{"product_id":"9780141958149","title":"9780141958149","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eA natural history of the supernatural from Roger Clarke, lifelong investigator into England's creepiest real-life ghost stories\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e'Is there anybody out there?' No matter how rationally we order our lives, few of us are completely immune to the suggestion of the uncanny and the fear of the dark. The subject of whether ghosts exist has fascinated some of the finest minds in history and it remains a subject of overwhelming interest today. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the first comprehensive, authoritative and readable history of the evolution of the ghost in the west, examining as every good natural history should, the behaviour of the subject in its preferred environment: the stories we tell each other. What explains sightings of ghosts? Why do they fascinate us? What exactly did the haunted see? What did they believe? And what proof is there? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTaking us through the key hauntings that have obsessed the world from the poltergeist of Cock Lane through the true events that inspired \u003ci\u003eThe Turn of the Screw\u003c\/i\u003e and the dark events of Borley Rectory right up to the present day, Roger Clarke unfolds a story of class conflict, charlatans and true believers. His surprising castlist ranges from Samuel Johnson to John Wesley, and from Harry Houdini to Adolf Hitler. Inspired by a childhood spent in two haunted houses, Roger Clarke has spent much of his life trying to see a ghost. Written as grippingly as the best ghost fiction, \u003ci\u003eA Natural History of Ghosts\u003c\/i\u003e takes us on an unforgettable hunt through the most haunted places of the last five hundred years and our longing to believe.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books, Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47071988744432,"sku":"9780141958149","price":14.09,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780141958149_p0.jpg?v=1763656135","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780141958149","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}