Consult encyclopedias to read about your topic and get lists of further readings.
Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits
Call Number: ref BF 1461 .G85 2007
New Encyclopedia of the Occult
Call Number: ref BF 1407 .G74 2003
Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: the Western Tradition
Call Number: ref BF 1566 .E56 2006
Encyclopedia of Occultism
Call Number: ref BF 1025 .S7 1968
Dictionary of Mysticism and the Esoteric
Call Number: ref BF 1407 .D78 1992
Encyclopedia of the Paranormal
Call Number: Science BF 1025 .E54 1996
Encyclopedia of parapsychology and psychical research
Call Number: Science ref BF 1025 .B47 1991
Shamanism: an encyclopedia of world beliefs, practices and culture
Call Number: ref GN 475.8 S445 2004 1
Historical Dictionary of Shamanism by Graham Harvey; Robert J. Wallis
Call Number: ref GN 475.8 .H27 2007
The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures by Sally R. Munt; Olu JenzenWith contributions from the UK and other European countries, the USA, Australia and Canada, The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures attends to the paranormal as a position from which to critique dominant forms of knowledge production and spirituality. A rich exploration of everyday life practices, textual engagements and discourses relating to the paranormal, as well as the mediation, technology and art of paranormal activity, this book explores themes such as subcultures and mainstreaming, epistemological, methodological, and phenomenological questions, and the role of the paranormal in social change.
ISBN: 9781409444688
Publication Date: 2013-12-13
A New Companion to the Gothic by David Punter (Editor)The thoroughly expanded and updated New Companion to the Gothic, provides a series of stimulating insights into Gothic writing, its history and genealogy. The addition of 12 new essays and a section on 'Global Gothic' reflects the direction Gothic criticism has taken over the last decade. Many of the original essays have been revised to reflect current debates Offers comprehensive coverage of criticism of the Gothic and of the various theoretical approaches it has inspired and spawned Features important and original essays by leading scholars in the field The editor is widely recognized as the founder of modern criticism of the Gothic
ISBN: 9781444354928
Publication Date: 2012-01-13
The Spirit Book by Raymond BucklandThe fascinating history of Spiritualism is coaxed into the material realm as the object of this perceptive and sweeping overview by that legendary author of the occult and supernatural, Raymond Buckland. Containing more than 500 entries and 100 illustrations, The Spirit Book is the comprehensive encyclopedia to Spiritualism and its related subjects. Plus it provides full biographies of every prominent person connected to the field.Drawing on decades of research, writing, and transcendence, Buckland describes sundry methods of channeling, events associated with Spiritualism, including s#65533;ances and exorcism, organizations focused on clairvoyance, and a colorful host of mortals-famous and infamous-who delved into Spiritualism. Nostradamus, Helena Blavatsky, and Edgar Cayce receive their due, as well as Joan of Arc, William Blake, Susan B. Anthony, Winston Churchill, Arthur Conan Doyle, Mahatma Gandhi, HarryHoudini, and Mae West (look up and see her sometime). It explores Qabbalah, Sibyls, Fairies, Poltergeists; phenomena such as intuition and karma; objects useful in the attempt to cross the divide, including tarot cards, flower reading, and runes; and related practices such as Shamanism, transfiguration, meditation, and mesmerism.
ISBN: 9781578591725
Publication Date: 2005-09-01
The Psychology of Paranormal Belief by Harvey J. IrwinWith a thorough and systematic review of investigations into the bases of belief in paranormal phenomena, this discussion explores the four main theoretical approaches relating to the nature of such beliefs. Objective and well-researched, this account addresses different points of view on the topic--while some commentators depict paranormal believers as foolish, others propose that paranormal beliefs must be understood as necessities that serve certain psychodynamic needs. The foundations and shortcomings of each approach are also documented, and a new comprehensive theory attempts to explain the development of scientifically unsubstantiated beliefs.
ISBN: 9781902806938
Publication Date: 2009-09-01
The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction by Jerrold E. Hogle (Editor)Gothic as a form of fiction-making has played a major role in Western culture since the late eighteenth century. In this volume, fourteen world-class experts on the Gothic provide thorough and revealing accounts of this haunting-to-horrifying type of fiction from the 1760s (the decade of The Castle of Otranto, the first so-called 'Gothic story') to the end of the twentieth century (an era haunted by filmed and computerized Gothic simulations). Along the way, these essays explore the connections of Gothic fictions to political and industrial revolutions, the realistic novel, the theatre, Romantic and post-Romantic poetry, nationalism and racism from Europe to America, colonized and post-colonial populations, the rise of film and other visual technologies, the struggles between 'high' and 'popular' culture, changing psychological attitudes towards human identity, gender and sexuality, and the obscure lines between life and death, sanity and madness. The volume also includes a chronology and guides to further reading.