Is our belief in the supernatural really on the decline? Gillian Bennett's research would suggest otherwise. In an intensive, small-scale survey she interviewed a group of women about their attitudes towards ghosts, poltergeists, ESP, dreams, premonitions and fortune-telling. Their anecdotes - rich in family folklore and deep-rooted beliefs - reveal a continuing faith in the presence of spirits, often those of loved ones, that may comfort, warn or guide them in their day-to-day existence. These personal experiences, vividly recounted, explore a fascinating area of British folklore and throw new light on the way in which factors such as tradition, personality and social pressures can influence what and why we believe. Gillian Bennett also observes the limits to our faith: at what point do we become skeptical? Do some of us simply have closed minds or are there certain aspects of 'the mysterious side of life' that are taboo? Whether they are due to intuition, mysticism or physic powers, many of us do have paranormal experiences. This illuminating book may explain both why and how.

Traditions of Belief: Women and the Supernatural

Politics & Social Sciences

Bennett, Gillian

Social Sciences

Penguin??Books

Don't get in that car without looking in the back seat! Everyone has heard the story about such-and-such, and while it sounds impossible, so-and-so swears that it must be true. Often gory, disgusting, shocking, and surprising, urban legends are central to everyday experience. From high schools and colleges to offices and organizations, urban legends are everywhere. This book collects more than 150 urban legends from around the world, such as The Mutilated Shopper, The Devil at the Disco, and The Thug in the Back Seat. The tales are grouped in thematic chapters, and each entry includes an introductory discussion of the legend and its presence in popular culture, the text of the legend, suggestions for further reading, and cross-references to similar tales. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography and a detailed index. Literature students will welcome the opportunity to read and write about these legends, social studies students will value them as a reflection of contemporary culture, and general readers will enjoy browsing them and learning more about their background and significance.
Don't pick up that hitchhiker! Don't get in that car without looking in the back seat! If you knew what they put in that, no way would you eat it! Urban legends are central to everyday experience. Everyone has heard the story about such-and-such, and while it sounds impossible, so-and-so swears that it must be true. These legends are everywhere, from high schools and colleges to offices and organizations. They appear in films, television series, and novels, and are now widely spread over the Internet. This book collects and annotates more than 150 urban legends from around the world and is a valuable resource for students, general readers, and anyone interested in contemporary culture.
 Each entry provides introductory information about a legend, including its presence in films and other creative works; the text of the legend; a list of works for further reading; and references to similar tales. The legends are grouped in thematic chapters, such as animals, city life, and horror. The volume closes with a selected, general bibliography and a detailed index. Students of literature will enjoy studying and analyzing these tales, while students in social studies courses will welcome them as a reflection of contemporary concerns.

Urban Legends: A Collection of International Tall Tales and Terrors

Humor & Entertainment

SMITH, PAUL

Humor

Greenwood

In the rational modern world, belief in the supernatural seemingly has been consigned to the worlds of entertainment and fantasy. Yet belief in other worldly phenomena, from poltergeists to telepathy, remains strong, as Gillian Bennett's research shows. Especially common is belief in continuing contact with, or the continuing presence of, dead family members. Bennett interviewed women in Manchester, England, asking them questions about ghosts and other aspects of the supernatural. (Her discussion of how her research methods and interview techniques evolved is in itself valuable.) She first published the results of the study in the well-received Traditions of Belief: Women and the Supernatural, which has been widely used in folklore and women's studies courses. "Alas, Poor Ghost!" extensively revises and expands that work. In addition to a fuller presentation and analysis of the original field research and other added material, the author, assisted by Kate Bennett, a gerontological psychologist, presents and discusses new research with a group of women in Leicester, England. Bennett is interested in more than measuring the extent of belief in other worldly manifestations. Her work explores the relationship between narrative and belief. She anticipated that her questions would elicit from her interviewees not just yes or no replies but stories about their experiences that confirmed or denied notions of the supernatural. The more controversial the subject matter, the more likely individuals were to tell stories, especially if their answers to questions of belief were positive. These were most commonly individualized narratives of personal experience, but they contained many of the traditional motifs and other content, including belief in the supernatural, of legends. Bennett calls them memorates and discusses the cultural processes, including ideas of what is a "proper" experience of the supernatural and a "proper" telling of the story, that make them communal as well as individual. These memorates provide direct and vivid examples of what the storytellers actually believe and disbelieve. In a final section, Bennett places her work in historical context through a discussion of case studies in the history of supernatural belief.

