The Element Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Hauntings: The Complete A–Z for the Entire Magical World

Element Encyclopedia

by Theresa Cheung

This is the definitive A-Z reference book on all things psychic, mysterious and paranormal – the marvels, secrets and mysteries of the visible and the invisible world. This wonderful guide covers everything you could want to know including ghosts, strange phenomena, people, places, events, and ideas.

Featuring hundreds of A to Z entries, The Element Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Hauntings is a fascinating compendium of worldwide paranormal activity, with explanations of strange phenomena from both folklore and modern scientific research.

Featuring factual information on mediums and near–death experiences, ghosts, levitation, telepathy, astral travel, precognition, evidence for the afterlife, spirit guides, haunted sites, famous historical figures, documented experiments, and much more.

Learn about the chilling story of Alcatraz prison and why Native Americans believed evil spirits resided there. Get the real story behind 50 Berkley Square, London’s most haunted house in the 19th century. Find out if anyone truly has ESP, how to identify ectoplasm, and why you shouldn’t be frightened if you see a ‘knocker.’

A complete reference of paranormal myth and folklore–and the myths and legends surrounding ghosts and spirits in different cultures throughout the world, from famous ghost stories to various beliefs and superstitions that have taken root in different countries.

Genres: Nonfiction, Paranormal, Reference, Ghosts, Spirituality, Horror, Supernatural

579 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

"Theresa Cheung was born into a family of psychics and astrologers. She has a degree from Kings College, Cambridge University in Theology and English, and much of her life has been spent researching and writing about spirituality, dreams and the paranormal.

She gave her first public psychic reading at the age of 14 and has been involved in the serious study of the psychic world ever since.

In addition to being a tarot reader, she has lectured and organised workshops on numerology, tarot, dreams and other aspects of the psychic world. Theresa has contributed to women's magazines such as Red, She and Here's Health as well as MBS magazines such as Fate and Fortune.

She is the author of over 25 health, popular psychology and new age books including 'The Element Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams', 'Amazing You: Dreams' (Hodder) and 'Teen Psychics' (Adams Media)."

Theresa’s media appearances include: ITV This Morning, Piers Morgan on GMTV, Russell Brand’s Under the Skin (ep 71) and other appearaences on TV and on radio.

In 2019 she launched a podcast called "White Shores".

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the coolest, most in depth book I have ever read on everything that is true paranormal! I have never read this author before, but I am sure happy that I gave her a try as I was not disappointed!

This book has everything in it including the meaning of every paranormal term that is out there. There is also different true cases of hauntings (houses, cemeteries, buildings, towns, etc.) along with real life mediums, spiritualists, shamans, paranormal research groups, etc.

Whatever you want to know about the paranormal and would like to learn the terms that paranormal researchers use in everyday life, then this is the book for you. I cannot express enough how much this book contains as this author went into extensive research to put this book together.

In the title of the book it says "Encyclopedia" and that is exactly what this book is all about as I doubt there is another book out there that contains as much as this book contains. I was very impressed by the book and I loved it so much that I am giving it five stars for an excellent job well done by author, Theresa Cheung!

[Miron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recommend this book as an introduction, or for exposure to new ideas or stories. The sections are brief and the writing is basic. Despite being clear and very easy to read, this book presents a few significant issues:

1. Inaccurate information. Regarding the paranormal, psychic abilities, etc. it can be rather difficult to determine what, if anything, is "true." However, some of the information does not stand with traditional or generally accepted knowledge. For example, she states that in traditional Christianity, there is the belief that followers of god become angels after death. Having been raised as a fundamentalist Christian, who has since rejected but continues to studied the faith, I have never been taught this. Later it came to my attention that it was a common myth held by unbelievers. Either way, traditional Christianity relies on "Bible inerrancy," and no where in the Bible is it stated that Christians become angels after death. It is generally accepted that Christians have a rank /above/ angels, and that there are similarities between man and angels, but nothing about becoming them. Other blatantly false information can be found under the section on "witch, witchcraft" wherein Cheung completely disregards witchcraft as a /practice,/ and emphasizes merely what is more common, such as Paganism and Wiccan witches. Witchcraft is not inherently a "nature-based religion," nor does it always include worship of goddesses. She falsely states that Wicca is essentially "white magic," while witchcraft incorporates black and white magic, as well as clings to the outdated idea that female practitioners are "witches," while males are "warlocks."She proceeds to mention concepts such as "Satanism," stating that they are entirely irrelevant despite the fact that witchcraft can be found in virtually any belief system, including Satanism. Among other mistakes she makes, she equated the term "occult" with "evil, selfish practices" involving magic. She acknowledges that it referred to "the hidden" and more controversial sciences, but falsely believes the definition has since changed simply because of the prejudices people have against the term "occult." Which leads to my second point...

2. Bias or opinion-heavy. Cheung, wrapped up in her many misunderstandings of a variety of concepts, does not shy away from describing Left Hand Path and certain well-known practitioners as "evil" and "selfish." She ignores the many interpretations and associations with various concepts and instead sticks with general prejudices as the basis for definition.

Overall, I cannot believe that she extensively researched most of these concepts before writing about them. So if you're looking for a simple introduction to these concepts or entertainment, this book could be quite a nice read. But if your intentions are to be educated on these subjects, I heavily suggest further research.

[Kyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff! Lots of interesting material, yet clear and easy for someone who might not have read a lot about the paranormal in the past. I've read quite a bit over the years, but still found new names, cases and information in this volume.

