Second Sight: Its History and Origins

Lewis Spence examines second sight as a reported faculty of pre-vision, tracing the term’s meaning and distinguishing it from dreams, divination and prophecy. His account places particular emphasis on Celtic traditions, the Scottish Highlands and the Western Isles, including claims that knowledge of secret rites was once sold in the Hebrides.

The book separates second sight into symbolic and pictorial forms. In symbolic visions, images such as a rope around the throat or water rising to the neck were said to foreshadow hanging or drowning. Pictorial visions presented an apparent preview of an event itself. Spence also considers early investigations and cites observations linked with Pepys, Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, Andrew Lang, Richet and Evans-Wentz.