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.

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.

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!

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.

Shropshire's reputation as one of England's most haunted counties is certainly well founded... and all manner of ghosts, ghouls and phantoms inhabit the ancient towns and villages, ruined castles adn rolling countryside. From wicked stepmothers and vicious outlaws to gentle giants and heroic Civil War soldiers, Haunted Shropshire will take the reader on a spooky journey around this historic county. All areas of Shropshire are covered, with a special guided 'ghost walk' around Shrewsbury, the county town, which is crammed with spectres and spirits. Illustrated with a range of beautiful line drawings, this title is ideal for anyone who wants to explore the ghostly side of Shropshire.

The town has long been associated with a strong haunted heritage and reputation. Incredibly the local authorities still employed a professional ghost-layer right up until about 150 years ago, long after most other local towns had dispensed with the services of such dubious characters! Anyone interested in the supernatural history of this area will be fascinated in this phenomenal gathering of ghostly goings-on.

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.

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

Standing on a lonely Perthshire road is the only historic monument to a named witch in the whole of Britain. But did 'Maggie Wall' actually exist? This book reveals the controversial truth for the first time. Even more surprising results come from a quest to uncover the reality of Perthshire's other famous witch, Kate McNiven. Compiled by Perthshire's own paranormal specialist, writer and researcher Geoff Holder, Paranormal Perthshire also presents direct evidence for the big cats roaming the county, as well as cataloguing the area's UFO sightings, digging into the story of the Fairy Rock that halted a housing development and reassessing the notorious Victorian scandal over Ballechin House, allegedly 'the most haunted house in Scotland'. With contemporary eye-witness accounts of ghosts, psychic episodes and encounters with supernatural beings, as well as more than fifty photographs, this book will delight all lovers of the mysterious and the paranormal.

"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 collection of stories of apparitions, manifestations and related supernatural incidents from around the Cornwall. From accounts of poltergeists to first-hand encounters with ghouls and spirits who haunt prehistoric graves, it contains a range of ghostly phenomena.

The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, Third Edition includes more than 600 fascinating entries about ghosts, hauntings, related paranormal phenomenon, the people who investigate them, and the key theories about what causes them. Widely regarded as the definitive reference in the field, this encyclopedia provides comprehensive coverage written in an engaging style. Paranormal expert Rosemary Ellen Guiley has compiled extensive research on the most current theories about what causes ghosts and the many new haunting cases documented since publication of the second edition. The third edition has been substantially updated with the addition of more than 130 new entries, more than 20 new black-and-white photographs, and an updated foreword by Troy Taylor, author and founder of the American Ghost Society. Many entries include bibliographical listings for further reading. The new and revised entries include: Amityville case; Apparition; Black Aggie; Eastern State Penitentiary; Electronic voice phenomena; Haunting; Lizzie Borden House; Myrtles Plantation; Possession; Shadow people; and more.

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.

Discover centers of paranormal lore in Richmond, Norfolk, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Danville and Fredericksburg or learn about stubborn yet genteel ghosts obsessed witht he survival of Old Dixie.

Journey through the darker side of Cardiff and the surrounding valleys, an area steeped in ancient history and ghostly goings-on. Because of its rich cultural past, it is riddled with numerous tales of ghosts and hauntings, both old and new. Drawing on extensive research and interviews with first-hand witnesses, South Wales Paranormal Research have put together this chilling collection of sightings and mysterious happenings, mostly from the last ten years. Featuring ghostly cars and ships, mysterious policemen and figures in country lanes, this book will appeal to anyone interested in the paranormal or those who wish to read more about tales and legends from Cardiff's shadowy past.

People have lived and died in Chester for over 2,000 years, and stories of ghosts have swirled around the city all that time. What is unusual about the city is the frequency of new sightings - fresh examples of paranormal activity. Chester, City of Ghosts is a handy guide to these hauntings, both past and present, and clearly shows why Chester is in the running for most actively haunted settlement in the country. Read the stories, follow the maps, visit the buildings and soon you will agree - and you might even experience some ghostly activity yourself...

