Ghost, paranormal and folklore books
Books about ghosts, folklore, witchcraft, paranormal research, dark history and the unexplained across Britain and Ireland.
1,217 books found
Cover unavailableSussex Folk Tales for Children
Sussex Folk Tales for Children gathers traditional stories and local legends from across the county, with tales linked to Wilmington, Mayfield, Rye, Lewes, Rottingdean, Ashdown Forest and the South Downs. The stories bring together chalk…
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Cover unavailableSutton Companion to the Folklore, Myths and Customs of Britain
Alexander Barrie’s alphabetical companion gathers legends, beliefs and customs from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Its entries range from King Arthur, banshees and fairies to April Fools’ Day, ancient monuments, apple lore and the superstitions…
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Cover unavailableTales and Legends of the Irish Peasantry
Tales and Legends of the Irish Peasantry gathers stories of rural Ireland during the early 19th century, presenting village life alongside local customs, traditions and folklore. William Carleton’s contribution sits within an anthology shaped by…
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Cover unavailableTales From an Edinburgh Tour Guide
Drawing on his work as an Edinburgh guide, Graeme Milne explores the city’s fascination with ghosts and haunted places. Stories gathered through research and personal contacts sit alongside the perspective of someone who regularly introduces…
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Cover unavailableTales from Haunted Scotland
Graeme Milne brings together reported ghost stories from across Scotland, using eyewitness testimony to explore places with a reputation for supernatural activity. The collection ranges beyond his earlier Aberdeen and Edinburgh books to include Glasgow,…
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Cover unavailableTales from Haunted Scotland Volume 2
Graeme Milne continues his journey through Scotland’s haunted towns and cities in this second collection. Eyewitness accounts and historical archives underpin stories of reported supernatural experiences, extending the approach of the first volume. The book…
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Cover unavailableTales from the Towpath
Tales from the Towpath gathers stories and histories from the Cotswold canals, following the Stroudwater Navigation and the Thames and Severn Canal between Framilode and Inglesham. Its accounts span roughly 250 years, bringing canal workers,…
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Cover unavailableTales of the Irish Hedgerows
Tales of the Irish Hedgerows brings together the folklore, traditional beliefs and natural history associated with Ireland’s hedgerow plants and wildlife. Tony Locke organises the book by species, covering trees and flowers such as elder,…
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Cover unavailableTales of the Polden Hills
This revised edition of Frances Harriott Wood’s collection presents seven tales from Somerset’s Polden Hills, with additional material by MJ Wayland. Ghosts, witchcraft, omens and unusual dreams feature in accounts associated with Street House, Ivythorn…
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Cover unavailableTelling the Bees and Other Customs
Telling the Bees and Other Customs examines the folklore attached to rural crafts, showing how practical skills became surrounded by stories, rituals and superstitions. Mark Norman covers wool, thread and cloth, bees and beekeeping, blacksmithing…
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Cover unavailableTelling the Bees and Other Customs: The Folklore of Rural Crafts
Telling the Bees and Other Customs examines the folklore attached to traditional rural crafts, showing how skilled work became surrounded by customs, superstitions, stories and mythology. Mark Norman considers blacksmithing, brewing, beekeeping, baking, milling, spinning,…
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Cover unavailableTelling the Seasons
Telling the Seasons follows the turning year month by month, bringing together folklore, traditional stories, customs and celebrations from across the British Isles. Martin Maudsley connects seasonal change with the natural world, local landscapes and…
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Cover unavailableThat Ghost I Saw
That Ghost I Saw gathers reported ghost encounters recounted by Danton Walker, presenting apparitions as intrusions into the lives of public figures and other unexpected witnesses. The settings are notably varied: a modern penthouse, a…
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Cover unavailableThe A-Z of Curious Wales
The A-Z of Curious Wales gathers stories from across the country, arranged alphabetically but ranging freely across folklore, history, crime, customs and eccentric personalities. Mark Rees considers fairy traditions, ghostly accounts, ancient sites, peculiar landscapes…
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Cover unavailableThe A-Z of Victorian Crime
The A-Z of Victorian Crime is a wide-ranging guide to crime, punishment and notorious cases from the Victorian era. Co-authored by Trevor Bond with Neil R. A. Bell, Kate Clarke and M. W. Oldridge, it…
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Cover unavailableThe Anatomy of Puck
The Anatomy of Puck examines fairy beliefs surrounding Shakespeare and the writers who followed him, placing Puck and Robin Goodfellow within the wider traditions of early modern folklore. Katharine Briggs considers how fairies, elves, goblins,…
