Conspiracy Human

His fiction is known to be some of the most terrifying in the genre of supernatural horror, but Thomas Ligotti's first nonfiction book may be even scarier. Drawing on philosophy, literature, neuroscience, and other fields of study, Ligotti takes the penetrating lens of his imagination and turns it on his audience, causing them to grapple with the brutal reality that they are living a meaningless nightmare, and anyone who feels otherwise is simply acting out an optimistic fallacy.

The stuff of conspiracy theories makes for great, entertaining stories in movies, books, and television. And there is no shortage of subjects: from who really killed JFK to the truth behind 9/11. And then, there are subjects from alien invasions to the Moon landing was simulated - theories that are truly out of this world, which according to some, is flat. Many of these crazy concepts have jumped off the pages or screens to become so pervasive in our culture that thousands - even millions - subscribe to them as reality.

For over half a century, Banco Popular was one of the most profitable banks in the world—until one day, in 2017, when the Spanish bank suddenly collapsed overnight. When investigative journalist Gareth Gore was dispatched to report on the story, he expected to find yet another case of unbridled capitalist ambition gone wrong. Instead, he uncovered decades of deception that hid one of the most brazen cases of corporate pillaging in history, perpetrated by a group of men sworn to celibacy and self-flagellation who had secretly controlled Popular and abused their positions there.

Molly was no stranger to life's little detours. After the last upheaval, she left her family's law firm to become a maintenance technician on the space station Bradbury 12. When an accident knocks her off her feet, she's going to have to draw on all her resilience to get back up. First, though, she's going to have to figure out how to talk to the big, blue alien trying to help her.

Mindy's best friend Molly was a maintenance technician on the Bradbury 12. When Molly went missing, Mindy started looking for answers but all she found were more questions. They were supposed to meet up at Geniuscon, a science fiction convention that attracts people from every walk of life, and she knows Molly's son Aidan is going to be there. Determined to get in touch with her friend, Mindy tracks down Aidan and meets some of his new friends, the guys cosplaying as big, blue aliens.

She’s a victim on the prowl. He’s a monster in remission. Will these mortal enemies give in to forbidden temptation? Pagan yearns for vengeance. After her parents were murdered, her obsessive search for the culprit wrecked any chance of a satisfying relationship. But when she uncovers a promising clue, she unwittingly rushes headfirst into the bronzed arms of a sultry vampire. Nyx struggles to escape the shame of his savage past. Devoting time to smuggling wereanimals to safety, the centuries-old beast believes the revenge-hungry beauty on his doorstep is just another reckless creature ...

In 2007, a short blogpost by Gawker Media outed PayPal founder and billionaire investor Peter Thiel as gay. Thiel's sexuality had been known to close friends and family, but he didn't consider himself a public figure, and believed the information was private. This post would be the casus belli for a meticulously plotted conspiracy that would end nearly a decade later with a $140 million dollar judgment against Gawker and its bankruptcy. Only later would the world learn that Gawker's demise was not incidental - it had been masterminded by Thiel.

Michael Shermer presents an overarching review of conspiracy theories—who believes them and why, which ones are real, and what we should do about them. Trust in conspiracy theories, he writes, cuts across gender, age, race, income, education level, occupational status—and even political affiliation. One reason that people believe these conspiracies, Shermer argues, is that enough of them are real that we should be constructively conspiratorial. But Shermer reveals that other factors are also in play: anxiety and a sense of loss of control, as well as certain personality traits.

Are you fascinated by the secrets hidden behind history's most controversial events? Truth-seekers everywhere are asking the same questions. Now, it's time to explore the mysteries together.

The term “UFO” dates back to at least the 1950s. Donald Keyhoe, an American naval aviator and writer, used the acronym in his 1953 book Flying Saucers from Outer Space. As the title suggests, in the earlier days of the twentieth century, these phenomena were usually given quirkier nicknames like flying saucers, foo fighters, or simply lights in the sky. Rather than fading into the obscurity of early postwar Americana, UFOs positively exploded in popularity starting in the 1950s. Their ubiquity in all sorts of media from books, movies, TV shows, and later in video games has cemented ...

Avery West's newfound family can shut down Prada when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. Part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle, they believe Avery is the key to an ancient prophecy. Some want to use her as a pawn. Some want her dead. To unravel the mystery putting her life in danger, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the monuments of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul with two boys who work for the Circle.

When you're an outlaw hoping for a pardon, and the emperor personally sends a note requesting that your team kidnap him, you make plans to comply, even if it'll involve infiltrating a train full of soldiers, bodyguards, and spies loyal to a nefarious business coalition that has numerous reasons to hate you.

There are rogue government agents hunting supernatural creatures all over Charlotte. There's a bloodbath in the parking lot of a demon bar and a massacre at a shopping mall. There are protests and tear gas and riot cops and somehow Quincy F'n Harker is the one stuck in the middle of cops, monsters, and demon agents trying to keep them from tearing his city apart. And now there seems to be a traitor in their midst.

For 600 years, the kingdom of Wahrheit was ruled by an unbroken line. It rose on a wave of technology and magic and stood alone—a bastion of stability built on pillars of economic and military might. The nation and her people thrived due to the strength of soldiers and the protection of dragons. But the line has ended—the king is dead. Noble houses vie to carve out their own domains. Foreign armies march across Wahrheit’s soil for the first time in memory. Without leadership, the king’s army watches helplessly.

Immunity. Everyone wants it. One man has it. Our hero, if you can call him that, must escape from the government facility he is incarcerated in. Escape the certifiable, alphabet-agency super-spook who seized him and dragged him across the country. Elude an army of doctors and soldiers who think he is the answer to the plague of the living dead. Flee back to his friends, a continent away. Can he safely traverse a ruined United States crawling with insatiable, infected cannibals? Find out.

Years of grueling police work have left Niall Hamarsson jaded and disillusioned with life...although it’s likely he’s been that way all along. The last straw lands when the DA refuses to try a case Niall worked for years to bring to justice. Within hours he finds himself heading to the only place he’s ever been able to call home - a place he knows he doesn’t belong. Mat Dempsey returned to Piedras Island after his father’s death. Niall and Mat have a history, and it’s not one Mat’s proud of. Will the two men be able to put aside their pasts and embrace a future?

Mouthpiece is a brutally told biographical sketch of an incarcerated pimp in prison for human trafficking. Raw boasts and brazen inner-city tales litter the story’s violent, unrepentant landscape. Like a marked man, Mouthpiece keeps after the listener with a cold perspective. Money is the aim, and young women are the product.

Harper Winston’s brother has disappeared. Pursuing his dream of sailing the Caribbean, Michael hasn’t responded to texts or emails in days. When even the Coast Guard can’t find him, Harper is forced to take desperate measures. Which means going to Chase Garrett, once her brother’s best friend, now the only man she can trust...or so she hopes.

From the Satanic Panic to the anti-vaxx movement, it's always been human nature to believe we're being lied to by the powers that be (and sometimes, to be fair, we absolutely are). But while it can be fun to indulge in a bit of Deep State banter on the family Whatsapp group, recent times have shown us that some of these theories have taken on a life of their own—and in our dogged quest for the truth, it appears we might actually be doing it some damage.

Where did the coronavirus outbreak originate, and was the pandemic predicted? Did aliens help to build the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza, and what were they trying to tell us? Is the food industry colluding to make us addicted to sugar? Prepare yourself for some startling revelations on these topics and many more in this updated and expanded compendium of the world’s scariest and strangest conspiracy theories.