Customer Reviews

Lewes Lavater: Of Ghosts and Spirits Walking By Night 1572

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lavater has provided us some beautiful source material on the paranormal, viewed from a 16th century perspective. It really is fascinating to see how people thought about ghosts nearly a half-millennium ago. While the work bogs itself down a bit in Catholic-bashing (the Reformation was in full swing!) Lavater still manages some brilliant insight, tight logic, and a critical approach that would almost do James Randi proud. Almost.

The non-standard spelling common at the time of translation make this book a bit of a challenge to read at first, but with a little persistence, it can be mastered. Wilson's introduction on Elizabethan spiritism and Yardley's epigraph on the Protestant vs Catholic conflict as it played out with reference to ghosts are both very enlightening and well researched.