A Natural History Of Ghosts

Originally published under title: A natural history of ghosts: 500 years of hunting for proof. London: Particular Books, 2012.

A natural history of the supernatural from Roger Clarke, lifelong investigator into England's creepiest real-life ghost stories 'Is there anybody out there?' No matter how rationally we order our lives, few of us are completely immune to the suggestion of the uncanny and the fear of the dark. The subject of whether ghosts exist has fascinated some of the finest minds in history and it remains a subject of overwhelming interest today. This is the first comprehensive, authoritative and readable history of the evolution of the ghost in the west, examining as every good natural history should, the behaviour of the subject in its preferred environment: the stories we tell each other. What explains sightings of ghosts? Why do they fascinate us? What exactly did the haunted see? What did they believe? And what proof is there? Taking us through the key hauntings that have obsessed the world from the poltergeist of Cock Lane through the true events that inspired The Turn of the Screw and the dark events of Borley Rectory right up to the present day, Roger Clarke unfolds a story of class conflict, charlatans and true believers. His surprising castlist ranges from Samuel Johnson to John Wesley, and from Harry Houdini to Adolf Hitler. Inspired by a childhood spent in two haunted houses, Roger Clarke has spent much of his life trying to see a ghost. Written as grippingly as the best ghost fiction, A Natural History of Ghosts takes us on an unforgettable hunt through the most haunted places of the last five hundred years and our longing to believe.

Ghosts and spirits populate the world around us. We just need to be sensitive or psychic enough to hear and see them. In this book, author Paul Roland examines a fascinating assortment of recorded sightings from as far back in history as Roman times. This serious look at ghosts presents them not as chain-rattling spooks or clouds of cold, swirling mist, but as entities with which we share a greater reality. A comprehensive exploration of the realm of the supernatural, from ghost ships and poltergeists to out-of-body experiences and the idea of spirits as the manifestation of people still living, The Complete Book of Ghosts will challenge your beliefs and preconceptions as never before.

“A fantastic book.”—Ben Kissel, co-host of Last Podcast on the Left Take a spirited tour through the supernatural history of America—from haunted sites and famous ghosts to the paranormal investigations of The Conjuring’s real-life Ed and Lorraine Warren. Ghosts are everywhere—whether you believe in them or not. Every town has its local legends, and countless books, movies, and TV shows are haunted by their presence. But our obsession with ghosts runs deeper than we know—and is embedded in the very fabric of American history. Writer and historian Marc Hartzman dons the mantle of tour guide, taking readers on a fascinating journey through supernatural history, including: • The Fox Sisters and the rise of Spiritualism • The supernatural obsessions of famous figures like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle • Haunted Sites: Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia; LaLaurie House in New Orleans • Famous Ghosts: Bell Witch of Tennessee; Greenbrier Ghost of West Virginia • Paranormal Investigators: Ed and Lorraine Warren Deeply researched and highly entertaining, with archival images and black and white illustrations, Chasing Ghosts will satisfy believers and skeptics alike. “If you care about ghosts . . . this is the guide you've been waiting for.” —Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of The Final Girl Support Group

Skeletal remains rotting behind cellar walls, temple priests removing brains with iron hooks, phantom locomotives roaring across midnight plains—Brian Righi isn't making this stuff up. The ghost stories he finds in history are far more chilling than any Hollywood horror scene. Join the seasoned paranormal investigator on a tour through mankind's millennium-old obsession with death and the afterlife. Ghosts, Apparitions and Poltergeists surveys 4,000 years of hauntings and ghost huntings—from the embalming rituals of ancient Egypt to the Ouija boards and séances of nineteenth century Spiritualism—highlighting a few outlandish tales and colorful characters along the way. Once you've learned the history, launch a paranormal investigation of your own with Righi's guide to modern ghost hunting, full of detailed advice culled from his seven years of experience in the field.

"This book, written by the author of the "definitive" biography of primatologist Jane Goodall, presents in sweeping detail the story of a group of young volunteers and students doing animal behavior research on chimpanzees, baboons, and red colobus monkeys at Dr. Goodall's research site in Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park during the late 1960s. Goodall, who began her work in the summer of 1960, was originally sponsored by the great paleontologist Louis Leakey and funded by the National Geographic Society. Her early studies of chimpanzees soon made her world famous as one of the great pioneers in primatology, and she began working to transform her original tented camp into a major field station for animal studies. Then came a tragic event that marked the final summer of that promising first decade and is the focus of this book. At aroundnoon, on Saturday, July 12, 1969, Ruth Davis, a young American working at Gombe as a volunteer, walked out of camp to follow a chimpanzee into the forest and never returned. Her body was found six days later floating in a pool at the base of a high waterfall. The Ghosts of Gombe explores the social tensions that developed among the small community of researchers during 1968 and 1969; considers thoroughly how the death might have happened; and describes the painful personal consequences for some of the surviving researchers."--Provided by publisher.

"In this rich survey Susan Owens explores the wide range of roles that ghosts have played in Britain's cultural life, looking at how they reflect our changing attitudes, our hopes and fears. Featuring a dazzling range of artists, including William Blake, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, Paul Nash, and Jeremy Deller, alongside writers such as William Shakespeare, Daniel Defoe, Mary Shelley, Emily Brontë, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Hilary Mantel and Sarah Waters." -- Back cover.

The rapid growth of the American environmental movement in recent decades obscures the fact that long before the first Earth Day and the passage of the Endangered Species Act, naturalists and concerned citizens recognized—and worried about—the problem of human-caused extinction. As Mark V. Barrow reveals in Nature’s Ghosts, the threat of species loss has haunted Americans since the early days of the republic. From Thomas Jefferson’s day—when the fossil remains of such fantastic lost animals as the mastodon and the woolly mammoth were first reconstructed—through the pioneering conservation efforts of early naturalists like John James Audubon and John Muir, Barrow shows how Americans came to understand that it was not only possible for entire species to die out, but that humans themselves could be responsible for their extinction. With the destruction of the passenger pigeon and the precipitous decline of the bison, professional scientists and wildlife enthusiasts alike began to understand that even very common species were not safe from the juggernaut of modern, industrial society. That realization spawned public education and legislative campaigns that laid the foundation for the modern environmental movement and the preservation of such iconic creatures as the bald eagle, the California condor, and the whooping crane. A sweeping, beautifully illustrated historical narrative that unites the fascinating stories of endangered animals and the dedicated individuals who have studied and struggled to protect them, Nature’s Ghosts offers an unprecedented view of what we’ve lost—and a stark reminder of the hard work of preservation still ahead.