The Night Side of Nature

by Catherine Crowe

The Myth, Legend, and Folklore series is the product of the unique partnership between Wordsworth Editions and The Folklore Society. Folklore Society scholars provide in-depth introductions, making this the most authoritative series of its kind.

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror, Paranormal, Supernatural, Classics, Ghosts, Victorian

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1848

About the author

Catherine Crowe was an English author of dramas, children's books, and novels. She is remembered mainly for her publication The Night-side of Nature, a collection of stories of the supernatural.

Oxford DNB: (Crowe [née Stevens], Catherine Ann (1790-1872), novelist and writer on the supernatural, born 20 September 1790, died 14 June 1872)

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first serious studies of the supernatural written in the English speaking world, written in 1848. As the author emphatically points out, in Germany this phenomena had been taken very seriously by psychologists and scientists for a long time and had come up with much incontrovertible material. The author provides a case-still relevant today as ever- as to why we simply cannot dismiss the reality of supernatural and parapsychologist phenomena simply because it cannot at this stage be seen by all or untypically measured.

While this book is filled with fascinating and chilling anecdotes of ghostly events, hauntings and other paranormal phenomena. Crowe points out that the purpose of this book is far more then just mere amusement. The author engages the attention of the readers of this instructive digest because she points out that the opinions she advocates if seriously entertained would be indeed highly beneficial. This is as true of 160 years ago as it is today. As with today, the elites in control of thought i.e the educated classes, dismiss supernatural and psychical phenomena not due to a fair philosophical examination of the facts, which have induced the popular belief of all ages and countries. This dismissal is grounded in materials today as it may have once been grounded in the dogma of the Church, and can be found by unbiased studies to be nothing better than unreasoning and unreasonable prejudice.

Crowe makes the point that the cases of supernatural haunting, psychic phenomena , ghosts etc are simply too numerous and too wheel known in all ages to be set aside so easily. and if this was written in 1848 , how much more so today -164 years after this book was written-when so many more cases have been recorded.
As far as we see of nature, there is a continued series from the lowest to the highest, and it would be arrogant and short sighted to assume we are the last in the chain. The author would like us to us to familiarize us with the idea that people are spirits incorporated for a time in the flesh but the dissolution of the confection between soul and body though it changes the external condition of the former leaves its moral state unaltered. What a person has made themselves they will be, Hence those who are good and gentle in their past lives will be so in spirit form-and those who are brutish or spiteful so they will be so in the next life.

This is not just a philosophical discussion however-the delight of the book is the hundreds of anecdotes recorded of dreams of loved deceased ones or of of impending or current death of a loved one. Crusading spirits writing wrongs, warning spirits averting disaster, inescapable spirits which once uleashed cannot be set to rest. Stories of wraiths, Doppelganger (doubles on oneselves seen by others or oneself) , poltergeists, apparitions, foretastes of the future life etc abound, and often they are recorded in such a way as to ensure us that there is more to it than imagination or coincidence. The meat of the book is in the anecdotes which are intriguing and sometimes chilling to read.
Children are haunted by malevolent beings, which will not leave them until they are exorcized, objects dance about and crash around, people see loved ones who are far away at the moment of death, and predict their own deaths at the hour of happening, a mother hears a voice saying 'John is dead' at the moment of his death. and people see visitors that appear and disappear mysteriously and a re verified to have been seen by others. People enter their house and are told that they have been seen to enter minutes previously, only to see doubles of themselves in their houses.
Ultimately an instructive read and an important addition to the libraries of anyone who aims to make a serious study of parapsychology and the supernatural. .

Merged review:

One of the first serious studies of the supernatural written in the English speaking world, written in 1848. As the author emphatically points out, in Germany this phenomena had been taken very seriously by psychologists and scientists for a long time and had come up with much incontrovertible material. The author provides a case-still relevant today as ever- as to why we simply cannot dismiss the reality of supernatural and parapsychologist phenomena simply because it cannot at this stage be seen by all or untypically measured.

While this book is filled with fascinating and chilling anecdotes of ghostly events, hauntings and other paranormal phenomena. Crowe points out that the purpose of this book is far more then just mere amusement. The author engages the attention of the readers of this instructive digest because she points out that the opinions she advocates if seriously entertained would be indeed highly beneficial. This is as true of 160 years ago as it is today. As with today, the elites in control of thought i.e the educated classes, dismiss supernatural and psychical phenomena not due to a fair philosophical examination of the facts, which have induced the popular belief of all ages and countries. This dismissal is grounded in materials today as it may have once been grounded in the dogma of the Church, and can be found by unbiased studies to be nothing better than unreasoning and unreasonable prejudice.

