Project Gutenberg 2004-06-01 Public domain in the USA. 328 Lang, Andrew 1844 1912 Lang, Walter Andrew Cock Lane and Common-Sense Preface -- Introduction -- Savage spiritualism -- Ancient spiritualism -- Comparative psychical research -- Haunted houses -- Cock Lane and common-sense -- Apparitions, ghosts, and hallucinations -- Scrying or crystal-gazing -- The second sight -- Ghosts before the law -- A modern trial for witchcraft -- Presbyterian ghost hunters -- The logic of table-turning -- The ghost theory of the origin of religion. Transcribed by David Price "Cock Lane and Common-Sense" by Andrew Lang is a collection of essays exploring the intersection of folklore, anthropology, and reported paranormal phenomena, written during the late 19th century. In this work, Lang seeks to reconcile the perspectives of folklorists and psychical researchers, arguing for a legitimate academic inquiry into contemporary accounts of spiritualism, wraiths, and other mysterious occurrences, all while maintaining a skeptical lens on such beliefs. At the start of the collection, Lang directs his observations toward the ongoing debate within the academic community regarding the validity of ghost stories and other supernatural claims. He discusses the reluctance of both folklorists and scientists to adequately investigate first-hand testimonies that challenge conventional understanding, presenting a series of examples from various cultures, including the phenomena reported by figures like the Wesley brothers. Lang's writing reflects a conviction that these experiences deserve attention and analysis, highlighting the shared characteristics of abnormal experiences across different societies and questioning why educated individuals should not be subjected to the same scrutiny as uneducated ones when recounting supernatural events. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 61.0 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Ghosts Parapsychology -- Early works to 1900 BF Text Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: Archaeology & Anthropology 660154 2025-07-05T15:42:28.226612 text/html 676582 2020-12-15T02:57:49 text/html 327785 2025-07-05T15:42:37.095504 application/epub+zip 337113 2025-07-05T15:42:31.328562 application/epub+zip 322282 2025-07-05T15:42:29.983609 application/epub+zip 597436 2025-07-05T15:42:41.735501 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 549402 2025-07-05T15:42:36.356486 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 500937 2022-09-06T22:00:58.338142 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 604830 2025-07-05T15:42:27.495542 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 604608 2020-12-15T02:57:49 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19334 2025-07-05T15:42:41.861473 application/rdf+xml 14590 2025-07-05T15:42:30.613551 image/jpeg 4050 2025-07-05T15:42:30.243528 image/jpeg 246557 2020-12-15T02:57:49 application/octet-stream application/zip 235583 2020-12-15T02:57:49 application/octet-stream application/zip 324897 2025-07-05T15:42:28.277557 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia