The Evil Eye, Thanatology, and Other Essays

"The Evil Eye, Thanatology, and Other Essays" by Roswell Park is a collection of essays from the early 1900s that looks at different subjects like folklore, medicine, and how people live, to understand superstitions across cultures. Kicking off the book, the author starts with a big talk about the "Evil Eye," getting readers to think about how important this belief in envy and bad intentions has been throughout time. Park shares examples from different societies showing how the Evil Eye appears everywhere: from olden days to today’s habits, like believing certain looks or words can bring bad luck. Overall the essays explore how cultural beliefs stick around and change, encouraging readers to think about how superstition and science mix when trying to understand why people do what they do and the rules of society.