The Ancient Egyptians and Their Superstitions

Record summary

Nineteenth-century Egyptologists published translations and discussions of ancient Egyptian beliefs about ka, ba, the dead, demons, dreams and revenants. These works matter to ghost-report research because Victorian authors frequently used Egyptological material as historical support for survival claims. The source is a scholarly and textual tradition, not evidence of modern apparitions in Egypt. Researchers should identify the specific author, edition, papyrus or inscription and account for changing translations. Modern Egyptology may revise or reject nineteenth-century readings of terms translated as ghost or spirit.