Alas Poor Ghost

Utah State University Press

Alas, Poor Ghost: Traditions of Belief in Story and Discourse

"Bennett interviewed women in Manchester, England, asking them about ghosts and other supernatural experiences and beliefs. (Her discussion of how her research methods and interview techniques evolved is in itself valuable.) She first published the results of the study in the well-received Traditions of Belief: Women and the Supernatural, which has been used internationally in folklore, women's studies, and other courses. "Alas, Poor Ghost!" thoroughly revises and expands that work. In addition to a fuller presentation and analysis of the original field research, the author has updated the text to incorporate more recent studies and assisted by Kate Bennett, a gerontological psychologist, analyzed new research with a group of women in Leicester, England. This last addition focuses on the role of bereavement and witnessing in contact with the dead."--BOOK JACKET.

Utah State Univ Pr

Because they are so often told as news, contemporary legends force us to reevaluate life as we know it. They confront us with macabre, fantastic, horrific, or hilarious characters and events that seem to come straight out of myths and folktales, but are presented as present day events. The difficulty is that it is not at all easy to decide whether these often disturbing stories should be treated as reliable or dismissed as fantasy. 
 The legends explored in this book are some of the most bizarre, gruesome, and politically sensitive stories in the contemporary legend canon. At any moment a body may be invaded by noxious creatures, deliberately infected with deadly disease, or raided to provide donor organs for sick foreigners. These are "winter's tales," the stuff of nightmares. 
 In this book Gillian Bennett traces the cultural history of six legends, well-known in Europe and America from medieval times to the present day. Appearing in broadsides, ballads, myths, ancient and modern legends, novels, plays, films, television shows, and stories told in the oral tradition, these legends are not just silly tales which can be dismissed as trivial and untrue. They reveal much about the concerns and fears of everyday life and demonstrate the limits of knowledge and power in the modern world. 
Gillian Bennett is the author of "Alas, Poor Ghost!": Traditions of Belief in Story and Discourse and Traditions of Belief: Women and the Supernatural and coauthor of the standard legend bibliography and reader. She lives in Stockport, United Kingdom.

Bodies: Sex, Violence, Disease, and Death in Contemporary Legend

UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI

Because they are so often told as news, contemporary legends force us to reevaluate life as we know it. They confront us with macabre, fantastic, horrific, or hilarious characters and events that seem to come straight out of myths and folktales, but are presented as present day events. The difficulty is that it is not at all easy to decide whether these often disturbing stories should be treated as reliable or dismissed as fantasy. The legends explored in this book are some of the most bizarre, gruesome, and politically sensitive stories in the contemporary legend canon. At any moment a body may be invaded by noxious creatures, deliberately infected with deadly disease, or raided to provide donor organs for sick foreigners. These are "winter's tales," the stuff of nightmares. In this book Gillian Bennett traces the cultural history of six legends, well-known in Europe and America from medieval times to the present day. Appearing in broadsides, ballads, myths, ancient and modern legends, novels, plays, films, television shows, and stories told in the oral tradition, these legends are not just silly tales which can be dismissed as trivial and untrue. They reveal much about the concerns and fears of everyday life and demonstrate the limits of knowledge and power in the modern world. Gillian Bennett is the author of "Alas, Poor Ghost!": Traditions of Belief in Story and Discourse and Traditions of Belief: Women and the Supernatural and coauthor of the standard legend bibliography and reader. She lives in Stockport, United Kingdom.

Contemporary Legend: The First Five Years : Abstracts and Bibliographies from the Sheffield Conferences on Contemporary Legend, 1982-1986

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

UNKNO

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bennett, Gillian. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Bennett, Gillian

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bennett, Gillian. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Traditions of Belief: Women and the Supernatural

Urban Legends: A Collection of International Tall Tales and Terrors

Alas Poor Ghost

Alas, Poor Ghost: Traditions of Belief in Story and Discourse

Bodies: Sex, Violence, Disease, and Death in Contemporary Legend

Bodies: Sex, Violence, Disease, and Death in Contemporary Legend

Contemporary Legend: The First Five Years : Abstracts and Bibliographies from the Sheffield Conferences on Contemporary Legend, 1982-1986