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Cover unavailableThe Anthology of English Folk Tales
The Anthology of English Folk Tales gathers stories from across England, bringing together material originally published in The History Press’s county-based Folk Tales series. Its contributors include professional storytellers such as Taffy Thomas, Hugh Lupton…
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Cover unavailableThe Anthology of English Folk Tales: Volume II
This second anthology gathers folk tales from counties across England, bringing together stories shaped by local customs, beliefs and dialects. Its contents range from Cornwall and Devonshire through the Midlands and northern counties, offering a…
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Cover unavailableThe Anthology of Irish Folk Tales
The Anthology of Irish Folk Tales gathers stories from across Ireland, arranging them around the island’s thirty-two counties. The collection draws on The History Press’s county-based Folk Tales series, bringing together accounts shaped by local…
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Cover unavailableThe Anthology of Irish Folk Tales: Volume II
This second volume gathers Irish folk tales from across the island, bringing together stories shaped by local customs, beliefs and dialects. The contributors are professional storytellers living and performing in Ireland, with each tale rooted…
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Cover unavailableThe Anthology of Scottish Folk Tales
The Anthology of Scottish Folk Tales gathers legends from across Scotland, bringing together stories shaped by regional customs, beliefs and dialects. Its selections include the Spaeman’s peculiar advice, a laird changed into a frog, and…
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Cover unavailableThe Anthology of Scottish Folk Tales: Volume II
This second anthology gathers folk tales from across Scotland, preserving stories shaped by regional customs, beliefs and dialects. The contributors are Scottish storytellers whose work forms part of The History Press’s Folk Tales series, bringing…
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Cover unavailableThe Arthurian Book of Days
The Arthurian Book of Days retells the legends of King Arthur across the turning year, assigning a story or part of a story to each day. The entries draw together Arthurian traditions associated with Britain,…
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Cover unavailableThe Atlantis Syndrome
Paul Jordan traces the Atlantis story from Plato’s dialogues around 360 BC through classical antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, when the idea gained new force during the age of exploration. He considers how…
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Cover unavailableThe Atlas of Legendary Places
The Atlas of Legendary Places examines sites where geography, history and traditional storytelling overlap, ranging from imagined realms to monumental places with enduring legendary associations. Its worldwide scope includes Atlantis and Avalon alongside Stonehenge, Delphi,…
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Cover unavailableThe Battle for Bosworth Hall
The Battle for Bosworth Hall combines the building’s history with reported hauntings and paranormal investigations at the former Market Bosworth residence. Penny Griffiths-Morgan researches the Dixie family, including the 4th Baronet, whose conduct helped shape…
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Cover unavailableThe Beast of Barmston Drain
Mike Covell investigates the strange-creature reports that brought Hull’s Barmston Drain to national attention in 2016. Written by the researcher involved in bringing the accounts to the press, the book follows the alleged sightings and…
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Cover unavailableThe Beasts That Hide from Man
Karl P. N. Shuker examines reports of animals that remain unconfirmed, disputed or absent from conventional zoological records. The book ranges from Ireland’s dobhar-chú, described in tradition as a formidable otter, to Mongolia’s alleged death…
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Cover unavailableThe Beatles: Myths and Legends
Neil Nixon examines the rumours and modern legends surrounding the Beatles, from the Paul-is-dead story to claims of replacement band members and secret reunions. Chapters consider each musician before turning to tales about the group…
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Cover unavailableThe Black Monk of Pontefract
The Black Monk of Pontefract examines the reported poltergeist activity at 30 East Drive, Pontefract, where disturbances first emerged in 1966. Richard Estep sets the later investigation against the earlier history of the house, drawing…
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Cover unavailableThe Boggart
Simon Young examines the boggart as a northern English supernatural being, tracing its meanings across folklore, dialect, place-names and local history. The book questions the familiar image of the boggart as a single kind of…
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Cover unavailableThe Book of English Magic
The Book of English Magic surveys England’s magical history from prehistoric times to the 21st century, tracing how different traditions developed, overlapped and survived. Its subjects include Druidry, witchcraft, alchemy, astrology, runes, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism and…
