Worlds of Fear and Wonder

Living with the Supernatural, Past and Present

Malcolm Gaskill author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Profile Books Ltd

Publishing:1st Oct '26

£12.99

This title is due to be published on 1st October, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

Worlds of Fear and Wonder cover

How the supernatural unlocks a deeper understanding of the past, from the Sunday Times-bestselling author of The Ruin of All Witches

Praise for Malcolm Gaskill: 'The best and most enjoyable history writing ... Gaskill goes to meet the past on its own terms and in its own place ... Thought-provoking and absorbing' Hilary Mantel The supernatural has always been part of human experience. Divine and diabolical forces were as dangerous and mundane as rotten harvests and sweeping sicknesses. Miracles abounded. During the First World War, soldiers put faith in visions and protective charms, and Spiritualists were still believed to reach beyond the veil. When we understand the supernatural as a feeling, not an idea, we can grasp the truth behind our ancestors' fears and passions. In these thought-provoking pieces, Gaskill examines our haunted past from alchemical dens to witchcraft trials, and in uncanny encounters with mediums, vampires and flying nuns. Searching hearts as well as minds, he unlocks the secrets of the unseen world, opening a new perspective on the magical and marvellous.

PRAISE FOR MALCOLM GASKILL - 'The best and most enjoyable history writing -- Hilary Mantel
As compelling as a campfire story ... Gaskill brings this sinister past vividly to life -- Erica Wagner * Financial Times *
Mr Gaskill's approach brings the fate of his subjects movingly to life * Economist *
Simply one of the best history books I have ever read ... His deeply imaginative, empathetic and yet empirical exploration of a past moment of crisis is history at its finest -- Suzannah Lipscombe * BBC History *
Gaskill invites you to rethink where memory ends and history begins -- Dominic Sandbrook, 'The Best Books of 2025' * The Times *

ISBN: 9781805229391

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

224 pages

Main