Toronto has hosts of ghosts that go as far back as the War of 1812...and others as recent as the Nineties. From the spirit of the Keeper of the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse to the four spectres that haunt the stairwells and corridors of Queen's Park, our most conspicuously ghostly presences and sites are all revealed in Haunted Toronto. Sixty-six haunts and paranormal locales are captured in dramatic detail. Arranged like a guidebook for walking or driving tours, this richly illustrated book is the perfect companion for spectre-seeking urban adventurers. Whether or not you spot a ghost or two in Toronto, you'll encounter the fascinating, sometimes morbid lore of the city's past, and you're guaranteed never again to look at its historic sites in quite the same way.

2011 Reprint of 1958 London Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. This is Levi's first treatise on magic and was translated into English by Arthur Edward Waite as "Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine and Ritual." Its famous opening lines present the single essential theme of Occultism and gives some of the flavor of its atmosphere: "Behind the veil of all the hieratic and mystical allegories of ancient doctrines, behind the darkness and strange ordeals of all initiations, under the seal of all sacred writings, in the ruins of Nineveh or Thebes, on the crumbling stones of old temples and on the blackened visage of the Assyrian or Egyptian sphinx, in the monstrous or marvelous paintings which interpret to the faithful of India the inspired pages of the Vedas, in the cryptic emblems of our old books on alchemy, in the ceremonies practised at reception by all secret societies, there are found indications of a doctrine which is everywhere the same and everywhere carefully concealed. ( From the Introduction)." Levi's version of magic became a great success, especially after his death. That Spiritualism was popular on both sides of the Atlantic from the 1850s contributed to this success. His magical teachings were free from obvious fanaticisms; he had nothing to sell, and did not pretend to be the initiate of some ancient or fictitious secret society. He incorporated the Tarot cards into his magical system, and as a result the Tarot has been an important part of the paraphernalia of Western magicians. He had a deep impact on the magic of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and later on the ex-Golden Dawn member Aleister Crowley. He was also the first to declare that a pentagram or five-pointed star with one point down and two points up represents evil, while a pentagram with one point up and two points down represents good. It was largely through the occultists inspired by him that Levi is remembered as one of the key founders of the twentieth century revival of magic.

Gordon Smith, hailed as the UK's most accurate Spiritual Medium, is respected internationally both for his ability to convey precise messages from the Spirit World, filled with a level of detail that astounds people, and also as one of the world's foremost teachers of mediumship. In this fascinating updated edition of one of his bestselling books, Gordon sheds light on: - how mediums and psychics get their information - why spirits choose to communicate with us - the truth about ghosts, poltergeists and hauntings - out-of-body experiences and altered states of awareness - re-incarnation and memories of past lives. While Gordon is the first person to acknowledge that people's imagination, grief or distress can affect their perceptions, and that charlatans and frauds only add to the confusion, his incredible experiences and research have inspired him with a passion to reveal what really happens in the Spirit World. In The Unbelievable Truth, he lifts the lid on these 'insider' topics with wit, insight and great knowledge.

From heart-stopping accounts of apparitions, poltergeists and related supernatural phenomena, to first-hand encounters with phantoms and spirits, this collection of stories contains both new and well-known spooky tales from around Stirling. A whole chapter is dedicated to the mysterious goings-on at Stirling Castle, where cleaners in the King's Old Building claimed to have heard footsteps coming from the third floor - which hasn't existed since a fire in the nineteenth-century; while a 1930s photograph purports to capture the shadow of a phantom guardsman - possibly the same 'Highland Soldier' often reportedly mistaken by tourists for a castle guide. The town itself has no shortage of fascinating tales, including the story of the Old Town's most famous phantom, seventeenth-century merchant John 'Auld Staney Breeks' Cowane, whose spirit is said to inhabit his statue each Hogmanay. A playful ghost supposedly throws pots and pans around the kitchens of the Darnley Coffee House, while frequent power failures and mishaps in the Tolbooth Theatre - originally the eighteenth-century Burgh jail - are blamed upon the malicious spirit of the last man hanged, Alan Mair. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources, Haunted Stirling is guaranteed to intrigue and chill both believers and sceptics alike.

