This two-volume history of the supernatural, first published in 1863, is a staggering feat: extending his work across almost a thousand pages, William Howitt attempts to describe the engagement with the supernatural in all ages and all parts of the world in order to identify a common link between them. 

Howitt (1792-1879), a well-known writer in his day, published over 50 books in his lifetime, some in collaboration with his wife, writer and translator Mary Howitt. His interest in the supernatural was precipitated by the untimely deaths of two sons. This first volume begins with an apology for faith in the 19th century and continues with spiritualist histories of Europe, the Bible and apocrypha, the ancient world, the East, and Scandinavia, emphasizing the persisting legacy and presence of human engagement with the supernatural in each case.