St. John D Seymour was a minister and explorer, who spent his life documenting what he regarded as real-life examples of witches, banshees, poltergeists, ghosts and apparitions. Many of the Gothic romance and horror stories, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

St. John D Seymour was a minister and explorer, who spent his life documenting what he regarded as real-life examples of witches, banshees, poltergeists, ghosts and apparitions. Many of the earliest Irish ghost stories, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Many of the earliest occult stories, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

St. John D Seymour was a minister and explorer, who spent his life documenting what he regarded as real-life examples of witches, banshees, poltergeists, ghosts and apparitions. Many of the earliest Irish ghost stories and tales of hauntings, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

There is also something so natural, and at the same time so unnatural, in seeing a door open when we know that no human hand rests on the knob, or in hearing the sound of footsteps, light or heavy, and feeling that it cannot be attributed to the feet of mortal man or woman.

Irish fairy and folklore there were in abundance but there was no book of ghosts. And so I determined to supply this sad omission.

Suddenly a brilliant thought struck me. I wrote out a letter, stating exactly what I wanted, and what I did "not" want, and requesting the readers of it either to forward me ghost stories, or else to put me in the way of getting them: this letter was sent to the principal Irish newspapers on October 27, and published on October 29, and following days. On October 30, the first answers reached me. Within a fortnight I had sufficient material to make a book; within a month I had so much material that I could pick and choose -- and more was promised. . . .

Originally published in 1929, this volume was intended to draw attention to the relatively neglected area of early Anglo-Irish literature. Covering the period between the Anglo-Norman settlement of Ireland and the printing of Richard Stanihurst's translation of Virgil, the text illustrates the richness of this literature through abundant quotation from a variety of sources, both religious and secular. The style is accessible and in keeping with Seymour's aim of making the ordinary reader aware of a literary tradition they might otherwise remain ignorant of. This is an important book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in early Irish literature, and the history of literary criticism.