Ancient Ghosts

Algernon Henry Blackwood (March 14, 1869 - December 10, 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The following recording includes the short stories "The Olive" and "Ancient Lights."

At a time in antiquity when most of Europe was covered with forests and wandering tribes, Mexico had already developed complex civilizations, beginning with the Olmecs and followed by the Maya, a civilization with advanced knowledge of medicine, engineering and astronomy. The Maya calculated the precession of the equinoxes and cycles of the Pleiades, on which they based their year, since they believed they had come from that constellation.

Even before the birth of Christ and many centuries before the expeditions of the great Spanish conquistadors, there lived a group of American Indians called the Timucua. Their ancient shell mounds, piled high from countless feasts and everyday meals, survive to this day. One tribe of the Timucuan Federation made its home near the mouth of the Manatee River in southwest Florida. Here, the unspoiled river emptied into the crystal green waters of the Gulf of Mexico.