Possession

From the Kegan Paul classic collection, this is the definitive study of possession in all its forms. The author begins by considering the nature of possession, its external signs, and its waking and sleeping manifestations, as well as methods of ending possession by medical means, autosuggestion, psychological treatment, and exorcism. In Part 2, the author deals with the universality of possession providing a detailed account of possession in tribal societies, in the ancient Near East and Egypt, in classical Greece, the early Christian period, among the Jews, during the middle ages, and in modern times. The relationship between witchcraft and possession is traced through many periods in history. Shamanism of many kinds, including that of the Native Americans, and its relationship to voluntary and involuntary possession is examined in detail, as are the oracles of antiquity and of the contemporary East. The work concludes with an appendix on the relationship of possession to spiritualism and parapsychology. In the breadth of its coverage and the quality of its scholarship, this remains the best book on the subject ever written. It is essential reading for general readers interested in possession as well as psychologists, social historians, anthropologists and historians of religion.