Folklore has always warned of hidden dangers lurking in the shadows, otherworldly beings who seek to steal that which parents hold most dear. In the first book dedicated solely to the subject, Joshua Cutchin traces this primal concern from antiquity to the modern era-beginning with worldwide tales of faeries, changelings, spirits, demons, and monsters, before examining more contemporary phenomena such as Sasquatch kidnappings, alien abductions, and mysterious disappearances in national parks. Folklore, medicine, science, and spirituality come together for a uniquely scholarly perspective on the thieves in the night.