This groundbreaking study of the facts, fantasies, and taboos surrounding menstruation was published in 1978 and helped bring about a profound shift in attitudes toward a natural phenomenon that had been reviled and denigrated over the centuries.

Thoroughly researched yet highly readable, combining psychology, anthropology, and poetry, Shuttle and Redgrove illustrate their theories using examples ranging from the Bible to such modern-day pop horrors as vampire movies and the cult film The Exorcist.