Despite the scientific and intellectual advances of the past five hundred years, populist belief in the supernatural, as evidenced by media investigations into the paranormal, continue to be culturally and socially relevant. Throughout history, ghost beliefs have been a source of literary inspiration and learned investigation, have prompted public panics and scandals, and have been manipulated for political and religious purposes. This five-volume reset edition draws together representative and defining printed sources to reveal changing perceptions of ghosts at different social levels from the Reformation through to the twentieth century in Britain and America. In the face of growing scholarly interest in the history of ghosts, this groundbreaking edition is the first documentary survey of the field from the early modern era through to the industrial age. Sources have been chosen to present a clear chronological story of continuities and changes in the social and intellectual relevance of ghosts. They focus on the key published debates that emerged in each century, and illustrate the full range of literary formats that reported or discussed ghosts. American material is included in the final two volumes to reflect the US birth of nineteenth-century spiritualism.