Volume 1

An essay towards a theory of apparitions / [John Ferriar].

  • Ferriar, John, 1761-1815.
Date:
1813
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay towards a theory of apparitions / [John Ferriar]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/150 (page 8)
    Another great convenience will be found in my system; apparitions may be evoked, in open day,—at noon, if the case should be urgent, in the midst of a field, on the surface of water, or in the glare of a patent-lamp, quite as easily, as in the ‘darkness of chaos or old night.’ Nay, a person rightly prepared may see ghosts, while seated comfortably by his library-fire, in as much perfection, as amidst broken tombs, nodding ruins, and awe-inspiring ivy. To those unfortunate persons, who feel a real dread of appa-- ritions, I hope to offer considerations which will quiet their fears, and will even convert the horrors of solitude into a source of rational amusement. But I must forbear to display all the utility of this treatise, lest my reader should ima- | gine that I am copying Echard’s mock-. panegyric on his own dialogues.