Norfolk has many associations with the paranormal, from ancient tales of Shuck the hound that has haunted the county's lanes for a thousand years to tales of ghosts from the Second World War and of unidentified f lying objects. This book takes a new approach by looking at the paranormal as recorded in the archives of the county. The stories include those collected by some of the county's keenest folklorists such as W. H. Cooke, Mark Taylor, and W. G. Clarke, as well as first-hand records of paranormal experience. Many tales are published for the very first time, such as Mottie Green, the Wells 'witch', and a new light is thrown on more familiar stories such as the haunting of Syderstone Parsonage and the Snettisham ghost. Not least, the book also explains the key role of Norwich in the development of the vampire story! Read this book and your view of Norfolk will never be the same again!

Watch out for a ghostly ship and its spectral crew off the coast of Cornwall Listen for the unearthly tread and rustling silk dress of Darlington's Lady Jarratt Shiver at the malevolent apparition of 50 Berkeley Square that no-one survives seeing England's past echoes with stories of unquiet spirits and hauntings, of headless highwaymen and grey ladies, indelible bloodstains and ghastly premonitions. Here, county by county, are the nation's most fascinating supernatural tales and bone-chilling legends: from a ghostly army marching across Cumbria to the vanishing hitchhiker of Bluebell Hill, from the gruesome Man-Monkey of Shropshire to the phantom congregation who gather for a 'Sermon of the Dead' ...

From heart-stopping accounts of apparitions, manifestations and related supernatural phenomena to first-hand encounters with ghouls and spirits, this collection of stories contains new and well-known spooky tales from in and around Hastings. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources Haunted Hastings contains a chilling range of ghostly phenomena. From the haunted staircase at Hastings library in Claremont and the singing spectre of Hastings College, to the mysterious witches' footsteps in the Stag Inn and the phantom coach and horses that gallops up the High Street on a dark winter's night, this phenomenal gathering of ghostly goings-on is bound to captivate anyone interested in the supernatural history of the area.

The wild sweep of Dartmoor is home to countless ghosts, spirits and ghouls as well as the hundreds of inhabitants of the towns and villages dotted across this ancient, windswept moorland. Containing a chilling range of spooky tales, from ghostly sightings of a large black hound at Hound Tor, a phantom procession of monks near Buckfast Abbey, medieval horsemen galloping across the moor and a cavalier at Chagford, as well as the notorious, disembodied Hairy Hands of Dartmoor, claimed to be responsible for forcing motorists off the B3212 road on dark, cold nights, this volume is guaranteed to make your blood run cold. Illustrated with almost sixty photographs, and featuring eyewitness interviews and previously unpublished investigation accounts carried out by the author and the Supernatural Investigations (UK) team, Haunted Dartmoor will send a chill up the spine of all who read it.

The Peak District of Derbyshire is said to experience more bizarre happenings and unexplainable encounters than any other part of England. This chilling collection of true-life tales details many terrifying accounts of spectres and apparitions which have been documented over the years. Ranging from private residences and graveyards to public houses, tourist attractions, theatres and museums, this book includes many pulse-raising narratives that are guaranteed to make your blood run cold. Containing over sixty illustrations, Haunted Peak District will appeal to everyone with an interest in the supernatural history of this part of Derbyshire.

Explore Sunderland's darkest secrets with this creepy collection of true-life tales from ghost-hunter Rupert Matthews. Containing many tales which have never before been published, it unearths a chilling range of supernatural phenomena, from the Ryhope Poltergeist and the White Lady of Washington Hall to the glowing grave at Wingate and a spectral talking cat. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources and illustrated with more than eighty photographs, this book will delight anyone with an interest in the supernatural history of the city.

Author and photographer Tim Scullion has done what's never been done before: he has researched the world's first study of ghosts through over 22,000 photographs captured in one of the most haunted states in America: Virginia. This third book of over 200 images takes a close haunted look at ghosts photographed from all over the state, and includes the presidents' homes. Visit the very haunted residences of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, along with discovering the intriguing, compelling background of each place and person that may explain the photographic evidence. Through historical information and strange and eerie apparitions of all kinds captured on camera, you will see images that are beautiful, and ugly-if not horrifying and bizarre-and simply defy explanation. Digital technology will be our eyes into a new world of the improbable, the unexplained, the impossible, the bizarre, and the biggest mystery of our existence-life after death! Find it in Virginia.

Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding area are places of deep spiritual significance both within East Anglia and in Great Britain as a whole and a belief in ghosts are aspects of this deeper pattern. This book is based on spooky stories based on life-long traditions which have been handed down from earlier generations.

From heart-stopping accounts of apparitions, manifestations and related supernatural phenomena to first-hand encounters with ghouls and spirits, this collection of stories contains a new and well-known spooky tales from around the county of Suffolk. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources Haunted Suffolk contains a chilling range of ghostly phenomena. Over 150 locations - including the Eagle Street poltergeist in Ipswich and the abbey ruins' Brown Monk and Grey Nun in Bury St Edmunds - featured here create a scary selection of ghostly goings-on that is bound to captivate anyone interested in the supernatural history of the area.

Ghost stories from Canada's most haunted city, including tales from iconic sites such as the Empress hotel, Hatley Castle, and Ross Bay Cemetery. Beautiful, charming Victoria is world renowned for its seaside attractions, flourishing gardens, and breathtaking ocean views. But looming behind its picture-perfect facade is a city shrouded in mystery, with restless, disembodied beings that whisper ghastly tales of mystery, violence, and horror. Known as British Columbia's most haunted city, Victoria is teeming with a plethora of spirits. Through this brand-new collection of disturbing tales, you'll come face to face with: The Grey Lady who chills hotel guests to the bone A decorated World War I soldier who protects tenants from something sinister An inconsolable child who haunts the pool area of a defunct hotel The blood-soaked spectre who runs through the infamous Fan Tan Alley to escape capture The ghost of Robert Johnson, who perpetually re-enacts his own suicide The phantom of a cranky hermit who plagues a beautiful lake house A spinster who gives tours of her childhood home And many more Get to know Victoria's best-known hauntings along with some you may have not have heard before.

In the twenty-first century, as in centuries past, stories of the supernatural thrill and terrify us. But despite their popularity, scholars often dismiss such beliefs in the uncanny as inconsequential, or even embarrassing. The editors and contributors to The Supernatural in Society, Culture, and History have made a concerted effort to understand encounters with ghosts and the supernatural that have remain present and flourished. Featuring folkloric researchers examining the cultural value of such beliefs and practices, sociologists who acknowledge the social and historical value of the supernatural, and enthusiasts of the mystical and uncanny, this volume includes a variety of experts and interested observers using first-hand ethnographic experiences and historical records. The Supernatural in Society, Culture, and History seeks to understand the socio-cultural and socio-historical contexts of the supernatural. This volume takes the supernatural as real because belief in it has fundamentally shaped human history. It continues to inform people's interpretations, actions, and identities on a daily basis. The supernatural is an indelible part of our social world that deserves sincere scholarly attention. Contributors include: Janet Baldwin, I'Nasah Crockett, William Ryan Force, Rachael Ironside, Tea Krulos, Joseph Laycock, Stephen L. Muzzatti, Scott Scribner, Emma Smith, Jeannie Banks Thomas, and the editors

"In the top corner of the window a pale, milky-white wisp is rising almost to the top of our ten-foot ceiling.... I am startled but not afraid.... Mostly, I am engrossed; I have never seen anything like this before (or since) and it fascinates me." Dennis Waskul writes these lines-about his first-hand experience with the supernatural-in the introduction to his beguiling book Ghostly Encounters. Based on two years of fieldwork and interviews with 71 midwestern Americans, the Waskuls' book is a reflexive ethnography that examines how people experience ghosts and hauntings in everyday life. The authors explore how uncanny happenings become ghosts, and the reasons people struggle with or against a will to believe. They present the variety and character of hauntings and ghostly encounters, outcomes of people telling haunted legends, and the nested consequences of ghostly experiences. Through these stories, Ghostly Encounters seeks to understand the persistence of uncanny experiences and beliefs in ghosts in an age of reason, science, education, and technology-as well as how those beliefs and experiences both reflect and serve important social and cultural functions.

