True stories of seasonal ghost hoaxes and strange phantom panics from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, ghost hoaxes (dressing in a white sheet or a more elaborate costume) and scaring people were rife but seldom studied or written about. These hoaxes frequently led to impromptu ghost hunts by hundreds, sometimes thousands of often drunk vigilantes (and hysterical panics) as rumours of the supposed ghosts would spread round the community. Many of these ghost scares occurred during the Christmas and New Year periods, and this book explores twelve little-known episodes. Comical but sometimes dark and tragic with entertaining elements of horror and the bizarre, these true Christmas ‘ghost’ stories combine spooky local legends, mischievous hoaxes, and comical ghost hunts. At the same time, dour psychic investigators compete with whimsical spiritualists and ghost flashmobs. A unique Christmas book, this is an ideal holiday gift for those interested in ghosts and other fortean phenomena, as well as weird histories and social panics.