Crowe makes the point that the cases of supernatural haunting, psychic phenomena , ghosts etc are simply too numerous and too wheel known in all ages to be set aside so easily. and if this was written in 1848 , how much more so today -164 years after this book was written-when so many more cases have been recorded.
As far as we see of nature, there is a continued series from the lowest to the highest, and it would be arrogant and short sighted to assume we are the last in the chain. The author would like us to us to familiarize us with the idea that people are spirits incorporated for a time in the flesh but the dissolution of the confection between soul and body though it changes the external condition of the former leaves its moral state unaltered. What a person has made themselves they will be, Hence those who are good and gentle in their past lives will be so in spirit form-and those who are brutish or spiteful so they will be so in the next life.

This is not just a philosophical discussion however-the delight of the book is the hundreds of anecdotes recorded of dreams of loved deceased ones or of of impending or current death of a loved one. Crusading spirits writing wrongs, warning spirits averting disaster, inescapable spirits which once uleashed cannot be set to rest. Stories of wraiths, Doppelganger (doubles on oneselves seen by others or oneself) , poltergeists, apparitions, foretastes of the future life etc abound, and often they are recorded in such a way as to ensure us that there is more to it than imagination or coincidence. The meat of the book is in the anecdotes which are intriguing and sometimes chilling to read.
Children are haunted by malevolent beings, which will not leave them until they are exorcized, objects dance about and crash around, people see loved ones who are far away at the moment of death, and predict their own deaths at the hour of happening, a mother hears a voice saying 'John is dead' at the moment of his death. and people see visitors that appear and disappear mysteriously and a re verified to have been seen by others. People enter their house and are told that they have been seen to enter minutes previously, only to see doubles of themselves in their houses.
Ultimately an instructive read and an important addition to the libraries of anyone who aims to make a serious study of parapsychology and the supernatural. .

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first serious studies of the supernatural written in the English speaking world, written in 1848. As the author emphatically points out, in Germany this phenomena had been taken very seriously by psychologists and scientists for a long time and had come up with much incontrovertible material. The author provides a case-still relevant today as ever- as to why we simply cannot dismiss the reality of supernatural and parapsychologist phenomena simply because it cannot at this stage be seen by all or untypically measured.

While this book is filled with fascinating and chilling anecdotes of ghostly events, hauntings and other paranormal phenomena. Crowe points out that the purpose of this book is far more then just mere amusement. The author engages the attention of the readers of this instructive digest because she points out that the opinions she advocates if seriously entertained would be indeed highly beneficial. This is as true of 160 years ago as it is today. As with today, the elites in control of thought i.e the educated classes, dismiss supernatural and psychical phenomena not due to a fair philosophical examination of the facts, which have induced the popular belief of all ages and countries. This dismissal is grounded in materials today as it may have once been grounded in the dogma of the Church, and can be found by unbiased studies to be nothing better than unreasoning and unreasonable prejudice.

Crowe makes the point that the cases of supernatural haunting, psychic phenomena , ghosts etc are simply too numerous and too wheel known in all ages to be set aside so easily. and if this was written in 1848 , how much more so today -164 years after this book was written-when so many more cases have been recorded.
As far as we see of nature, there is a continued series from the lowest to the highest, and it would be arrogant and short sighted to assume we are the last in the chain. The author would like us to us to familiarize us with the idea that people are spirits incorporated for a time in the flesh but the dissolution of the confection between soul and body though it changes the external condition of the former leaves its moral state unaltered. What a person has made themselves they will be, Hence those who are good and gentle in their past lives will be so in spirit form-and those who are brutish or spiteful so they will be so in the next life.

