The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies

"Kirk is a magnificent dish to set before any student of either folk-lore or folk-psychology."--Times Literary Supplement In the late seventeenth century, a Scottish minister went looking for supernatural creatures of "a middle nature betwixt man and angel." Robert Kirk roamed the Highlands, talking to his parishioners and other country folk about their encounters with fairies, wraiths, elves, doppelgangers, and other agents of the spirit world. Magic was a part of everyday life for Kirk and his fellow Highlanders, and this remarkable book offers rare glimpses into their enchanted realm. Left in manuscript form upon the author's death in 1692, this volume was first published in 1815 at the behest of Sir Walter Scott. In 1893, the distinguished folklorist Andrew Lang re-edited the work. Lang's introduction to Kirk's extraordinary blend of science, religion, and superstition is included in this edition. For many years, The Secret Commonwealth was hard to find--available, if at all, only in scholarly editions. Academicians as well as lovers of myths and legends will prize this authoritative but inexpensive edition.;Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Dedication to ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON; THE FAIRY MINISTER; TO THE GOOD PEOPLE; The History of the Book and Author; The Secret Commonwealth; The Subterranean Inhabitants; Fairyland and Hades; Fairies and Psychical Research; Second Sight and Telepathy; AN ESSAY; Secret Commonwealth; Of the Subterranean Inhabitants; A SUCCINT ACCOUNT OF MY LORD TARBETT'S RELATIONS IN A LETTER TO THE HONOURABLE ROBERT BOYLE, ESQUIRE, OF THE PREDICTIONS MADE BY SEERS; Note; Notes; Postscript. "Kirk is a magnificent dish to set before any student of either folk-lore or folk-psychology."— Times Literary Supplement In the late seventeenth century, a Scottish minister went looking for supernatural creatures of "a middle nature betwixt man and angel." Robert Kirk roamed the Highlands, talking to his parishioners and other country folk about their encounters with fairies, wraiths, elves, doppelgangers, and other agents of the spirit world. Magic was a part of everyday life for Kirk and his fellow Highlanders, and this remarkable book offers rare glimpses into their enchanted realm. Left in manuscript form upon the author's death in 1692, this volume was first published in 1815 at the behest of Sir Walter Scott. In 1893, the distinguished folklorist Andrew Lang re-edited the work. Lang's introduction to Kirk's extraordinary blend of science, religion, and superstition is included in this edition. For many years, The Secret Commonwealth was hard to find—available, if at all, only in scholarly editions. Academicians as well as lovers of myths and legends will prize this authoritative but inexpensive edition. A 17th-century Scottish minister roamed the Highlands, talking to country folk about their encounters with supernatural creatures. This remarkable work offers rare glimpses into their world of everyday enchantment.