First published in 1825, this book explores the evidence for the existence of ghosts and attempts to prove that they are nothing more than products of the mind. With fascinating historical information and references to popular ideas of the time, "Sketches of the Philosophy of Apparitions" will appeal to those with an interest in ghosts and related beliefs. Contents include: "The Opinions Entertained Regarding the Credibility of Ghost-Stories", "The References of Apparitions to Hallucinations, &c.", "The Opinions Entertained that ghosts were Eternal Ideas, or Astral Spirits", "The Opinions Entertained that Ghosts were Attributable to Fancy or Imagination", etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, high-quality edition designed for a modern audience.

This is the first collection of essays to focus on the extraordinary literary achievement of James Clarence Mangan (1803-1849), increasingly recognized as one of the most important Irish writers of the nineteenth century. It features contributions by acclaimed contemporary writers including Paul Muldoon and Ciaran Carson.

This book is the first in-depth investigation of Coleridge's responses to his dreams and to contemporary debates on the nature of dreaming, a subject of perennial interest to poets, philosophers and scientists throughout the Romantic period. Coleridge wrote and read extensively on the subject, but his richly diverse and original ideas have hitherto received little attention, scattered as they are throughout his notebooks, letters and marginalia. Jennifer Ford's emphasis is on analysing the ways in which dreaming processes were construed, by Coleridge in his dream readings, and by his contemporaries in a range of poetic and medical works. This historical exploration of dreams and dreaming allows Ford to explore previously neglected contemporary debates on 'the medical imagination'. By avoiding purely biographical or psychoanalytic approaches, she reveals instead a rich historical context for the ways in which the most mysterious workings of the Romantic imagination were explored and understood.