The Book of Dreams and Ghosts

Andrew Lang

Jan 2005 · Cosimo, Inc.

About this ebook

A bocan was not the only inhabitant of the spirit-world that Donald Ban encountered during his lifetime. A cousin of his mother was said to have been carried off by the fairies, and one night Donald saw him among them, dancing away with all his might.-from "Donald's Hymn"Not merely an assortment of spooky ghost stories suitable for a foggy Halloween night-though it is certainly that as well-this is a history of the ghost story told from the perspectives of mythology and anthropology. Written by one of the late 19th century's foremost experts on folklore and first published in 1897, this is an early scientific study of the occult that features some of the best-documented ghost stories from the history of humanity. The chilling case studies examine: .the deathbed of Louis XIV.the restraining hand.the wraith of the czarina.Sir George Villiers' ghost.the slaying of Sergeant Davies.the dream that knocked at the door.the lady in black.the dancing devil.and many, many more.Also available from Cosimo Classics: Lang's two-volume Myth, Ritual & Religion.Scottish journalist and author ANDREW LANG (1844-1912), the son of the sheriff-clerk of rural Selkirkshire, was educated at Edinburgh Academy, the Universities of St. Andrews and Glasgow, and Balliol College, Oxford. A contemporary and friend of Robert Louis Stevenson, he produced a stunning variety and number of volumes, including books of poetry, novels, children's books, histories, and biographies, as well as criticism, essays, scholarly works of anthropology, and translations of classical literature.

About the author

Andrew Lang was born at Selkirk in Scotland on March 31, 1844. He was a historian, poet, novelist, journalist, translator, and anthropologist, in connection with his work on literary texts. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy, St. Andrews University, and Balliol College, Oxford University, becoming a fellow at Merton College. His poetry includes Ballads and Lyrics of Old France (1872), Ballades in Blue China (1880--81), and Grass of Parnassus (1888--92). His anthropology and his defense of the value of folklore as the basis of religion is expressed in his works Custom and Myth (1884), Myth, Ritual and Religion (1887), and The Making of Religion (1898). He also translated Homer and critiqued James G. Frazer's views of mythology as expressed in The Golden Bough. He was considered a good historian, with a readable narrative style and knowledge of the original sources including his works A History of Scotland (1900-7), James VI and the Gowrie Mystery (1902), and Sir George Mackenzie (1909). He was one of the most important collectors of folk and fairy tales. His collections of Fairy books, including The Blue Fairy Book, preserved and handed down many of the better-known folk tales from the time. He died of angina pectoris on July 20, 1912.