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The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits by Rosemary Ellen Guiley (Checkmark Books) Forewords by Tom Perrott, former Chairman of the Ghost Club, and Troy Taylor, President of the American Ghost Society

Though often banished to the realms of superstition and imagination, ghost lore and study stem from a rich and varied branch of folklore and mythology. Every culture around the world holds beliefs about some form of ghosts or supernatural beings. From primitive fears that the souls of the dead could return to haunt the living to the 19th­century Spiritualist craze embodied by attempts to communicate with the deceased, The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, Second Edition covers the broad range of ghostly phenomenon and experience. Detailing contemporary attempts to tackle the mystery of ghosts through scientific means, the author charts the fantastic path of spectral history with the discernment of an objective observer, providing the most comprehensive and balanced source of information about the spirit world.

Entries include

• Bachelor's Grove Cemetery, site where a controversial photograph of a ghost was taken in August of 1991 the Bell Witch, a famous pre-Civil War haunting said to have involved poltergeist phenomena and spectral creatures
• Cottingley Fairies, a fantastic hoax that fooled many, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes
• ghost investigation, techniques used in reporting ghostly manifestations to discern between paranormal phenomena and those with natural explanations Marie Laveau, famous 19th-century voodoo queen of New Orleans said to haunt the city today mononoke, a type of poltergeist described in the ghost lore of Japan
• phantom travelers, the ghosts of people and animals that haunt lonely roads and way stations screaming skulls, haunted bones that generate poltergeist activity

Featuring more than 500 entries and more than 130 illustrations, TThe Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, Second Edition is a most complete reference to this fascinating subject, and an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to know more about things that go bump in the night.

Rosemary Ellen Guiley is a best-selling author of books on the paranormal, mystical and visionary experi­ence, and spirituality. Her other books for Facts On File include The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, The Encyclopedia of Angels, The Atlas of the Mysterious in North America, and Career Opportunities for Writers. She is an hon­orary life member of the Ghost Club of London. She lives in Arnold, Maryland. Her website, Visionary Living, is at http://www.visionaryliving.com.

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