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Libra Esoterica

The Book of Dreams and Ghosts

among primitive races, in antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times

Also known as Besessenheit

by Andrew Lang & Traugott Konstantin Oesterreich

  • First published:
  • 19th century
  • Languages: English, German
  • Content type: Fiction
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Description

Description from Global Grey ebooks (opens in a new tab)

What It's About First published in 1897, this is a collection of first-hand accounts of dreams, visions, hallucinations, and ghostly encounters, gathered by the folklorist Andrew Lang. Organised into chapters covering dreams, visions, crystal-gazing, hallucinations, wraiths, and ghosts, the book presents around eighty reported experiences spanning the two preceding centuries, related either in Lang's own words or through direct quotation from witnesses. The preface opens with the question "Do you believe in ghosts?" and sets the tone for what follows: less a work of proof than an entertaining survey of the uncanny. Key Concepts Lang is chiefly interested in the blurred line between dreaming and waking experience, and in hallucination as a possible explanation for reported hauntings — without dismissing the accounts outright. The book continues the psychical research Lang began in his earlier Cock Lane and Common-Sense (1894), balancing a scientific, questioning temperament against genuine curiosity about phenomena that resisted easy explanation in his time. About the Author Andrew Lang (1844–1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, historian, and anthropologist, born in Selkirk and educated at St Andrews University and Balliol College, Oxford, later becoming a fellow of Merton College. Though best remembered today as a collector of fairy tales, Lang maintained a lifelong interest in psychical research and was elected President of the Society for Psychical Research in 1911.

Provenance

Why this book is in the catalog

Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Cryptozoology and Forteana, Demonology, angelology, and possession, Ghosts, hauntings, and poltergeists, Occultism and esotericism, and Parapsychology and psychical research.

  • Occultism and esotericism

    Controlled discovery queries from national-library-of-scotland matched “occultism”. Retained metadata contains “Occultism” in the subject metadata.

    • “occultism”· via National Library of Scotland
    • “Occultism”· in subject
  • Demonology, angelology, and possession

    Controlled discovery queries from openlibrary matched “Demoniac possession”. Retained metadata contains “Demoniac possession” in the subject metadata, “possession” in the subject metadata, “Exorcism” in the edition title, and 1 additional metadata match(es).

    • “Demoniac possession”· via Open Library
    • “Demoniac possession”· in subject
    • “possession”· in subject
    • “Exorcism”· in edition title
    • “possession”· in edition title
  • Ghosts, hauntings, and poltergeists

    Controlled discovery queries from national-library-of-scotland and wellcome matched “ghosts”. Retained metadata contains “Ghosts” in the title, “Ghosts” in the description, “Ghosts” in the subject metadata, and 1 additional metadata match(es).

    • “ghosts”· via National Library of Scotland
    • “ghosts”· via Wellcome Collection
    • “Ghosts”· in title
    • “Ghosts”· in description
    • “Ghosts”· in subject
    • “Ghosts”· in edition title
  • Parapsychology and psychical research

    Controlled discovery queries from global-grey, national-library-of-scotland, and openlibrary matched “Paranormal and Mysteries”, “parapsychology”, and “Parapsychology”. Retained metadata contains “Psychical research” in the description, “Paranormal and Mysteries” in the subject metadata, and “Parapsychology” in the subject metadata.

    • “Paranormal and Mysteries”· via Global Grey ebooks
    • “parapsychology”· via National Library of Scotland
    • “Parapsychology”· via Open Library
    • “Psychical research”· in description
    • “Paranormal and Mysteries”· in subject
    • “Parapsychology”· in subject
  • Cryptozoology and Forteana

    Controlled discovery queries from openlibrary matched “Curiosities and wonders”. Retained metadata contains “Curiosities and wonders” in the subject metadata.

    • “Curiosities and wonders”· via Open Library
    • “Curiosities and wonders”· in subject

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

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Links to ISBN 0342622749; other editions may be cheaper. WorldCat shows libraries near you that hold a copy.

Editions

Open Library reports 228 editions; 6 cataloged here.

Global Grey ebook edition (available formats vary by title)

—Global Grey ebooksEnglish—Public download

National Bibliography of Scotland record

8vo

1897—English—Catalog record

National Bibliography of Scotland record

8vo; A reissue of the London 1897 ed

1899—English—Catalog record

Subjects

18 subject headings

Identifiers & provenance

How this record was assembled, and the authority identifiers it carries.

Identifiers

ISBN-13
ISBN-10
LCCN
OCLC
Open Library work
Internet Archive
Global Grey
  • book-of-dreams-and-ghosts
National Library of Scotland
  • 9911472673804341
  • 9911472683804341
  • 99116541340504341
Open Library work (alias)
Wellcome

Cataloging notes

  • Open Library reports 228 editions; this snapshot catalogs one representative edition and preserves work-level ISBN, date, and publisher aggregates.
  • Open Library reports 7 editions; this snapshot catalogs one representative edition and preserves work-level ISBN, date, and publisher aggregates.
Catalog id
openlibrary-work:OL1088777W
Edition coverage
Multi source partial
Retrieved