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.

Reviews of new British and European publications and correspondence from readers.

A new history that overturns the received wisdom that science displaced magic in Enlightenment Britain--named a Best Book of 2020 by the Financial Times In early modern Britain, belief in prophecies, omens, ghosts, apparitions and fairies was commonplace. Among both educated and ordinary people the absolute existence of a spiritual world was taken for granted. Yet in the eighteenth century such certainties were swept away. Credit for this great change is usually given to science - and in particular to the scientists of the Royal Society. But is this justified? Michael Hunter argues that those pioneering the change in attitude were not scientists but freethinkers. While some scientists defended the reality of supernatural phenomena, these sceptical humanists drew on ancient authors to mount a critique both of orthodox religion and, by extension, of magic and other forms of superstition. Even if the religious heterodoxy of such men tarnished their reputation and postponed the general acceptance of anti-magical views, slowly change did come about. When it did, this owed less to the testing of magic than to the growth of confidence in a stable world in which magic no longer had a place.

Examines the culture of ghost-seeing, arguing that the ghost represents a symbol of the psychological hauntedness of modern experience.