Dimensions
162 x 244 x 25mm
Illustrated by Andrew Whitson.
Celtic folklore is filled with glimpses and aspects of the darker side of things: innocent looking rocks and trees seen as the physical embodiments of malevolent spirits; malignant fairies lurking at the very fringes of human society; the unquiet and often hostile dead who hated the living with a fierce passion; and highly unsociable folk who never really "fitted in" to conventional society and who had acquired dark and supernatural powers.
So, what is this spirit that underlies much of Western history and society, culturally and politically, at its deepest, most primeval level? How and why has it had a profound influence; and how has it manifested itself across the ages?
This fascinating and groundbreaking book examines these strange phenomena via its traditions and their roots in Celtic belief and by looking at some of the striking individuals who embodied them. From the legion of exemplars, both in rural and national folklore, and from historical texts the very flavour of the dark spirit is captured in these pages by describing those who have been "in touch" with the underlying Celtic darkness - of its so-termed "Otherworld" - and who have impinged upon literature, history and folklore.
This book not only covers Celtic Britain, but also - via emigration of people and their cultures - into rural North America, in order to provide a wide collection of characters who have all, in one way or another, manifested the dark spirit. These folk have also somehow touched the lives of those around them, from criminals to national seers, from tyrants to some who where simply strange, "fey" people.
As we voyage into the 21st century at the dawn of a new millennium, it is easy to dismiss the contents in this book as simply so much superstition and old tales. Yet, something still lurks beneath the surface of what we call "civilisation"; something which stretches back into pagan times, into prehistory - 'The Dark Spirit'.