This is not just a philosophical discussion however-the delight of the book is the hundreds of anecdotes recorded of dreams of loved deceased ones or of of impending or current death of a loved one. Crusading spirits writing wrongs, warning spirits averting disaster, inescapable spirits which once uleashed cannot be set to rest. Stories of wraiths, Doppelganger (doubles on oneselves seen by others or oneself) , poltergeists, apparitions, foretastes of the future life etc abound, and often they are recorded in such a way as to ensure us that there is more to it than imagination or coincidence. The meat of the book is in the anecdotes which are intriguing and sometimes chilling to read.
Children are haunted by malevolent beings, which will not leave them until they are exorcized, objects dance about and crash around, people see loved ones who are far away at the moment of death, and predict their own deaths at the hour of happening, a mother hears a voice saying 'John is dead' at the moment of his death. and people see visitors that appear and disappear mysteriously and a re verified to have been seen by others. People enter their house and are told that they have been seen to enter minutes previously, only to see doubles of themselves in their houses.
Ultimately an instructive read and an important addition to the libraries of anyone who aims to make a serious study of parapsychology and the supernatural.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me awhile to get into this book. Crowe has a very definite outline to her book. She starts by focusing on the dreams of people, and how they may be able to foretell events, from this she looks at ghosts or spirits of the recently dead visiting people in dreams, then to apparitions visiting people when awake, and then appearing to people not just at the time of the death to say goodbye but as regular hauntings of either people or places. She recounts the stories of many different people, from several different decades, whether she speaks of people she's talked to directly or accounts she's read. It is worth mentioning that while many of the people in the accounts are frightened of the specters not once do the ghosts cause any harm to anyone. At worse they just exist and foretell of someone else's death, and at best they often lead someone to buried treasure. They do nothing in anyway to injure the person, but often are just visiting a loved one with whom they wish to see one more time before moving on. After the discussion of English ghosts she then goes on to discuss ideas of different types of ghosts found in Germany. Here she discusses, in what is the largest single tale of the book, a ghost who requests prayer, in this case a Catholic asking for prayer from Lutherans for his departed soul. (Interesting as it's a 19th century occurrence and the existence of ghosts in Europe from the time of the reformation was used in arguments for and against purgatory by Catholics and Protestants). The ghost visits women in a prison, and is a very interesting tale. After this she goes on to look at poltergeists, who do seem to cause distress to their victims. According to the introduction this is the first time the German idea of Poltergeists was introduced to England. She says how they are not spirits of the departed but troublesome spirits. She also goes on to talk about demon possession and how it has been cured through magnetism. This is a very interesting look at mid 19th century ghost stories. Also to see how science was influencing such beliefs. While deriding people who were skeptical for the sake of skepticism Crowe wanted to find a proper scientific explanation for the existence of souls after death. It was interesting to see how things like static electricity were considered examples of the spirit world. There was a deep sense of questing for knowledge and explanation in the work, rather than dismissal of the stories as simply stories. As such it was not just an interesting look at ghosts and the beliefs in ghost-seers of the time, but also about mesmerism, magnetism and the power of electricity. One thing that struck me towards the end in her discussion of possession, was a case of an Algerian man using a form of divination strikingly similar to that used in China by Taoist exorcists during the Tang dynasty (600-900CE). In this case the man took boys around 11 and poured ink into their hand and had them use the ink to see other places. While overall I think I prefer the older books I have read on accounts of the supernatural this was an interesting look at Victorian ghosts. With so many of the local sources now being available as searchable online databases I found myself fantasising about doing research onto what type of stories and what was believed and reported about ghosts in the 19th century and how this was different from previous eras.

[Bill Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, very eccentric book. Originally published just about the time spirit rapping broke out of Hydesville and became Spiritualism, Ms. Crowe's compendium of marvels was one of the first English language volumes to embrace the idea that the supernatural might merely be nature we don't understand. A friend of Wordsworth, her thoughts are neatly poised between late Romance and early Modernity, influenced heavily by Mesmerism and its concepts of one human will acting on another. But apart from the occasional jabs of pseudo rationality, the star attraction here is her amazing collection of lore on fetches, dopplegangers, phantom lights, haunted houses, stigmata, and other weirdness, some of it strange enough to be in an M.R. James story.

I had a couple of fanciful thoughts while reading this rationalization of the irrational. What if the seeing of ghosts or doubles or distant, living people has been blunted entirely by the ordinariness of seeing the constant, realistic images of actual people in our media? There is nothing extraordinary -- after about 1928 -- in seeing the moving, talking image of a person, living or dead. Likewise, many of her arguments are based on a concept of human will strong enough to affect physical change. We don't hear much about the idea of "will" anymore, maybe because the concept has been damaged by association. Instead we have "influence," which is increasingly a property of our extended senses, our media. If we have ghosts now, where do they live? McLuhan's haunted village?

[Tak. Na. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5/5

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more interesting as a historic piece illustrating how people may have discussed the supernatural and death in the past, as well as how much we have learned and still have to learn about the brain and human experience, than anything else. It’s not scary, it’s not narrative, and (sorry Ms Crowe) not the least bit scientific. In truth, it’s difficult to take Crowe seriously; she’s so credulous. She thinks every story she relates is true. She falls prey to all the common heuristic mistakes of human psychology. She thinks a bunch of anecdotes stacked together proves something beyond the fact that several similar stories happen to exist. She conflates coincidence and correlation with causality. And she has the temerity to call herself scientific and scholarly and then write a passage such as “the author of the book ‘Accredited Ghost Stories’, whose name I at this moment forget, and I have not the book at hand, gives, on his own authority, the following circumstance, professing to be acquainted with the parties…” Seriously? You can’t remember the author and don’t have the book with you, and the story you’re trying to quote is apparently hearsay anyway, but we can somehow draw reasonable conclusions from this sort of information. Right.

Still, this is kind of a fun book if one is looking less to be convinced than simply to witness a different way of thinking and a glimpse at the past. Crowe is actually a decent writer, with clear prose, and her logic, though flawed with unsound starting premises and beset by still-common heuristic errors, is easy to follow and not tedious. For all that she wants to prove things to her reader, she’s not particularly preachy. She actually seems very nice and intelligent. A lot of her motivation seems to be trying to help the reader (and herself) work through anxiety about death and the unknown.