A common sense approach to the investigating ghostly happenings, including apparitions, hauntings and poltergeists. Covers the investigative process from the initial call and assessment to the on-site investigative techniques and technology. Deals with how to come up with solutions and resolutions--ways to get "rid" of the phenomena. Discusses fraudulent cases and looks at other non-ghostly with paranormal explanations. Includes use of technology and the use of psychics in paranormal investigations and if anyone can prove the existence of ghosts. Finally, the book covers information resources and organizations that the new ghost-hunter and the person who encounters a ghost can find to learn more about the subject and for help with cases they're investigating or phenomena they're experiencing.

Brace yourself for a journey into a creepy, dark side of the American Midwest you thought you knew-a side teeming with real-life surrealism and historical horror-comedy. From tales of the booming grave-robbing industry of late 19th-century Indiana to the story of a Michigan physician who left his estate to his pet monkeys, Keven McQueen investigates a spooky and twisted side of Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Exploring burial customs, unexplained deaths, ghost stories, premature burials, the industry of grave robbing, bizarre murders, peculiar wills and much more, this creepy collection reveals the colorful untold stories of the region and offers intriguing, if sometimes macabre, insights into human nature and our history. A fun and frightful look at a vein of darkness running through the Midwest, Horror in the Heartland promises to send chills down your spine.

The fascinating true history of ghosts - how we see them and why we believe in them, from Roger Clarke What explains spectral sightings? Why do we fear the supernatural? What proof is there? Growing up in a haunted house, Roger Clarke spent much of his childhood trying to see a ghost. From the terrifying true events behind Henry James's The Turn of the Screw to the frenzy of the Cock Lane poltergeist, he takes us on a journey of belief with ghosts of every kind.

Fox Hollow Farm, the infamous Indiana property where Herb Baumeister allegedly murdered at least eleven men, has a grim past and an unsettling present. This riveting book pieces together the story of the tragic case and explores the paranormal encounters that continue to this day, delving into the psyche of a suspected murderer and the terrifying supernatural activity that lingers in the aftermath of such unspeakable evil. The Horrors of Fox Hollow Farm provides detailed insights from the original criminal investigation as well as testimony from key witnesses, including the man who survived Herb s attempt on his life. This chilling book also features actual supernatural evidence, from EVPs and psychic confirmations to first-hand accounts of the disembodied hands and voices that regularly manifest on the estate.

The Trickster-god is a strange and rather wonderful mythological figure who is found in folklore and legend right across the world, from the Norse Loki to the Greek Hermes to the Raven and Coyote of the Native American peoples. The ultimate 'cunning fool', he and the many subversive tales told about him have been studied down the years by anthropologists, historians, literary theorists and psychologists from Ted Hughes to C. G. Jung. But in the twenty-first century, should the Trickster also be studied by parapsychologists and ghost hunters? Nobody believes in gods like Hermes or Loki anymore, but that does not mean that people do not still tell one another tales about such Tricksters and their mischievous ways. They do, but in disguised form - the disguised form of the poltergeist. Belief in Trickster-gods, this book argues, has today been transformed into popular belief in Trickster-ghosts, with those noisy, disruptive, roguish spirits known as poltergeists fulfilling largely the same imaginative function as more traditional Trickster-figures like Robin Goodfellow once did. By playing childish tricks upon us, poltergeists appear to reveal our current world-view to be in some way incomplete, breaking the accepted circles of 'official' materialistic, scientific logic and provoking laughter at their irreverent audacity in doing so. Rather than being intended to frighten, perhaps the true purpose of certain ghost stories is in fact to amuse, perplex and provoke? Whether true or not, such ghost stories still function as genuine Trickster-myths, providing those who read them with access to a hidden realm lurking somewhere just beyond the rational, in which the usual rules of science, logic and reality simply do not apply. Perhaps in doing so they act as a kind of 'emotional safety-valve', intended to allow mankind temporary respite from the sometimes oppressive social forces surrounding us. Covering a wide global selection of reported poltergeist phenomena from ancient times right up to the present day, and then subjecting them to a process of literary, historical and sociological analysis, Blithe Spirits is one of the most unusual, original and wide-ranging books about the subject ever to be written.