Real Ghost Stories

by William T. Stead

Many people will object—some have already objected—to the subject of this book. It is an offence to some to take a ghost too seriously; with others it is a still greater offence not to take ghosts seriously enough. One set of objections can be paired off against the other; neither objection has very solid foundation. The time has surely come when the fair claim of ghosts to the impartial attention and careful observation of mankind should no longer be ignored. In earlier times people believed in them so much that they cut their acquaintance; in later times people believe in them so little that they will not even admit their existence. Thus these mysterious visitants have hitherto failed to enter into that friendly relation with mankind which many of them seem sincerely to desire.

Genres: Horror, Ghost Stories, Classics, Fiction, Ebooks, Paranormal, Short Stories

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1921

About the author

William Thomas Stead was an English newspaper editor who, as a pioneer of investigative journalism, became a controversial figure of the Victorian era. Stead published a series of hugely influential campaigns whilst editor of The Pall Mall Gazette, and he is best known for his 1885 series of articles, The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon, written in support of a bill to raise the age of consent from 13 to 16, dubbed the "Stead Act."

Stead's 'new journalism' paved the way for the modern tabloid in Great Britain. He was influential in demonstrating how the press could be used to influence public opinion and government policy, and advocated "government by journalism". He was also well known for his reportage on child welfare, social legislation and reformation of England's criminal codes.

Stead died when the RMS Titanic sank, and was considered to be one of the most famous Englishmen on board.

Reviews

[Carol Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't what I expected. Instead of "traditional" ghost stories, it gives examples and information about astral projection, premonitions, and death warnings. It was written in the late 1800's by the son of a man who had studied these events and written about them several years earlier. The book is interesting, but not what I was wanting to read.

[Carrie Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and covered many interesting topics such as schizophrenia and dopplegangers as well as ghosts. Very interesting stories are noted throughout the book.

Carrie A. Watson

[Rupert Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up the 1921 edition of this book second hand - largely because of the author. William T. Stead was one of the greatest newspaper editors ever. He invented things that today we take for granted - such as a headline in a bigger typeface than the story and sending reporters to go to interview people. And he died a hero's death when the Titanic went down in 1912. So when I saw this in a second hand bookshop in Hay on Wye, I pounced.

The title is, in fact, rather misleading as only a very few of the incidents recounted here are about ghosts. It is really about the supernatural more generally. Given the date this was written, Stead uses different vocabulary to describe the things he is talking about. We would refer to Crisis Apparitions, Out Of Body Experiences, ESP, Remote Viewing, Near Death Experiences and so forth. To Stead these are all "ghosts" as they are beyond the normal and I suppose he did not really know what else to call them.

Although it is nowhere stated, this book reads very much as if it is a compilation of articles that were published in Stead's newspaper at intervals over the years - most of them date to about 1870 - 1895, though there are a few earlier incidents. So what you have here is a compilation of true incidents that Stead obviously made considerable effort to track down and get eye witness accounts about. He is also keen to emphasise that the eye witnesses are all sober and respectable persons - including a good smattering of clergymen - so as to avoid suspicious that we are dealing with a bunch of uneducated drunks. But that is all this is - a compilation of anecdotes. There is no real effort made to analyse the incidents.

A very interesting book that includes dozens of incidents that I had never heard of before. £1 well spent!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not Just Ghosts!

Excellent book. It has stories about ghosts, multiple personalities, clairvoyance, premonitions etc. Stories from the 1800s but very engaging and interesting! I love history and the paranormal so it was perfect for me.

[Avis Black · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't get very far into it, but the author spent much of his time talking about mentally ill people instead of ghosts. Not what I was looking for.

[Danice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant surprise! I thought this would be a simple collection of stories. It is a well-compiled book with citations and research.

[Shadarus Semloue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book isn't so much about what we'd now consider 'ghost stories' than what appears to be a late 1800's psychologist's perspective.
It begins with stories of multiple personality syndrome, continues on with tales of and theories on the "thought body" (what we would now refer to as a doppelganger), describes a multitude of premonitions, and only near the end do we find accounts of actual 'ghosts' (apparitions of the dead or dying).
However, if you are willing to trudge through the rather verbose style of the era, it does offer both interesting ideas and a glimpse back into the very early years of parapsychology.

[Michael Mangold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made it 18% in before quitting, it just isn't what I expected. The totality of, at least the early chapters, is about split personalities, all told from a late 19th century perspective - the point being that we are vessels for multiple souls. I suspect this is a build-up to actual ghost stories, but I was hoping to jump right into the scary stuff.

[Madhura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Again, the curiosity of the unknown made me read this book. It was far too disappointing as the first part of the book talked about split personalities and the second about premonitions. Split personalities are explained in psychiatry, and premonitions certainly does not involve ghosts. The third part however talked about some apparitions, but I didn't find them convincing enough.