The main problem with her preponderance of supernatural anecdotes is not so much the conclusions she tries to draw from them as that their particulars get buried by volume. There are a pile of interesting little 2-paragraph or 1-page stories that become unmemorable simply because they are too short and in too big a crowd of similar tales. This book is interesting to read but difficult to remember.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely fascinating book for two main reasons. First, it covers a variety of paranormal phenomena. Secondly, it's quite old, being published in 1848. If it weren't for the slightly formal writing style and some slightly different terms used it could be published today as a regular paranormal book.

She has obviously done a lot of research for her book. Some of the things she brings up date all the way back to the BCE times. She also notes how the field of the paranormal (which is not a term she used, actually) does not get accepted by traditional science.

A lot of her writing deals with the spiritual nature of humans. She states that humans are composed of spirit, soul and body.

She does bring up the subject of phrenology which has been strongly disproven by modern scientist and was actually used by the Nazis to try to find the origin of the Aryan race.

A term which she uses frequently is 'magnetic' which seems to have different meanings.

Topics she discusses include dreaming (including of the future); prophetic dreaming; symbolic expression; doppelgangers; wraiths; 'second hearing' (now known as clairaudience); lucid dreaming (she uses different words for this); a 'halo of light' (now referred to as the aura); magnetizer (a hypnotist); troubled spirits; ghosts; spiritual light; poltergeists; possession; the hearing of 'heavenly music' when near to death; stigmata; the use of diving rods and a lot of other things.

She has numerous examples (some of which are from people she knows). She also uses the term 'palinganesia' which I had to look up. It means ' a concept of rebirth or re-creation, used in various contexts in philosophy, theology, politics, and biology. ' (It's been discredited in biology.)

[Quicksilver Quill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take a Walk on the Night-Side . . .

In The Night-Side of Nature, Victorian author Catherine Crowe explores and examines various paranormal phenomena such as ghosts, doppelgangers, wraiths, precognitive dreams, visions, presentiments and more.

On the whole, this is an interesting book, filled with many fascinating anecdotes and stories having to do with the supernatural. Crowe is at her best when relating these tales of ghosts, hauntings, etc., but she can glaze your eyes over a bit when she is expounding her own theories on the spirit and afterlife.

You could argue that her writing suffers from the long-winded prose that Victorian authors could churn out like no one else--and we should expect nothing less! But if you can get past some of the less stimulating segments, then this can be a fun and informative read, made all the more intriguing by the fact that it is a 19th century take on these seemingly more modern topics. Recommended if you are interested in both the paranormal and the Victorian era.

[Pi]

Nie wszystko da się wytłumaczyć, nie wszystko rozumiemy i nie wszystko można dotknąć i zbadać. Catherine Crowe w swojej NOCNEJ STRONIE NATURY przedstawia szereg zjawisk "dziwnych", powiedzielibyśmy - paranormalnych, choć mówią, że paranormalne jest to, co jeszcze nie jest odkryte, a po odkryciu staje się naukowo potwierdzone.
Książka, którą mam w rękach może nie byłaby taka interesująca, gdyby nie fakt, że została napisana w XIX wieku. Crowe żyła w latach 1803-1876 i była niezwykle ciekawą postacią. Jej życie nie było standardowe jak na tamte czasy. Można powiedzieć, że była to kobieta wyzwolona i miała mocno zarysowany charakter i światopogląd, którego zażarcie broniła i przy którym pozostała do końca... choć może ten koniec był trochę szalony. Cenię ją właśnie za tę odwagę, choć widzę też jej momentami niezdrową fascynację "zaświatami".
Jaka jest NOCNA STRONA NATURY? Wyjątkowo współczesna. Przypuszczam, że wielką pracę wykonał tłumacz = Janusz Ochab - bo sprawił, że czyta się tę pozycję naprawdę świetnie. Umiejętnie przełożył stary tekst, w taki sposób, że z jednej strony czuć w nim XIX wiek, a z drugiej zdania układają się w melodyjną opowieść, którą mógłby napisać ktoś i teraz.
Książka ta przedstawia szereg zdarzeń "nadprzyrodzonych", a przynajmniej trudnych do wyjaśnienia, jak np. "prorocze" sny, przeczucia, jednak mamy również nawiedzone domy itp. Crowe prześciga sama siebie w przykładach, których raczej nie da się potwierdzić, a trzeba brać na słowo - podobnie jak zrobiła to sama autorka.
Bardzo podoba mi się ten popularnonaukowy charakter książki. Pisarka nie skupia się jedynie na zasłyszanych opowieściach, ale także podpiera swoje wywody słowami znanych i uznanych lekarzy, ludzi kultury. To sprawia wrażenie bardzo rzetelnej pracy i myślę, że faktycznie Catherine Crowe ciężko procowała nad tą książką, za co należą się jej oklaski. Faktem jest, że niektóre zdania i stwierdzenia współcześnie brzmią trochę.... komicznie, niemniej większość jest przynajmniej interesująca.
Ja bardzo lubię takie książki, a ta jest tym ciekawsza, że pochodzi z XIX wieku! Jak możemy przeczytać w notce o autorce NOCNA STRONA NATURY podobno wpłynęła na twórczość samego Charles'a Baudelaire'a... w sumie to się nie dziwię, bo to dzieło i dzisiaj się wyróżnia, a teraz trudno mi sobie nawet wyobrazić, jakie zrobiło zamieszanie w sobie współczesnych czasach.

duchy, widma i zjawy
Wydawnictwo Zysk i S-ka

[Lisioł Czyta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nocna strona Lisioła
.
Lisioł jest z natury futrzakiem słynącym z odwagi, dlatego w razie zagrożenia pozwala się wykazać wszystkim innym, samemu zajmując miejsce na tyłach. Z tego miejsca roztacza majestatyczną aurę wodza, a jeżeli sytuacja rozwija się w niekorzystny sposób, Lisioł wykazuje się niewzruszoną odwagą w poszukiwaniu najbliższej kryjówki. W jednej z norek, po kolejnym pokazie męstwa, futrzak natrafił na książkę Catherine Crowe pod tytułem „Nocna strona natury”. Zainteresowany zajrzał do środka.
.
Słowem wstępu trzeba najpierw pisnąć, CZYM jest ta książka, bo nie jest to ani horror, ani powieść. Nie jest to nawet antologia opowiadań. Łatwo też potraktować tę pozycję jako pozbawioną źródeł współczesną książkę popularnonaukową. W rzeczywistości Catherine Crowe żyła w XIX wieku i „Nocna strona natury” jest jedną z pierwszych prób naukowego opisania zjawisk nadprzyrodzonych. Lisioł podrapał się po głowie. Zatem jest to współczesne wznowienie książki o siłach nadnaturalnych, opisująca antyczne, średniowieczne i nowożytne historie z perspektywy XIX-wiecznej osoby. Trzeba przyznać, że może się to wydawać trochę dziwne, ale Lisioł zapewnia, że pozycja jest wyjątkowo ciekawa! Właściwie jedyną wadą jest naukowy język autorki, ale mówimy o pozycji, która racjonalnie podchodziła do zagadnienia, więc warto uzbroić się w cierpliwość i przebrnąć przez pierwsze kilkanaście stron.
.
Co znajdziemy w samej książce? Lisioł wyśnił sobie miskę truskawek, walczył o butelkę z podstępnym sobowtórem imieniem Łoisil, a także spędził noc w nawiedzonym domu. Co jakiś czas autorka serwuje nam uczony wywód, porównując genialną intuicję Mozarta, który w chwili natchnienia widział cały utwór do zaglądania w przyszłość. Nie obyło się bez spotkania z duchami, zarówno tymi szkodliwymi, jak i proszącymi żywych o wstawiennictwo za pośrednictwem modlitwy. Lisioł z pewnością się nie nudził, bo autorka potrafi skakać pomiędzy filozofami i uczonymi z wielką wprawą.
.
„Nocna strona natury” to książka przede wszystkim dla osób zainteresowanych folklorem, legendami oraz tym, jak 180 lat temu ludzie spoglądali na zjawiska wymykające się rozumowi.

[Holly Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

as Cicero justly says, in describing the different kinds of magic,
"What we have to do with is the facts, since of the cause we know little. Neither, " he adds, "are we to repudiate these phenomena, because we sometimes find them imperfect, or even false, any more than we are to distrust that the human eyes sees, although some do this very imperfectly, or not at all."

"We are part spirit and part matter; by the former we are allied to the spiritual world and to the absolute spirit; and as nobody doubts that the latter can work magically, that is, by the mere act of will-for by the mere act of will all things were created, and by its consistent exertion all things are sustained-why should we be astonished that we, who partake of the divine nature, and were created after God's own image, should also, within certain limits, partake of this magical power? That this power has been frequently abused, is the fault of those who, being capable, refuse to investigate, and deny the existence of these and similar phenomena; and by thus casting them out of the region of legitimate science, leave them to become the prey of the ignorant and designing."

[Leona Heraty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Although is was written around 1848, it's still as timely as ever. The author gathers together many experiences with the supernatural, from believers and non-believers alike, and shows us without a doubt there is another world beyond our earthly existence.

