'If you sing before breakfast you will cry before supper...' In their own words, what it meant for Victorians to dream of actors, April Fools, herrings or a railway ticket, why it was advised to throw a black snail by its horns over the left shoulder for good luck, and why it is essential to inform bees of a death in the family. 'If one drops a knife, a woman is coming; a fork, a man is coming; a spoon, a fool.'

Tappings on tables, questionable curatives, old wives tales and whispers from beyond the grave: Victorians were fascinated by the supernatural. Consult the Oracle was where they might have turned when they needed to identify a witch, interpret an omen or dream, required a natural cure or wanted to divine their future with a pack of cards or simply wished to understand what the supernatural meant to them and their ancestors. First published in 1899, it offered a layman's guide to 'matters magical and mysterious', and today is a quirky glimpse of a supernatural age now lost, by turns haunting and hilarious.