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Cover unavailableThe Book of Werewolves
Sabine Baring-Gould’s study of werewolf belief ranges from ancient Arcadian legends and classical writers to Norse sagas, medieval trials and European folklore. It considers wolf-skin transformations, berserkir traditions and stories associated with Icelandic literature, before…
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The Borley Rectory Companion
The Borley Rectory Companion traces the history of the Essex house from its construction in 1862 to the fire that destroyed it in 1939. Alongside the rectory’s changing occupants, the authors catalogue reported phenomena including…
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Cover unavailableThe Case of the Cottingley Fairies
Joe Cooper examines the Cottingley fairy photographs, the two Bradford cousins who produced them, and the claims that briefly persuaded prominent believers. The story begins with Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, whose 1917 images attracted…
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Cover unavailableThe Caughey-Street Murder
A girl’s death in Hull in January 1871 is the focus of this historical crime study. Covell follows the investigation and the people and places connected with the Caughey Street case, drawing together accounts of…
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Cover unavailableThe Celtic Consciousness
The Celtic Consciousness brings together 55 essays on the Celtic world, ranging from prehistoric cultures to modern Ireland and the wider Celtic revival. Its contributors consider myth, music, history, literature, folklore, art and archaeology, placing…
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Cover unavailableThe Celtic Gods
The Celtic Gods examines Irish mythology through the lens of cometary events, proposing a striking reinterpretation of stories surrounding figures such as Finn and Cu Chulainn. Mike Baillie and Patrick McCafferty argue that many principal…
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Cover unavailableThe Celtic Twilight
The Celtic Twilight gathers W. B. Yeats’s prose sketches of Irish folklore, presenting reported encounters with village ghosts, fairies, spirits and other beings from traditional belief. Its subjects range from enchanted woods and miraculous creatures…
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Cover unavailableThe Celts: A History
The Celts: A History traces the development and spread of Celtic peoples from around 800 BC to 1050 AD. Dáithí Ó hÓgáin follows their movement across continental Europe, examining Celtic origins, culture and expansion in…
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Cover unavailableThe Companion to Arthurian and Celtic Myths and Legends
This A–Z reference guide brings together Arthurian legend and Celtic myth, covering the people, places, events and traditions associated with Arthur, Ireland, Wales and the wider Celtic fringe. Its scope extends across Brittany, Scotland and…
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Cover unavailableThe Complete Book of Aliens and Abductions
The Complete Book of Aliens and Abductions examines reports of alleged alien abduction, bringing together notable cases and episodes from the modern UFO record. Jenny Randles considers how these accounts have been described, investigated and…
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Cover unavailableThe Complete Book of Dowsing and Divining
The Complete Book of Dowsing and Divining examines the history, methods and disputed evidence surrounding dowsing, from traditional forked twigs and pendulums to divining rods, motorscopes and bare-handed techniques. Peter Underwood considers whether these practices…
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Cover unavailableThe Complete Book of UFOs
The Complete Book of UFOs surveys the modern history of reported UFO sightings, alleged alien contacts and abduction experiences. Jenny Randles considers how investigators assess witness testimony, photographs, radar records and claimed physical evidence, while…
View book details →Cover unavailableThe Complete Book of UFOs: 50 Years of Alien Contacts and Encounters
The Complete Book of UFOs surveys 50 years of reported UFO sightings, alleged alien contacts and attempts to investigate them. Jenny Randles places witness accounts alongside research methods, scientific questions and claims of physical evidence,…
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Cover unavailableThe Complete Visitor’s Guide to Loch Ness, Inverness and the Loch Ness Monster
Combining a visitor’s guide with an exploration of the Loch Ness Monster, Andy Owens introduces Loch Ness and nearby Inverness through both place and legend. The book joins practical regional material with the mystery that…
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Cover unavailableThe Creatures of Celtic Myth
The Creatures of Celtic Myth examines the beings that populate the traditional stories of Brittany, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man and Cornwall. Bob Curran considers giants, demons, fairies, merfolk, monsters, halflings, wizards and…
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Cover unavailableThe Cryptozoology Files
Reports of sea serpents, unusually large cats, giant squid and spectral or monstrous dogs form this survey of Hull and East Yorkshire’s animal mysteries. Covell combines archive research with visits to reported locations, tracing stories…
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