Small and alluring, Rhode Island is home to many who refuse to leave, even after death. Illustrated with over 60 photos, here are tales of hauntings, vampires, mysterious cairns, wailing brooks, and floating coffins encountered throughout Rhode Island. Haunted locations include Barrington, Bristol, Burrillville, Charlestown, Coventry, Cranston, Cumberland, East Providence, Exeter, Foster, Glocester, Jamestown, Middletown, Narragansett, New Shoreham, Newport, North Kingstown, Portsmouth, Providence, Scituate, Smithfield, South Kingstown, Tiverton, Warren, Warwick, West Greenwich, West Warwick, Westerly, and Woonsocket. Long dead sailors prowl lonely docks, departed schoolmasters seek their charges, phantom girls giggle in a state park, ambushed soldiers of centuries past scream, and a mysterious man in gray walks among the tombstones. These are tales sure to chill you in the dead of night!

Meticulously documented, The South Shields Poltergeist is a truly terrifying account which details the authors' struggle with an invisible, malicious entity that threatened and intimidated anyone who dared to stand up to it. Their encounter may well go down in the annals of psychical research as one of the most chilling true-life encounters of its kind. The book details the authors' investigation, over a period of several months, into what they believe to be the most intense, protracted and well-documented case of its kind. A man had his torso slashed severely; knives, coins and other objects were thrown around; a woman received sinister telephone calls and text messages from numbers that were supposedly disconnected; and children's toys spoke to the investigators. The book is based on the testimonies of those who actually experienced the South Shields Poltergeist at first hand.

These spooky ghost tales from one of Britain's most ancient counties are vividly retold by local storyteller Janet Dowling. Their origins lost in the oral tradition, these stories are as eerie and mysterious as the windswept moorland, wild shorelines and rugged landscapes from which they derive. Here you will find stories of a voice beyond the grave, a ghost on the pivot between heaven and hell, and the spectres of Viking princes on moonlit roads. Richly illustrated by Vicky Jocher with original drawings, these atmospheric tales are perfect for reading aloud in front of a roaring fire or alone under the covers on dark, stormy nights.

" Thicker'n fiddlers in hell. Independent as a hog on ice. If a bride makes her own clothes, it's bad luck. It'll snow in May if it thunders in February. How's a hen on a fence like a penny? What's the reddest side of an apple? Learn what folklore and folk culture are and enjoy a generous helping of sayings, rhymes, songs, tall tales, superstitions and riddles from Kentucky.

Winner of the Best Fantasy Novel Aurealis Award 'Maria Lewis is a must-read' Buzzfeed 'Pay attention urban fantasy fans - Maria Lewis is a name you'll want to remember' One More Page Considering her status as the world's most powerful medium, Casper von Klitzing and her twin brother Baristan have lived a pretty normal life - until now. After a horrific incident in her home city of Berlin, orchestrated by the mysterious Oct, Casper is consumed with vengeance towards an enemy she doesn't understand. But the only other person ever to escape Oct was a witch - and so Casper is soon on her trail. But this witch does not want to be found. Diving headfirst into the supernaturally secretive world of spells, charms and covens, it's not long before Casper is crossing more than just the line between the living and the dead . . . Reinventing witches and ghosts with a much-needed feminist twist, this is an unmissable new read from one of the most exciting voices in fantasy: 'If you haven't heard about Maria Lewis you must have been living under a rock' Good Reading Magazine 'I can't wait to find out what happens next!' Keri Arthur 'Truly one of the best in the genre I have ever read' Oscar-nominee Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans, Punisher: War Zone, Arrow, Supergirl) 'Journalist Maria Lewis grabs the paranormal fiction genre by the scruff of its neck and gives it a shake' The West Australian 'An intriguing take on a classic monster with vibrant, modern characters' Sci Fi Bulletin