[Hell · Rating 3 out of 5]

May as well have called it; "The Element Encyclopedia of the Society for Psychical Research."
This particular book spent more time focusing on psychics and various psychic methods than it did on actual hauntings or ghosts, of which there are more than plenty to pick from globally.
Instead we get a ton of psychic mini-biographies with ghost, poltergeist and occasional monster snippets here and there.
There's also spoilers, which particularly irked me.
Turn of the Screw may be a classic novel, but by the time of writing this, I haven't picked it up yet though it is in my expansive 'to-read' pile and, for whatever reason the author felt needed, the plot twist was spoiled. I only recall it being that one book as well, despite the plethora of different ghost novels out there that could have been added.
I can't say it was 'bad', but it's definitely not something I'm taking much away from in the grand scheme of things and it's decidedly not an encyclopedia I will find myself grabbing because there's this bit of information I have to remember from it.
Good for those interested in psychics, less so for those interested in ghosts.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in this message in a lot for me but not for me but not for me but not for me but if we do it w

How do not want me if it doesn't seem that is not have to get back in a very long term relationship is it just me if it doesn't work with a good one for a long term disability in my mind the next week I can you give us some other day to be honest with my favorite things I can you tell the story short time I am looking to

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This "review"'s going to deviate from my standard reviews a bit. Back to your regularly scheduled reviewing next time.

A commenter on my other blog and I were having a little conversation about book buying in the comments of one of my posts there. I don’t know about you, but right now I need more books like I need a double lobotomy. Like I told him in my comment, when I went to pre-order Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, I just had to pick up Why We Suck by Dr. Denis Leary. The man is my god, after all. Might as well have the bible. But that’s just my little compulsive twitch for book buying at work.

But I did go into Barnes and Noble that day. No, not to buy anything, at least initially. I wanted to collect information for a post I'm planning on doing over there that my lazy butt hasn't gotten around to doing yet. But what did I see on the bargain racks before I even walked into the store? A slew of Element Encyclopedias, soft cover versions.

Now, I already owned one, the Encyclopedia of Witch Craft. I’ve owned it for years. My mom got it on discount from One Spirit book club and it’s helped me immensely with building a character for one of my books. So, needless to say, I screamed a little on the inside when I saw all these Element books just sitting there for $9.98 and begging to be bought. They're $30 books! Each! So I picked up Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols and Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Hauntings.

OMG I’m in heaven. When I buy when I really shouldn't, I get that tinge of guilt afterwards. You know what I'm talking about. But these . . . these will not go to waste at all and I would have kicked myself in the ass repeatedly had I not picked these up. The Element Encyclopedias are some of the best references for the mystical and magical and if you’re even considering writing anything like that, you’ll want these books amongst your reference guides. I’ll be able to use these with everything that I’m writing and plan to write.

Squee! I smile every time I look at them!

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for anyone who is interested in or new to the paranormal. It's really easy to understand and contains a lot of concise information, covering a plethora of different subsections to do with parapsychology and hauntings.

If you are a writer this book also has plenty of historical accounts of ghostly activities, which can be great sources of inspiration, as well as a lot of useful references on how different psychic powers work; a good point of research for character building.

Because of the way it is laid out in small chunks of information, I found it great for breaking a reading slump by randomly selecting different pages to read, without having to read the book from cover to cover.

[nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

this series is a good starter pack. it contains brief information on a lot of different things, and is a good place to do beginner reference and expand further from there. i'm also a sucker for the format and style of the books - they just look good, and i can't help but think of how good they'd look together on my bookshelf. as a bibliophile, i really like this series.

obviously, don't consult these for in-depth research. but, again, they're a good place to start broad, wide-ranging consultation. not to be crass but they'd be good bathroom/coffee table reading, too. it's kind of like wikipedia - great place to dip your feet in, but it's just the surface, and should be taken with a grain of salt. very useful if used properly.

[Stacia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

Admittedly, I didn't read every word, but I read quite a bit. I'm using it as research for the fiction I'm writing and it provided some great ideas. No doubt I'll go back to it more as it's intended, as a reference book instead of going cover to cover.

As a reference guide, I think it's probably quite useful. There are in-depth explanations and see-also references for a wide range of entries ranging from cultural to religious to scientific. However, it's worth flipping through at random to find the biographies and hauntings you wouldn't know to look for otherwise. These are where I found the most value for my purposes.

[Curtis Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really more than you think it is...a heavy concentration on the early history of English and American Psychical research--with the early days of sensationalist fake mediums, levitations, table-tipping, etc--seeing this as one of the few occupations for women at that time. Also a lot of poltergeist attention throughout the past century--along with a lot of local spirits for different locales, mostly in England. Not just a dictionary of terms, but a fascinating look at history of the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, seen through a focused cross section of paranormal history.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an encyclopedia of all things supernatural. It began as light, leisurely reading and morphed into an unexpected trek through various regions of the world, and the diverse spirit forms believed to exist in historical places. A rich inheritance of spiritualism is at the heart of this. Psychology is also used to explain hauntings, as Jungian theory suggests ghosts are unconscious projections. The most celebrated entries are of poets and other writers who were intrigued by ghosts and unexplained phenomena: James (both William and Henry), Blake, Byron and Yeats are on this list, among many others.

[Adna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very insightful encyclopedia of supernatural world.

[Holly Harker]

Good for factual hauntings etc, but not as imaginative or full of interesting tidbits as the other encyclopedias in the element series.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a very useful reference book for writers of the supernatural who need an introduction to various terms, concepts, theories and famous people of the underworld!

[Ryoukin San · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would read it again if I had the book really love and enjoyed reading it.

[Claudia Loureiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth puchasing. An excellent read. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. Very good quality. Very very interesting. Amazing reference book. :)

[Aquayemi-Claude Akinsanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant book gives lots of details about stories which are telling death within life around the world. A must have for anyone interested in the paranormal would highly recommended.