With entries that range from specific works to authors, folklore, and popular culture (including music, film, television, urban legend, and gaming), this book provides a single-volume resource on all things ghostly in the United States and in other countries. The concept of ghosts has been an ongoing and universal element in human culture as far back as recorded history can document. In more modern popular culture and entertainment, ghosts are a popular mainstay—from A Christmas Carol and Casper the Friendly Ghost to The Amityville Horror, Ghostbusters, Poltergeist, The Sixth Sense, and Ghost Whisperer. This book comprehensively examines ghost and spirit phenomena in all its incarnations to provide readers with a holistic perspective on the subject. It presents insightful information about the contribution of a specific work or author to establish or further the evolution of ghost lore, rather than concentrating solely on the film, literature, music, or folklore itself. The book focuses on ghosts in western culture but also provides information about spirit phenomena and lore in international settings, as many of the trends in popular culture dealing with ghosts and spirits are informed by authors and filmmakers from Germany, Japan, Korea, and the United Kingdom. The writers and editors are experts and scholars in the field and enthusiastic fans of ghost lore, ghost films, ghost hunting, and urban legends, resulting in entries that are informative and engaging—and make this the most complete and current resource on ghost and spirit lore available.

In Spirit Sisters, women of all ages share their very personal encounters with the supernatural. We meet a high-flying banking executive whose life changed forever after a visit from a bizarre, winged entity, a mother of seven who was held and soothed by her husband five days after she'd buried him, the woman who lost most of her family in a car accident and gained a guardian angel; and many more whose lives have been touched by uplifting encounters with the other side. This is a heart-breaking, inspiring, and ultimately, comforting book. Packed with amazing anecdotes, it opens the door to the spirit world and helps us reconnect with those we have lost to the afterlife.