A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice A comprehensive, authoritative and readable history of the evolution of the ghost in the west, examining the behavior of the subject in its preferred environment: the stories we tell each other. "Roger Clarke tells this [the story that inspired Henry James' The Turn of the Screw] and many other gloriously weird stories with real verve, and also a kind of narrative authority that tends to constrain the skeptical voice within... [An] erudite and richly entertaining book." —New York Times Book Review 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. What explains sightings of ghosts? Why do they fascinate us? What exactly do those who have been haunted see? What did they believe? And what proof is there? Taking us through the key hauntings that have obsessed the world, from the true events that inspired Henry James's classic The Turn of the Screw right up to the present day, Roger Clarke unfolds a story of class conflict, charlatans, and true believers. The cast list includes royalty and prime ministers, Samuel Johnson, John Wesley, Harry Houdini, and Adolf Hitler. The chapters cover everything from religious beliefs to modern developments in neuroscience, the medicine of ghosts, and the technology of ghosthunting. There are haunted WWI submarines, houses so blighted by phantoms they are demolished, a seventeenth-century Ghost Hunter General, and the emergence of the Victorian flash mob, where hundreds would stand outside rumored sites all night waiting to catch sight of a dead face at a window. 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.

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.

During the nineteenth century Willington Mill, near Wallsend gained an infamous reputation for being haunted. Bizarre noises, apparitions and poltergeist activity dogged the premises and were experienced by dozens of credible witnesses. The case attracted the interest of the country's leading psychical researchers of the time, but the mystery was never solved - until now. Using a wide variety of contemporary sources along with cutting-edge investigative techniques, Michael J. Hallowell and Darren W. Ritson have pieced together the true story of Willington Mill. As well as detailing the fascinating phenomena that occurred in the building, The Haunting of Willington Mill is at last able to offer an explanation for one of England's most enigmatic and puzzling hauntings.

Expanded and with great new stories, this is the biggest and best anthology of ghostly hauntings ever. Over 40 tales of visitation by the undead - from vengeful and violent spirits, set on causing harm to innocent people tucked up in their homes, to rarer and more kindly ghosts, returning from the grave to reach out across the other side. Yet others entertain desires of a more sinister bent, including the erotic. This new edition includes a selection of favourite haunted house tales chosen by famous screen stars Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Plus a top ranking list of contributors that includes Stephen King, Bram Stoker, Ruth Rendell, and James Herbert - all brought together by an anthologist who himself lives in a haunted house. Stories include: Something unspeakable lurks in a Connecticut apartment closet, in Stephen King's 'The Boogeyman'; An Irish castle holds something truly horrifying in wait, in 'The Whistling Room' by William Hope Hodgson; The lecherous old ghost of a Georgian country house eyes up his latest tenant, in Norah Lofts' 'Mr Edward'; An ancient mansion on a shelf of rock previously occupied by a doomed castle, in 'In Letters of Fire' by Gaston Le Roux; The hunter is hunted in James Herbert's tale of nineteenth-century country mansion, 'The Ghost Hunter'; Psychic phenomena and poltergeists, avenging spirits and phantom lovers - curl up and read on, but never imagine you are safe from a visit...

PHANTOM FELINES and Other Ghostly Animals Humans aren’t the only creatures whose disembodied spirits can remain earthbound after death. For centuries, ghostly animal apparitions have returned from beyond the grave to warn of danger, comfort a bereaved owner—even to seek revenge against those who have mistreated them. Phantom Felines and Other Ghostly Animals features the best true stories from all over the world, presenting a faithful picture of the many animal spirits that still walk among the living. Featuring cats, dogs, horses, birds, and a menagerie of wild animals, the authentic tales in this unusual book will give you a glimpse into a world that is much closer than you ever realized.

In a rustic town in Washington State, a man's death upsets the quiet equilibrium of small-town life. A well-intentioned blacksmith performs a civic duty for the town, ridding it of a pernicious evil that has taken up residence along the canal, but the death of the predator allows a more ancient evil into the waters. The townsfolk find themselves caught a vortex of uncertainty and moral ambiguity as the investigators start to uncover hidden secrets long thought buried . . . From the author the Tulsa World says "has patented a hard-edged folksy narrative that conceals within its intricate voice the imminence of the supernatural" comes a tale of the dark side of the quintessential American small town.