Phantasms of the Living, published in 1886, which embodies much of the early work of the Society for Psychical Research, and in particular much valuable discussion by its earliest honorary secretary, Edmund Gurney, has long been out of print. But as its value has been but little affected by subsequent investigations, and it still forms the basis on which much of the present-day work on telepathy, and especially on apparitions, rests, it is thought that a new edition is likely to be appreciated by the public. Had the authors been with us still, a new edition would no doubt have been brought up to date. New evidence would have been included, and the discussion might perhaps have been added to or diminished, to suit the new atmosphere which the book itself has helped to create.