Valerio Massimo Manfredi's The Ancient Curse is a thrilling archaeological mystery with a supernatural twist. In the darkest hours of the night at the Museum of Volterra, young archaeologist Fabrizio Castellani is immersed in his work. He has discovered that the famous Etruscan statue known as the 'shade of twilight' contains a mysterious object, seemingly enclosed within the sculpture itself. He is suddenly interrupted by the phone ringing – on the other end of the line an icy female voice warns him to abandon his research at once. A series of gruesome killings follow. The victims, who have all been involved in the desecration of an unexplored tomb, seem to have been torn to pieces by a beast of unimaginable size. Meanwhile, as Fabrizio excavates the Etruscan tomb he discovers something extraordinary, and chilling . . . Will Fabrizio manage to unravel these secrets without being sucked into the spiral of violence himself?

In the ancient Greco-Roman world, it was common practice to curse or bind an enemy or rival by writing an incantation on a tablet and dedicating it to a god or spirit. These curses or binding spells, commonly called defixiones were intended to bring other people under the power and control of those who commissioned them. More than a thousand such texts, written between the 5th Century B.C.E. and the 5th Century C.E., have been discovered from North Africa to England, and from Syria to Spain. Extending into every aspect of ancient life--athletic and theatrical competitions, judicial proceedings, love affairs, business rivalries, and the recovery of stolen property--they shed light on a new dimension of classical study previously inaccessible. Here, for the first time, these texts have been translated into English with a substantial translator's introduction revealing the cultural, social, and historical context for the texts. This book will interest historians, classicists, scholars of religion, and those concerned with ancient magic.

Fix the past. Save the future. What is the secret history connecting the SQ to the Ancient Maya?Book includes an all-new, full-color Hystorian's Guide - your key to unlocking the fourth episode of the action-packed Infinity Ring game.

Discusses different types of ancient curses, from the curse of King Tut's tomb to the curse of the billy goat.

"It's dark magic brings him back." Tori Burns and her family left D.C. for claustrophobic Chaptico, Maryland, after suddenly inheriting a house under mysterious circumstances. That inheritance puts her at odds with the entire town, especially Jesse Slaughter and his family -- it's their generations-old land the Burns have "stolen." As the suspicious looks and muttered accusations of her neighbors build, so does the pressure inside her, and Tori returns to the pattern of self-harm that landed her in a hospital back in D.C. It all comes to a head one night when, to Tori's shock, she witnesses a young man claw his way out of a grave under the gnarled oak in her new backyard. Nathaniel Bishop may not understand what brought him back, but it's clear to Tori that he hates the Slaughters for what they did to him centuries ago. Wary yet drawn to him by a shared sense of loss, she gives him shelter. But in the wake of his arrival comes a string of troubling events-including the disappearance of Jesse Slaughter's cousin-that seem to point back to Nathaniel. As Tori digs for the truth-and slowly begins to fall for Nathaniel-she uncovers something much darker in the tangled branches of the Slaughter family tree. In order to break the curse that binds Nathaniel there and discover the true nature of her inheritance, Tori must unravel the Slaughter family's oldest and most guarded secrets. But the Slaughters want to keep them buried? at any cost.

Solve three puzzling mysteries with Saxby Smart, schoolboy detective: an ancient mask brings nothing but bad luck for its owner, strange cases of sabotage cause chaos at school, and the theft of a valuable brooch means trouble for Saxby’s friend. Saxby Smart guides you through his first three case files, giving you the clues he found to crack the cases. But are you ‘smart’ enough to work out the answers?

Frank and Joe must take the shine off a jewel thief who sends ominous riddles in this Hardy Boys adventure. First a priceless painting disappears from the museum; then two ancient samurai swords vanish from a private collection. A string of robberies has hit Bayport, and all signs point to “the Phantom,” a recently released ex-con who last struck more than twenty years ago. There’s only one problem: the Phantom has vanished into thin air, and not even Frank and Joe Hardy can track him down. Then the boys begin receiving threatening notes in the mail, each one containing a strange riddle. And it looks like the Phantom’s next target could be the valuable Emerald of Astara, the 2,500-year-old crown jewel of the Bayport Historical Museum. Can the Hardys crack the Phantom’s code before he strikes again?

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her. And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Members of an Egyptian expedition fall victim to an ancient mummy’s curse in this thrilling Veronica Speedwell novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries. London, 1888. As colorful and unfettered as the butterflies she collects, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell can’t resist the allure of an exotic mystery—particularly one involving her enigmatic colleague, Stoker. His former expedition partner has vanished from an archaeological dig with a priceless diadem unearthed from the newly discovered tomb of an Egyptian princess. This disappearance is just the latest in a string of unfortunate events that have plagued the controversial expedition, and rumors abound that the curse of the vengeful princess has been unleashed as the shadowy figure of Anubis himself stalks the streets of London. But the perils of an ancient curse are not the only challenges Veronica must face as sordid details and malevolent enemies emerge from Stoker’s past. Caught in a tangle of conspiracies and threats—and thrust into the public eye by an enterprising new foe—Veronica must separate facts from fantasy to unravel a web of duplicity that threatens to cost Stoker everything...