This book proves that when we die, our spirit continues on to the next realm. I found this book to not only be very interesting, but very comforting as well, knowing that I will see my loved ones and pets who have passed on, when I shuffle off this moral coil. If you have any doubts about the afterlife, please read this book! :-)

[Kyle Crider · Rating 2 out of 5]

Modern "ghost hunters" should read this "classic"... and see just how little progress has been made in their field since this work was originally published in 1847. I doubt most modern ghost-seers would use the then-popular theories of ether-filled space and animal magnetism to explain ghostly rapport; however, as there remains zero solid, scientific evidence for ghosts and hauntings, former pseudo-scientific explanation have simply been replaced by more modern pseudoscience, to wit, EVP recorders and EMF meters. Doubtless, 150 years from now today's theories and tools will have been surpassed by future replacements with equally dubious application and lack of verifiable results.

[Adam Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A long ponderous rumination on death and the after life. It is filled with hundreds of reportedly factual supernatural encounter and anecdotes. Slow and repetitive at times but ultimately mind expanding and quite fascinating. This author was later institutionized for mental illness and this window into her thoughts capture her thought processes. An elaborate, thought provoking read. I loved it even through some of the drull sections.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dry in parts, but really, really thorough.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, informative (albeit dense) look at the paranormal through a 19th century lense filled with anecdotes from the time.

[caro_cactus]

That's a lot.

[Kot bard]

dnf; poddaję się, za ciężko się to czyta

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5 stars*

[CzasoStrefa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pomimo nieustannego rozwoju nauki, co rusz dokonywania przełomowych odkryć, dalej nie potrafimy wyjaśnić, dlaczego niektórzy z nas widzą więcej niż inni.
Jak dochodzi do opętań czy nawiedzeń? Stawiamy tarota, korzystamy z usług jasnowidzów i wróżek, a wszystko to by choć na moment zanurzyć się w świecie, którego istnienia nie jesteśmy pewni. Zdradzę wam jednak sekret, ten inny świat interesuję się też naszym…

Już na samym początku zaznaczę, że Nocna strona natury została wydana po raz pierwszy w 1848 roku. Jak można się zatem domyśleć, skupia się ona głównie na przypadkach z tego okresu. Przy większości z nich Catherine Crowe wspomina, że poznała je dzięki listom wysyłanym przez osoby, które ich doświadczyły lub dzięki gońcom. Powołuje się także na wysoko urodzonych świadków owych zajść, co w tamtych czasach było wyjątkowo istotne. Sama książka podzielona została na 18 rozdziałów, a każdy z nich skupia się na innym rodzaju zjawisk nadprzyrodzonych, jak na przykład: pojawianie się widm, prorocze sny, opętania czy nawiedzone miejsca.

Tym, co trzeba przyznać autorce, to fakt, że do każdego z omawianych tematów podeszła bardzo rzetelnie. Na poparcie każdego prezentuje co najmniej kilka przykładów, jednocześnie zauważając, że część zdarzeń da się jednak wytłumaczyć w logiczny sposób. Skupia się na ludziach, których one dotknęły, ich doświadczeniach i tym, co później się z nimi działo. Tworzy to swego rodzaju osobliwą księgę anomalii XIX wieku. Autorka wykazuje fenomen pewnych zajść i jak bardzo poruszyły one ówczesne społeczeństwo. Jestem święcie przekonana, że gdyby podobne rzeczy wydarzyły się obecnie, to ludzie byliby wobec nich zdecydowanie bardziej sceptyczni. W końcu dziś wierzy się głównie w naukę. Pojawia się zatem pytanie: dlaczego wznowiono nakład Nocnej strony natury? Zapewne dlatego, że autorka nie uważa swoich rozważań za niepodważalną prawdę. Ba, wręcz zachęca do analizowania na swój własny sposób każdej z jej tez. Innymi słowy, nie narzuca nikomu swoich poglądów, nie każe uwierzyć we wszystko, co opisuje, ale zachęca do zastanowienia się nad tym, czy nauka, aby na pewno jest w stanie odpowiedzieć na każde pytanie.

Jak zatem książka prezentuje się w ostatecznym rozrachunku? Jako bardzo wymagająca, ale zarazem unikatowa lektura. Przyznam, że mi osobiście przyjemność sprawiła już sama możliwość przeczytania dzieła sprzed prawie 200 lat. Zwłaszcza że zostało ono wydane w tak pięknej formie dzięki wydawnictwu Zysk i S-ka, któremu serdecznie dziękuję za egzemplarz do recenzji.

