The First Ghosts

The First Ghosts PDF Author: Irving Finkel
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 1529303273
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
'It's enthralling stuff, mixing the scholarly with the accessible and placing storytelling right at the heart of the human experience.' - History Revealed 'A fascinating journey' - Yorkshire Post 'Marvellous...Finkel is an expert in Mesopotamian cultures at the British Museum, and is one of the most clever, and nicest, of people it has ever been my pleasure to encounter...A fascinating journey' - The Scotsman There are few things more in common across cultures than the belief in ghosts. Ghosts inhabit something of the very essence of what it is to be human. Whether we personally 'believe' or not, we are all aware of ghosts and the rich mythologies and rituals surrounding them. They have inspired, fascinated and frightened us for centuries - yet most of us are only familiar with the vengeful apparitions of Shakespeare, or the ghastly spectres haunting the pages of 19th century gothic literature. But their origins are much, much older... The First Ghosts: Most Ancient of Legacies takes us back to the very beginning. A world-renowned authority on cuneiform, the form of writing on clay tablets which dates back to 3400BC, Irving Finkel has embarked upon an ancient ghost hunt, scouring these tablets to unlock the secrets of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians to breathe new life into the first ghost stories ever written. In The First Ghosts, he uncovers an extraordinarily rich seam of ancient spirit wisdom which has remained hidden for nearly 4000 years, covering practical details of how to live with ghosts, how to get rid of them and bring them back, and how to avoid becoming one, as well as exploring more philosophical questions: what are ghosts, why does the idea of them remain so powerful despite the lack of concrete evidence, and what do they tell us about being human?

The First Ghosts

The First Ghosts PDF Author: Irving Finkel
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 1529303273
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
'It's enthralling stuff, mixing the scholarly with the accessible and placing storytelling right at the heart of the human experience.' - History Revealed 'A fascinating journey' - Yorkshire Post 'Marvellous...Finkel is an expert in Mesopotamian cultures at the British Museum, and is one of the most clever, and nicest, of people it has ever been my pleasure to encounter...A fascinating journey' - The Scotsman There are few things more in common across cultures than the belief in ghosts. Ghosts inhabit something of the very essence of what it is to be human. Whether we personally 'believe' or not, we are all aware of ghosts and the rich mythologies and rituals surrounding them. They have inspired, fascinated and frightened us for centuries - yet most of us are only familiar with the vengeful apparitions of Shakespeare, or the ghastly spectres haunting the pages of 19th century gothic literature. But their origins are much, much older... The First Ghosts: Most Ancient of Legacies takes us back to the very beginning. A world-renowned authority on cuneiform, the form of writing on clay tablets which dates back to 3400BC, Irving Finkel has embarked upon an ancient ghost hunt, scouring these tablets to unlock the secrets of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians to breathe new life into the first ghost stories ever written. In The First Ghosts, he uncovers an extraordinarily rich seam of ancient spirit wisdom which has remained hidden for nearly 4000 years, covering practical details of how to live with ghosts, how to get rid of them and bring them back, and how to avoid becoming one, as well as exploring more philosophical questions: what are ghosts, why does the idea of them remain so powerful despite the lack of concrete evidence, and what do they tell us about being human?

Ancient Ghost Stories

Ancient Ghost Stories PDF Author:
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1804175994
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
Ghosts and apparitions abound across the peoples of the early civilisations, from the Ancient Egyptians, the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans and the Vikings too. Phantoms of the dead, warning apparitions and necromancy – there are many stories of ghosts to be found in the retold literature of ancient peoples: ‘Khonsemhab and the Ghost’ and ‘The Adventure of Setne Khamwas with the Mummies’, both from Ancient Egypt; ‘Philinnion and Machates’ from Ancient Rome; spirits featured in Homer’s Odyssey, from Ancient Greece; tales of Babylonian demons and the netherworld; and stories of fire apparitions from Japan. The Vikings too had their fair share of ghosts, such as crop up in the 13th-century Icelandic Laxdaela Saga. These stories are all brought together in this new collection for an intriguing insight into the spirit world of early cultures. FLAME TREE 451: From myth to mystery, the supernatural to horror, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and mechanical men, blood-lusty vampires, dastardly villains, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic.

Haunted Greece and Rome

Haunted Greece and Rome PDF Author: Debbie Felton
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292789246
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 170

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Book Description
Stories of ghostly spirits who return to this world to warn of danger, to prophesy, to take revenge, to request proper burial, or to comfort the living fascinated people in ancient times just as they do today. In this innovative, interdisciplinary study, the author combines a modern folkloric perspective with literary analysis of ghost stories from classical antiquity to shed new light on the stories' folk roots. The author begins by examining ancient Greek and Roman beliefs about death and the departed and the various kinds of ghost stories which arose from these beliefs. She then focuses on the longer stories of Plautus, Pliny, and Lucian, which concern haunted houses. Her analysis illuminates the oral and literary transmission and adaptation of folkloric motifs and the development of the ghost story as a literary form. In her concluding chapter, the author also traces the influence of ancient ghost stories on modern ghost story writers, a topic that will interest all readers and scholars of tales of hauntings.

