The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits

I have many of Rosemary Ellen Guiley's encyclopedias and they are all well-researched and presented in a reader-friendly manner. This particular encyclopedia focuses on ghosts, spirits, and other paranormal phenomena. The encyclopedia is packed with information about the spirit world with more than 600 entries and over 140 illustrations. Among the topics covered here are spirits in various cultural mythologies, apparitions, mediums and mediumship, seances, after-death communication, poltergeists, biographical sketches of famous paranormal researchers and those who are active in paranormal investigative work, necromancy, sights of famous hauntings, etc.This compendium on ghosts and spirits is truly quite a comprehensive exploration of the subject. Though the entries themselves are not explored in-depth, the coverage is sufficient in introducing the subject and providing insights on the topic with suggested titles for further reading. It is the inclusion of this select bibliography and a handy index for cross-referencing which makes this work all the more significant and useful for writers/researchers and those who would like to further their knowledge of the subject. Recommended!

The most complete reference work that I know of. I use it for a lot of research, and it has nearly everything I’ve tried to look up. In cases when I didn’t find something immediately, it was typically a spelling/translation issue on my part. Highly recommend! I will be purchasing her other encyclopedias soon.

Most of the time I am the person that friends and family come to with their paranormal questions. Sometimes if I didn't have the answer or didn't remember a term or definition or the particulars of a famous case. I would end up going through my notes, or my many books, the Web or Public Library. I usually found what I was looking for however, alot of times it wouldn't be "exactly" what I needed, until now. This book has become not only my secret weapon, but the most "go to" book on my shelf. All the references, terms, definitions, stories, cases, and Web Sites are up to date and accurate. You've got to have this book!

A fun book for referencing different ghosts and spirits from across the globe. I purchased this for my sister so she could get a better understanding of what different ghosts and spirits there are. I read the book before giving it to her and I loved the bits of trivia I was able to get from it, and she has enjoyed it as well.

I have been a follower of R.E. Guiley for some time now. I had this book a while ago and gave it to a friend, sadly only to learn that when he moves away, he moved away with the book. Oh well, that's what friends are for. Nevertheless, I needed to purchase the book all over again because it was that good. Actually, I kind of lucked out because I had the second edition, and now I own the third edition which has been updated with the classic investigators now taking their position in the works of parapsychology and paranormal research, such as Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, and John Zaffis. If you are a general reader of the paranormal, an historian, a paranormal investigator/researcher, or, (like me a professional parapsychologist) who requires this work to refer to folklore beliefs, then I would strongly recommend this textbook. I know this is not really a textbook, but considering the definitions and works involved, I refer to it as one.

This book describes the who and what of the paranormal. Some of the descriptions of paranormal activities are extremely interesting. Descriptions, people, places and paranormal activities are well covered in this book. A great book for someone interested in the " weird" but lacks knowledge of the vocabulary and terms used in investigations. This is more a field guide than anything else. A book to refer to when the unexplained presents itself. Well written. the book is a pleasant read in and of itself.

I checked this book out in my school's library and ended up loving it so much that I bought it on amazon so I could have my own copy! This book has so much information on a variety of topics such as: Banshee's, Edgar Allen Poe, rapping, Souls, origins of the rainbow, vampires, pucas, and many more creatures/things that have to do with ghosts and spirits.It's a really big book, since it's an encyclopedia, and all the information is well written and informative. I read it when I'm doing research for my books or if I'm curious about something.A really good book to have! I have no complaints!

I have several of Rosemary Ellen Guiley’s Encyclopedia books. This is one of my favorites! There’s a lot of interesting information in here about the afterlife, apparitions, etc. If this topic interests you, I think you will like this book!

MY former boyfriend gave me a copy of this book. Sadly it was thrown in the garbage. So when I saw this I had to have it. I believe in ghosts and the paranormal 👻

Very interesting

Great read! I'd buy it again!

Very good read and insightful

A fascinating read, with a writing style which is concise and informative while extremely engaging. It's a true wealth of information, and a must-have for anyone who likes ghost stories, or who would be educated on efforts to investigate them!