Więcej na: CzasoStrefa

[Pi]

Nie wszystko da się wytłumaczyć, nie wszystko rozumiemy i nie wszystko można dotknąć i zbadać. Catherine Crowe w swojej NOCNEJ STRONIE NATURY przedstawia szereg zjawisk "dziwnych", powiedzielibyśmy - paranormalnych, choć mówią, że paranormalne jest to, co jeszcze nie jest odkryte, a po odkryciu staje się naukowo potwierdzone.
Książka, którą mam w rękach może nie byłaby taka interesująca, gdyby nie fakt, że została napisana w XIX wieku. Crowe żyła w latach 1803-1876 i była niezwykle ciekawą postacią. Jej życie nie było standardowe jak na tamte czasy. Można powiedzieć, że była to kobieta wyzwolona i miała mocno zarysowany charakter i światopogląd, którego zażarcie broniła i przy którym pozostała do końca... choć może ten koniec był trochę szalony. Cenię ją właśnie za tę odwagę, choć widzę też jej momentami niezdrową fascynację "zaświatami".
Jaka jest NOCNA STRONA NATURY? Wyjątkowo współczesna. Przypuszczam, że wielką pracę wykonał tłumacz = Janusz Ochab - bo sprawił, że czyta się tę pozycję naprawdę świetnie. Umiejętnie przełożył stary tekst, w taki sposób, że z jednej strony czuć w nim XIX wiek, a z drugiej zdania układają się w melodyjną opowieść, którą mógłby napisać ktoś i teraz.
Książka ta przedstawia szereg zdarzeń "nadprzyrodzonych", a przynajmniej trudnych do wyjaśnienia, jak np. "prorocze" sny, przeczucia, jednak mamy również nawiedzone domy itp. Crowe prześciga sama siebie w przykładach, których raczej nie da się potwierdzić, a trzeba brać na słowo - podobnie jak zrobiła to sama autorka.
Bardzo podoba mi się ten popularnonaukowy charakter książki. Pisarka nie skupia się jedynie na zasłyszanych opowieściach, ale także podpiera swoje wywody słowami znanych i uznanych lekarzy, ludzi kultury. To sprawia wrażenie bardzo rzetelnej pracy i myślę, że faktycznie Catherine Crowe ciężko procowała nad tą książką, za co należą się jej oklaski. Faktem jest, że niektóre zdania i stwierdzenia współcześnie brzmią trochę.... komicznie, niemniej większość jest przynajmniej interesująca.
Ja bardzo lubię takie książki, a ta jest tym ciekawsza, że pochodzi z XIX wieku! Jak możemy przeczytać w notce o autorce NOCNA STRONA NATURY podobno wpłynęła na twórczość samego Charles'a Baudelaire'a... w sumie to się nie dziwię, bo to dzieło i dzisiaj się wyróżnia, a teraz trudno mi sobie nawet wyobrazić, jakie zrobiło zamieszanie w sobie współczesnych czasach.

duchy, widma i zjawy
Wydawnictwo Zysk i S-ka

[Jake Jaqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised how good this book was for being published originally in 1848. There are hundreds of reasonably verified accounts involving Prognostication in Dreams, Doppelgangers, Ghosts, Hauntings, Poltergeists, etc. etc. Crowe's perspective is more that of early Greek Platonism than conventionally religious or scientific. She was primarily a Novelist and a good writer, and the book's a good read, inspite of her sometimes marathon-length sentences. The book went through many reprints. (It is in Public Domain, and also available at Google Books and other sites. I like a hard copy of books myself!)
Probably most people today are rather "dissociated" in their attitude to phenomena of the invisible realms. They will say they do not belive in ghosts and the like, or telepathy, or pregnostication in dreams, but in the right situation they will _Act_ like they Do believe. Science is no farther ahead in the field, - and actually farther behind - than it was in Crowe's day. In Crowe's day and a few decades later, there were scientific types investigating the forces involved in mesmerism, spiritualism, animal magnetism, and vital forces like Baron Reichenbach's "Od." Science has decided that none of these things actually exist today and deals with the field by ignoring it, or assigning phenomena to various brain phenomena.
Every religion of the world, in one form or another, supports the belief or actuality of an astral plane or subjective and semi-physical world connected with this world. Being subjective, non-physical, or semi-physical, it is something that science can't measure with physical instruments, except maybe by inference, and so it isn't the realm of Science. Narrow and dogmatic materialistic scientific minds will say this "astral" realm does not exist - and will never admit it exists - because they cannot measure it, but a true scientific mind will say "We don't know. It is not our field." Thank goodness such phenomena _Do_ exist however, as it would be a much less interesting and soul-less world without the mystery and hope such unknown realms offer, and Crowe's 2 volumes is still a good overview with sensible speculations.

[Aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autorka tworząc "Nocną stronę natury" starała się poznać i zebrać historię wielu osób, korzystała też z dotychczas z powstałych źródeł. Przy tym wszystkim zaznacza, że ta książka nie ma celu ściśle naukowego, jej celem jest zmobilizowanie do refleksji i obserwacji tego, co dzieje się wokół naszego życia. W książce pojawia się trochę technicznych rozważań, jednak w znacznej mierze są to różne incydenty.