Greek and Roman Ghost Stories

Greek and Roman Ghost Stories PDF Author: Lacy Collison-Morley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ghosts
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description


Greek and Roman Ghost Stories

Greek and Roman Ghost Stories PDF Author: Lacy Collison-Morley
Publisher: Double 9 Books
ISBN: 9789361422492
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Lacy Collison-Morley's 'Greek and Roman Ghost Stories' delves deep into the supernatural realms of ancient civilizations, offering a captivating anthology of spectral encounters from antiquity. As one of the foremost authorities on classical literature, Collison-Morley meticulously curates a collection of haunting tales that transcend time and space. Drawing from a rich tapestry of Ancient Greek literature and Roman supernatural tales, this anthology transports readers to a world where myths and legends intertwine with the mysteries of the afterlife. Through classical mythology narratives and ancient ghost stories, readers are immersed in a realm of eerie encounters and otherworldly phenomena. With each story carefully selected and presented, Collison-Morley showcases the enduring allure of Greek and Roman folklore, offering insights into the supernatural beliefs and cultural practices of antiquity. From supernatural legends to mythological ghost stories, this anthology serves as a comprehensive exploration of the paranormal encounters that have fascinated and intrigued readers for centuries. As a classic literature classic and spectral encounters compilation, 'Greek and Roman Ghost Stories' is a must-read for anyone fascinated by the intersection of history, mythology, and the supernatural."

Jersey Ghost Stories

Jersey Ghost Stories PDF Author: Erren Michaels
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750978929
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
Step away from sunny Jersey's present day and into the sinister shadows of the past ... the island's history is filled with dark deeds and restless spirits. Collected here for the first time are stories that have endured through centuries to chill the blood. This unique anthology gathers together the most famous tales, such as the Ghost Bride and the White Lady, along with lesser-known tales, such as The Lake. Erren Michaels' and Noah Goats' skilful storytelling, along with Ryan Thomas' detailed illustrations, beautifully combine to relate these haunting tales of murder and vengeance that refuse to be forgotten.

Medieval Ghost Stories

Medieval Ghost Stories PDF Author: Andrew Joynes
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 1843832690
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
"Medieval Ghost Stories" is a collection of ghostly occurrences from the eighth to the fourteenth centuries; they have been found in monastic chronicles and preaching manuals, in sagas and heroic poetry, and in medieval romances. In a religious age, the tales bore a peculiar freight of spooks and spirituality which can still make hair stand on end; unfailingly, these stories give a fascinating and moving glimpse into the medieval mind. Look only at the accounts of Richard Rowntree's stillborn child, glimpsed by his father tangled in swaddling clothes on the road to Santiago, or the sly habits of water sprites resting as goblets and golden rings on the surface of the river, just out of reach...

Tales from the Haunted South

Tales from the Haunted South PDF Author: Tiya Miles
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469626349
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 175

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Book Description
In this book Tiya Miles explores the popular yet troubling phenomenon of "ghost tours," frequently promoted and experienced at plantations, urban manor homes, and cemeteries throughout the South. As a staple of the tours, guides entertain paying customers by routinely relying on stories of enslaved black specters. But who are these ghosts? Examining popular sites and stories from these tours, Miles shows that haunted tales routinely appropriate and skew African American history to produce representations of slavery for commercial gain. "Dark tourism" often highlights the most sensationalist and macabre aspects of slavery, from salacious sexual ties between white masters and black women slaves to the physical abuse and torture of black bodies to the supposedly exotic nature of African spiritual practices. Because the realities of slavery are largely absent from these tours, Miles reveals how they continue to feed problematic "Old South" narratives and erase the hard truths of the Civil War era. In an incisive and engaging work, Miles uses these troubling cases to shine light on how we feel about the Civil War and race, and how the ghosts of the past are still with us.

Lore of the Ghost

Lore of the Ghost PDF Author: Brian Haughton
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN: 1601639600
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Lore of the Ghost is an original and thought-provoking exploration of the numerous categories of ghosts and hauntings throughout the world. It discusses the possible motives for each type of haunting? from phantom white ladies and spectral black dogs to haunted highways and ghostly vehicles—what they represent, why they occur, and their possible functions.

Ancient Haunts

Ancient Haunts PDF Author: E G Swain
Publisher:
ISBN: 1616460334
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
I doubt there's a technical word for a collection of ghost stories, but in this case it is a delight. In the tradition of M. R. James (or at least the influence), these two collections are worth a close look by any enthusiast of supernatural fiction. Stoneground Ghost Tales relate the strange experiences of Mr. Batchel, Vicar of the Parish. Tedious Brief Tales focuses on strange and haunted doings at Jesus College (Cambridge) from centuries past.