Ghosts I Have Seen

What It's About

A memoir of the supernatural, in which the author describes the ghosts and psychic phenomena she says she encountered over a lifetime. It opens with her childhood, when she and her brother were disturbed by two household presences she nicknamed "Silk Dress" and "Rumpus". It goes on to apparitions, haunted bedrooms and houses, and other unexplained events. Between the ghost stories she steps back to reflect on spiritualism, the nature of the soul and the possibility of life after death.

Key Concepts

The book treats ghosts as evidence of spiritual continuity after death, an outlook shaped by the spiritualist and Theosophical circles of its day. Its tone is that of a sincere personal witness rather than a skeptical investigator, so the accounts rest on the author's own testimony. Readers who come for the ghost stories may find that much of the book is given over to mystical musings, which some find uneven and others find the most distinctive part.

About the Author

Violet Tweedale (née Chambers, 1862–1936) was a Scottish author, poet and spiritualist. She was born in Edinburgh into the Chambers publishing family and helped with the family's journal as a young woman. She later moved in literary and artistic circles in London and became involved in Theosophy and the occult revival of her era.