Głównym powodem dla którego z chęcią sięgnęłam po tą pozycję, jest to że w moim życiu słyszałam już wiele podobnych historii. Historie, które dotychczas słyszałam i znałam były to pojedyncze przypadki, natomiast zawartość książki jest o wiele bardziej zróżnicowana. Mam jednak wrażenie, że lepszą formą dla mnie byłoby przedstawienie mniejszej ilości, dłuższych historii. W przypadku krótkich wspomnień ciężej było mi wczuć się w cały klimat książki. Natomiast, przy kilkustronicowych historiach czytało mi się to o wiele przyjemniej.

Podczas czytania książki miałam na uwadze, to że powstała ona w 1848 roku. Ciekawym doświadczeniem jest czytać o domysłach, czy dostępnej wtedy wiedzy. Autorka zaznacza, że czasem ludzie boją się duchów, nie jest to dla nich normalne. W pewnym momencie przyznaje również, że widzenia duchów bywają urojeniami, powodowanymi przez choroby, bądź też są skutkiem eteru dietylowego, który ma właściwości odurzające.

W książce autorka podjęła niezwykle trudny temat życia i śmierci. Przedstawione zostały niezwykłe historie nawiedzeń, opętań, czy prześladowań przez duchy. Wbrew moim przypuszczeniom najciekawszy okazał się dla mnie rozdział o nawiedzonych domach. Sądzę że głównym powodem było to, że z braku mojego wcześniejszego zainteresowania tym tematem łatwiej było mi zaangażować się w tę historię. Autorka wysuwa wiele ciekawych twierdzeń z którymi można się zgadzać lub też nie, chociaż znaczna część z nich jest dosyć bezpieczna. Książka jest całkiem dobrą rozrywką na spędzenie długich wieczorów

[Katarzyna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sięgając po "Nocną stronę natury albo duchy, widma i zjawy" Catherine Crowe spodziewałam się opowiadań które mnie przestraszą 😱 i wywołają gęsią skórkę na ciele. Jak się okazało, dostałam zupełnie coś innego... 🤷‍♀️

Co powinniście wiedzieć o tej książce, zanim po nią sięgnięcie❓️ Na pewno to, że została wydana w 1848 roku. Kolejną istotną sprawą jest jej dziewiętnastowieczny, dość specyficzny język. 😌 Bardzo ważne jest też, że autorka podeszła do swojego dzieła w naukowy sposób. 🧐 Czemu o tym wszystkim wspominam❓️ Bo ja tego wcześniej nie wiedziałam i rozpoczynając lekturę zostałam dość mocno tymi faktami zaskoczona. 😯

W książce pojawiają się wprawdzie zjawy, upiory, 👹 duchy, 👻 zjawiska paranormalne, prorocze sny, 😴 nawiedzone domy i opętania, ale horrorem czy zbiorem przerażających opowiadań bym jej na pewno nie nazwała. 🙅‍♀️ Najpierw autorka próbuje przekonać czytelnika, że dziwne zjawiska i nadprzyrodzone byty istnieją i są czymś bardzo często spotykanym. 😌 Później przytacza naprawdę wiele historii, które są przykładami tychże zjawisk i bytów. 👻 A wszystko to robi z niezwykłą drobiazgowością, co w połączeniu z archaicznym stylem pisania daje dość ciężką treść, 😣 szczególnie przy naukowych fragmentach.

"Nocna strona natury albo duchy, widma i zjawy" to lektura bardzo specyficzna, która niestety mnie pokonała. 😟 Czytanie jej nie należało do najłatwiejszych - przez większość czasu czułam znużenie, a styl autorki okazał się dla mnie po prostu przytłaczający. 😒 Tym, co jednak zasługuje na uznanie, jest na pewno rzetelność, z jaką Catherine Crowe podeszła do stworzenia tej książki. 👍📚 Zabrakło w niej jednak elementów, które zmroziłyby mi krew w żyłach i wywołały ciary na plecach. 🤷‍♀️

[Ben Lovegrove · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting as an insight into the 19th century mindset. The author shares Charlotte Bronte’s belief in phrenology which has long since been debunked by science. Written before modern science or psychology so it’s not Crowe‘s fault that so much seems mysterious to her.

Much of what is described are apparitions seen by people in bed so these can nowadays be attributed to hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucinations. The rest could easily be pranksters or people with malicious intent. The wraiths are interesting. The notion that so many people see the ghosts of people who are dying and seem to get advanced warning this way is intriguing.

But for the most part the book is used as a polemic to justify the author’s religious beliefs.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice Victorian-era collection of ghost stories. Mid-19th c. retelling of a sizeable collection of old ghost stories, along with some theories as to the origin and nature of spirits and apparitions, in accordance with the contemporary fascination with spiritualism and mediums and seances.

[Andżelika · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5