Customer Reviews

Ghosts: A History of Phantoms, Ghouls & Other Spirits of the Dead

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If you're looking for the story of 'Ghost Stories', here it is. A compelling, comprehensive and greatly informative presentation of the narrative concerning the other side throughout human history. The author presents recorded encounters between the living and the dead from the Classical through to the modern era noting the influence of both religious and philosophical movements upon the average person's means of filtering a paranormal event.

Contents

The Ancient World: Mapping the Afterlife, Calling up the Dead

The Middle Ages: Piteous Revenants, Necromantic Spirits, and Vampires

Early Modern Ghosts: Persistent Appearances, Stage Phantoms, and Poltergeists

The Seventeenth Century: Bolstering Religions, Partnering Witchcraft

The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries: Unnerving the Public, Intriguing Science, Photographing Spirits

The Twentieth Century: Manufacturing Ghosts on an Industrial Scale

Included are 20 b&w images. The living's perception of the dead is engagingly brought forth through the anecdotal and the analytical. A rich and rewarding read.

maxwell-stuart appears to be a well-published researcher in the field of occult and spiritualism. this is the first book i have read of his, and liked the way the book is layed out. chapter headings go from ancient times to the twentieth century, giving examples of the beliefs in ghosts and their origins in each respective century. the books biased is heavily into theology, mostly discussing ghosts from a christian/protestant viewpoint. the ghost stories are culled from religious scribes. unfortunately, i didn't find anything really worthwhile and informative in this book. there are some nice illustrations in the book though. ghosts appear to be mediators between the past and present. just like marley's ghosts in the christmas carol.