The Gaelic Otherworld

This volume contains two works on the Scottish Gaelic tradition -"Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland" and "Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland". John Gregorson Campbell (1836-91) was one of a number of folklorists who collected and published the traditions of his native Highlands and Islands during the second half of the 19th century and the first few years of the 20th. He was the only one of the group who specialized in the area of superstitions. Much of the material presented in this work was collected during the 1850s - an early date which happens to be one of the two reasons for its value to us today as a record of genuine tradition. The other guarantee of the authenticity of this picture of the Gaelic otherworld is Campbell's rigorous attitude to truth. He had a legal training and, following the example set by his mentor, Campbell of Islay, he subscribed fully to the scientific demands of the new academic discipline of folklore studies. In addition to his biographical introduction, Ronald Black also provides explanatory endnotes and a new index.