A thorough study of a subject that has intrigued, amazed and terrified mankind throughout history – ghosts. This is a wide-ranging guide to ghostly phenomena from all parts of the globe up to 2015. It covers cases throughout history: many of them famous, others less well known. There’s malign spirits and gentle ghosts, apparitions and wraiths, haunted houses and spooky urban myths; animals and non-living apparitions. Each entry gives details of the date, location, and course of events, as well as providing a historical context and analytical assessment of the phenomenon. There’s extensive appendices providing fascinating additional information, including the differing roles of ghosts in the world’s religions, an exploration of out-of-body and near-death experiences and modern theories and explanations of ghosts by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Illustrated with photographs, sketches and reproductions of medieval woodcuts.