Fiends, Ghosts, and Sprites - Including an Account of the Origin and Nature of Belief in the Supernatural #249841

A belief in the supernatural has existed in all ages and among all nations. To trace the origin of this belief, the causes of the various modifications it has undergone, and the phases it has assumed, is, perhaps, one of the most interesting researches to which the mind can be given, — interesting, inasmuch as we find pervading every part of it the effects of those passions and affections which are most powerful and permanent in our nature.