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 unavailableFairies and Fairy Stories
Fairies and Fairy Stories traces the changing history of fairy belief, from dangerous beings in ancient myth and medieval folklore to the smaller, gentler figures familiar from later literature. Diane Purkiss examines how stories of…
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Cover unavailableFairies and Fairy Stories: A History
Fairies and Fairy Stories: A History traces changing ideas about fairies from ancient myths and medieval folklore through early modern belief, literature and modern popular culture. Diane Purkiss presents fairy traditions as reports and cultural…
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Cover unavailableFairies: A History
Fairies: A History traces belief in fairy-like beings across more than 2,000 years, challenging the familiar image of tiny winged creatures. Francis Young examines a much broader category of supernatural human-like beings, including Scandinavia’s elves,…
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Cover unavailableFairies: Real Encounters with the Little People
Janet Bord gathers reported encounters with fairies and other ‘little people’, asking where such meetings are said to happen, how they begin and what witnesses claim to have seen or heard. The accounts range from…
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Cover unavailableFairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry
Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry gathers Irish tales and legends concerning fairies, changelings, merrows, banshees, pookas and leprechauns. Edited and selected by W. B. Yeats, it arranges the material by folkloric subjects,…
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Fairy Encounters in Medieval England: Landscape, Folklore and the Supernatural
Fairy Encounters in Medieval England examines accounts of encounters with fairies and other supernatural beings across eight centuries of medieval English testimony. Jeremy Harte draws on miracle collections, chronicles, saints’ lives and sermons, tracing reports…
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Cover unavailableFairy Paths and Spirit Roads
Fairy Paths and Spirit Roads examines routes linked with fairy lore, spirit traditions, funeral customs and reports of supernatural activity. Paul Devereux considers both visible tracks and invisible pathways whose locations have been preserved through…
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Cover unavailableFamiliar Spirits
Familiar Spirits: Sexual Hauntings Through the Ages gathers more than 40 reported cases involving erotic encounters, intrusive apparitions and spirits associated with sexual activity. Colin Waters ranges from accounts of harmless naked figures to darker…
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Cover unavailableFamily Ghosts and Ghostly Phenomena
Family Ghosts and Ghostly Phenomena gathers Elliott O’Donnell’s accounts of apparitions and other reported supernatural disturbances linked with families, houses and inherited ghost traditions. Its subject matter belongs to the case-based tradition of early 20th-century…
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Cover unavailableFantastical Imaginations: The Supernatural in Scottish History and Culture
Fantastical Imaginations brings together essays on supernatural beliefs in Scotland, from the late medieval period to the present day. Its contributors examine prophecy, astrology, witchcraft, fairy belief, amulets and charming, alongside the place of supernatural…
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Cover unavailableFeline Folk Tales
Feline Folk Tales gathers 57 traditional stories in which cats take on many roles: heroes, tricksters, feared creatures, companions and figures of worship. Drawn from different parts of the world, the collection presents feline characters…
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Cover unavailableFermanagh Folk Tales
Fermanagh Folk Tales brings together stories rooted in the county’s landscape, communities and storytelling traditions. Its material ranges from tales of the Shining Folk beneath Lough Erne and fairies who discipline the unruly wee Meg…
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Cover unavailableFife Folk Tales
Fife Folk Tales gathers traditional stories from across a distinctive Scottish landscape, including coastal fishing villages, rushing rivers, green farmland and rolling hills. Sheila Kinninmonth’s collection brings together tales shaped by the places and communities…
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Cover unavailableFifty Years of Psychical Research
Harry Price surveys the development of psychical research and spiritualism, beginning with the formation of organised investigation and the work associated with the Society for Psychical Research. He considers how researchers approached séances, mediums and…
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Cover unavailableFionn mac Cumhaill: Images of the Gaelic Hero
Dáithí Ó hÓgáin examines the changing images of Fionn mac Cumhaill, the celebrated hero of Gaelic tradition. The book considers how legends about Fionn and the Fianna developed across Irish literary and folkloric sources, treating…
