature; Menhirs, Dolmen and Circles of Stone, both published by New York academic press, Algora Publishing and a new book to be released by Algora in the Spring of 2007, Creatures in the Mist. Varner is nearing completion of another book titled The Dark Wind: Witches and the Concept of Evil, which is a historic and ethnographic study of indigenous witchcraft around the world and the terrible witch killings that continue today.

Strangely Wrought Creatures of Life & Death will be available everywhere in February 2007. Varner is available for interviews and may be reached at gary_varner@yahoo.com.

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