The History of the Supernatural in All Ages and Nations

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 fifty 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. Beginning with a chapter on magic and its relation to the supernatural, this second volume concentrates mainly on Christian history, detailing the spiritualist aspects of the early church, medieval heresy, the Reformation, and nineteenth-century supernatural engagement, also including pagan and neo-platonic perceptions.