This is a new release of the original 1930 edition.

Robert Harrison and Robert Browne were the initiators of the principles of English Separatism and Congregationalism. Unlike the Presbytero-Puritans, these nonconformists sought to establish local churches that were independent of the state. Although they encountered fierce opposition from the clergy, state officials and Anglican bishops, they persisted in their practices. As a result, the ideas of these two men profoundly influenced the Puritan movement both of England and America. In this volume, scarce and little known works, as well as new material derived from manuscripts and tracts are collected into one volume.

David Hufford's work exploring the experiential basis for belief in the supernatural, focusing here on the so-called Old Hag experience, a psychologically disturbing event in which a victim claims to have encountered some form of malign entity while dreaming (or awake). Sufferers report feeling suffocated, held down by some "force," paralyzed, and extremely afraid. The experience is surprisingly common: the author estimates that approximately 15 percent of people undergo this event at some point in their lives. Various cultures have their own name for the phenomenon and have constructed their own mythology around it; the supernatural tenor of many Old Hag stories is unavoidable. Hufford, as a folklorist, is well-placed to investigate this puzzling occurrence.