13 h 14 minAudiobook11 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What turns a shadow into a spirit, or a strange dream into a warning?
In Demonologia, J. S. Forsyth explores beliefs in spirits, omens, witchcraft and haunting. Sickness, storms and sudden death become reasons to fear unseen powers. Behind these beliefs lies a human need to explain what feels mysterious, threatening or beyond control.
Strange tales meet plain explanations as Forsyth considers fear, fever, poor light, memory and imagination. The book traces ancient ideas into later folk custom and asks why they endure. What makes a vision feel real, and why does an omen keep its hold even when reason offers another answer?
What you’ll discover
- The roots of fear Explore how sickness, storms and bad luck become signs of unseen beings at work.
- Ancient beliefs that linger Trace spirits of the dead, guardian powers and unlucky days into later folk custom.
- Mysteries in ordinary light Consider how poor light, fever and memory can turn ordinary experiences into apparent visions.
- The force of imagination Look at the habits of mind that make strange sights feel convincing and immediate.
- Wonder meets reason Explore why omens and hauntings retain their hold even when natural explanations are available.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy curious history, strange old anecdotes, ghost and witch lore, the origins of everyday omens, and the debates between believers and skeptics in earlier centuries.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Superstition is older than reason
- Ordeals were crude justice
- Astrology flourished among the learned
- Charms, cures and the force of imagination
- Alchemy, magic and the arts of prediction
- Dreams, faces and ghost stories
- Witches, trials and the long argument
- Devils, haunted houses and the world of saints
- How the book's case has aged
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 13 h 14 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 11 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Demonologia in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Demonologia
by J. S. Forsyth · 1827
A Roman general waits on hungry chickens, a London astrologer scribbles epitaphs, and a drum beats in an empty house.
Challenging10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Demonologia is a collection of essays and dictionary-style entries on the beliefs that once ruled daily life: omens, astrology, amulets, alchemy, oracles, ghosts, witches, devils, saints and relics. It is credited to J. S. Forsyth, a man who sees himself living in an age of reason.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Superstition is older than reason
The book opens with a bold claim. The human mind is drawn to the marvelous, and old superstitions have survived even where learning has spread. The author is struck that Greek and Roman heroes and statesmen, in the lands that gave us science and the arts, obeyed augurs, oracles and soothsayers.
He spends time on the Romans. They read the future in the entrails of sacrificed animals, the flight of birds and the behavior of chickens. Kings and commanders would not march without consulting such signs. He wonders how the trick lasted so long without being exposed, and he suggests that rulers who despised augury, the tyrants, helped bring it down.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Demonologia
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Demonologia about?
It is a collection of essays and dictionary-style entries on superstition. Topics include omens, astrology, amulets, alchemy, oracles, ghosts, witches, devils, saints and relics, with many anecdotes from ancient and early modern writers.
Who wrote Demonologia and when?
It is credited to J. S. Forsyth. It leans heavily on older authors, quoting and summarizing many of them, so it works as a compiled survey rather than a single argument.
Is Demonologia a true account of witches and ghosts?
It reports many old stories of witch trials, hauntings and apparitions, but the author usually offers natural explanations such as dreams, illness, fear and fraud. It records what people believed rather than proving it.
The author
J. S. Forsyth
Writer
J. S. Forsyth is the name given to the compiler of this book, which appeared in the early nineteenth century. He gathered entries and essays from many older authors, quoting writers such as Reginald Scot, Henry More, Grose and Gibbon. Little else about his life is certain; the book shows an educated Protestant writer of the age of reason.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
