Introducing...
This March sees the release of Gregory L. Reece’s latest book, Creatures of the Night, where – in search of ghosts, vampires, werewolves and demons – Reece asks: why is our culture obsessed by the eerie and the macabre? Why, despite its horrors, does the 'dark side' of the supernatural – its séances and ghost-hunting, demonic possession and the occult – call to us with such dangerous allure? Whether tracking night-stalking werewolves, chanting black magic mantras with Satanists, or interviewing a funereal modern-day Count Dracula, Reece is determined to uncover the truth.
Gregory Reece’s study into idiosyncratic and bizarre beliefs – and what they tell us about religious belief and the nature of faith – have been the focus of three other books, including; Elvis Religion, UFO Religion and Weird Science – described by Louis Theroux as ‘a wide-ranging and surprising account of some of the wilder and woollier areas of human belief and the outer limits of credulity.’
To read an extract from Creatures of the Night, or any of Dr Gregory L. Reece’s books for that matter, simply click on one of the book covers below.
Alex Wright, Executive Editor at I.B.Tauris, spoke to Greg Reece about his new book Creatures of the Night, and in so doing hoped to shed light on Greg’s creative influences, inspirations and some of the chief themes of his work. Read the interview here.
The forbidding landscape around Groom Lake, Nevada – known as Area 51 – has to be one of the loneliest spots on planet earth. Notorious for supposedly housing flying-saucers and a pilgrimage site for many ufologists, Greg Reece, armed with a camera, investigates. Read the travelogue here.
Greg holds a Ph.D in Religious Studies from the Claremont Graduate University with a specialty in philosophy of religion and theology, an M.Div. from the Vanderbilt University Divinity School, a B.A. from Samford University, and an A.A. from Martin Methodist College.
His studies in philosophy of religion, particularly his work on irony and religious belief, have led Greg to explore religion from its more idiosyncratic border regions rather than from its more stable centre. In pursuit of an understanding or religion, he has attended an Elvis Impersonator contest in Las Vegas, celebrated the birth of the King of Rock and Roll in Memphis, attended UFO and Tesla Technology conventions, had his molecules rejuvenated via the alien technology of the Integratron, visited Roswell and Area 51, had a close encounter with the extraterrestrials known as the Tall Whites, explored an underground cavern rumored to lead to a subterranean civilization, hunted Bigfoot outside of Paris, Texas, attended a Satanic mass, interviewed vampires, been trained in the art of exorcism, and gone hiking with a werewolf.
Greg’s fancy degrees and weird adventures, while incredibly interesting, have not provided him with steady employment. For that he works as a technical writer and consultant, providing human resources support to municipal governments and colleges. He occasionally teaches courses in philosophy and religion at Birmingham, Alabama colleges.
Greg lives at Brookehouse, a big, old home in the Montevallo, Alabama historic district, along with his wife Kristen, his son Sam, and his daughter Olivia. In his spare time, and when he is not making plumbing repairs, he likes to build robot, spaceship, and ray-gun sculptures from junk he finds at the thrift store. ■