Ancient Ghost Stories

Phantoms of the dead, warning apparitions and necromancy – there are many stories of ghosts to be found in the retold literature of ancient peoples: ‘Khonsemhab and the Ghost’ and ‘The Adventure of Setne Khamwas with the Mummies’, both from Ancient Egypt; ‘Philinnion and Machates’ from Ancient Rome; spirits featured in Homer’s Odyssey, from Ancient Greece; tales of Babylonian demons and the netherworld; and stories of fire apparitions from Japan. The Vikings too had their fair share of ghosts, such as crop up in the 13th-century Icelandic Laxdaela Saga. These stories are all brought together in this new collection for an intriguing insight into the spirit world of early cultures.