What people fear, they are also fascinated with—apprehension of the end is what keeps the topic of death a taboo. Examine death, its significance in religious and ethnic views, cultural myths, and its use in art and literature throughout the ages. Find out how different religions and ethnic groups understand death, the mourning that accompanies it, and the implications that people have given it. Explore societal traditions and psychological symbolism ascribed to death and dying in art and fashion, and delve into the very idea that beauty in darkness (and death) was to be appreciated and held in high regard to keep things in proper prospective. Discover details about Victorian and Gothic mourning customs, funeral and burial rituals, embalming, mummification, and more. Morbid fascination? Maybe. But one cannot appreciate the light until having seen the darkness. 144 pp | 150 color images