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Cover unavailableFirst World War Folk Tales
First World War Folk Tales gathers legends and folk traditions that emerged during and around the conflict of 1914–1918. Its stories show how experiences shaped by war could pass into folklore, with fragments of truth…
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Cover unavailableFocail na mBan: Women's Words
Focail na mBan gathers Irish-language words connected with women’s bodies, including terms for vaginas, vulvas, clitorises and periods. The collection brings together formal, colloquial and playful expressions, showing how bodily language can draw on humour,…
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Cover unavailableFolk Horror Folk Tales
Folk Horror Folk Tales gathers traditional stories from Bob Pegg’s storytelling repertoire, with most drawn from the British Isles and others from Europe. Many are versions of ancient narratives that appear in more than one…
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Cover unavailableFolk Horror: Hours Dreadful and Things Strange
Adam Scovell’s study examines how folk horror has developed across British film, television and multimedia from the latter half of the 20th century onwards. It places landscape, rural life, folklore, occultism and shifting ideas of…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales for Bold Girls
Fiona Collins retells 14 traditional tales from around the world, placing clever, brave and resourceful girls at their centre. These are not stories of princesses waiting for rescue, but accounts of young heroines who face…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales for Health and Wellbeing
Adam Bushnell gathers and retells folk tales from around the world, linking traditional stories with questions of personal growth and wellbeing. The collection includes material associated with Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Taoism, alongside classical…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales from the Canal Side
Ian Douglas gathers tales rooted in Britain’s canal network, drawing on the lives, work and traditions of the people who travelled and lived upon the waterways. The collection moves through navigators, working boats, tunnels, bridges,…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales from the Garden
Folk Tales from the Garden follows the twelve months of the gardening year, combining traditional stories with observations, poems, garden lore and legends. Donald Smith draws attention to the plants, birds, animals and insects encountered…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales of Rock and Stone
Folk Tales of Rock and Stone gathers traditional and newly created stories shaped by the many forms rock and stone can take. Jenny Moon ranges from magical adder stones and statues to pottery, salt, pebbles,…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales of Scottish Saints
Folk Tales of Scottish Saints gathers stories about Scotland’s medieval saints, figures whose legends survived in folklore after the Protestant Reformation. Fran Flett Hollinrake considers how these men and women became part of Scotland’s cultural…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales of Song and Dance
Pete Castle gathers traditional tales in which music and dance shape events, drawing largely on stories from across the UK with a few from further afield. The collection moves between English, Welsh, Cornish, Scottish and…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales of the Cosmos
Folk Tales of the Cosmos gathers myths and folktales about the Sun, Moon, planets and constellations, beginning with the Greek stories attached to familiar patterns in the night sky. Tales of Perseus, Medusa, Andromeda and…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales of the Ever After
Folk Tales of the Ever After gathers traditional stories from different cultures around death, dying, bereavement, loss, grief and what may follow. Its themes are approached through tales that can be humorous, challenging or touching,…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales of the Land
Folk Tales of the Land gathers traditional stories connected with the British Isles, the natural world and the places shaped by human memory. Taffy Thomas collected these tales during many years of travelling as a…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales of the Night
Folk Tales of the Night gathers stories shaped by darkness, firelight and the night sky. Chris Salisbury brings together star lore, creature tales, ghost stories and traditional accounts of how night came into the world,…
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Cover unavailableFolk Tales of the Wolf
Folk Tales of the Wolf gathers traditional stories from around the world, placing the wolf at the centre of tales about creation, transformation, danger, companionship and change. It opens with ‘Four Wolves’, a Ho-Chunk tale,…
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Cover unavailableFolk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales
Marie Trevelyan’s collection brings together Welsh traditions concerning landscape, seasonal customs, supernatural beings and everyday belief. Its opening chapters consider lakes, rivers, wells, fires and fire festivals, followed by lore surrounding the heavens, weather, stones,…
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Cover unavailableFolklore
Chris Rush blends horror with folklore in a dark supernatural novel rooted in old beliefs and modern fear. The story draws on the unsettling power of legend and inherited superstition, making it a natural fit…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of Cornwall
Folklore of Cornwall surveys the stories, beliefs and customs associated with the county, linking them to its landscape and history. The subjects range from standing stones, sea-monsters and mermaids to accounts of ghosts, fairies, giants,…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of Dorset
Folklore of Dorset surveys the county’s traditional customs, songs and beliefs, bringing together subjects from saints’ lore and smugglers to witchcraft, wise men and West Gallery Music. Its scope extends to hill figures, holy wells,…
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Folklore of Essex
Folklore of Essex gathers traditions, legends, dialect and stories associated with the county, considering how older customs shaped later ways of life. Sylvia Kent covers Essex’s reputation as a witch-hunting county alongside tales of dragons,…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of Hampshire
Folklore of Hampshire records the county’s traditions, customs and legends, from seasonal observances and saints’ lore to beliefs about witches, ghosts and weather. Penny Legg brings together stories rooted in Hampshire communities, showing how customs…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of Kent
Folklore of Kent examines the customs, beliefs, songs and legends shaped by the county’s distinctive geography and history. Surrounded by sea on three sides, Kent developed maritime communities whose traditions include fishing, trade, smuggling and…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of Lincolnshire
Folklore of Lincolnshire examines the county’s traditional beliefs, customs, tales and rituals, placing them within the varied landscapes of fenland, hills and the Wolds. Its subjects include Lincolnshire dialect, superstitions, songs and traditional games, alongside…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of Northamptonshire
Folklore of Northamptonshire examines the county’s traditional beliefs, stories, customs and events, showing how local responses to major episodes in English history helped shape its folklore. Peter Hill places ordinary people at the centre, alongside…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of Northumbria
Folklore of Northumbria surveys the traditions attached to England’s north-eastern borderlands, drawing on printed accounts, manuscripts and oral material. Fran Doel considers how these stories and customs developed within the region’s historical, cultural, religious and…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs
Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs examines the beliefs and customs attached to Scotland’s waters, from early water worship to later Christianised holy wells. James M. Mackinlay discusses how springs acquired sacred reputations, and records…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of Sussex
Jacqueline Simpson gathers the recorded legends, customs and beliefs of Sussex, linking folklore to the county’s woods, pools, burial mounds, churches, houses and monuments. The accounts include buried treasure, lost bells, giants, bogeymen, dragons, fairies,…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of the Cotswolds
June Lewis-Jones surveys the traditional beliefs and everyday customs associated with the Cotswolds, bringing together seasonal rituals, taboos, cures, remedies and local recipes. The book also considers regional dance, song and language, showing how folklore…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of the Scottish Highlands
Folklore of the Scottish Highlands examines the beliefs and customs of Scottish Gaelic society, from seasonal practices associated with Celtic festivals to rituals surrounding birth and death. Anne Ross also considers omens and taboos, traditions…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of the Welsh Border
Folklore of the Welsh Border brings together traditions from counties on both sides of the Welsh Border, drawing on a revised and updated version of Jacqueline Simpson’s earlier study. Its subject is local belief as…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of Wales
Anne Ross examines the beliefs, customs and stories that shaped Wales’s oral tradition, including the influence of the medieval church. The book considers legends attached to place-names, calendar customs and the traditions surrounding ancient monuments,…
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Cover unavailableFolklore of Yorkshire
Kai Roberts explores Yorkshire’s folk traditions through their historical setting and the landscapes that helped shape them. Holy wells, buried treasure, boggarts, black dogs and fairy beliefs appear alongside the people who collected and retold…
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