A devil sits at a work bench, using various tools while witches look on from behind.

Occult

An animated horse shoe wards away a cluster of devils and witches.

From Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, ghost stories and tales of the paranormal were popular in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British media.

Although industrialization sparked interest in secular sciences, spirituality and superstition were still deeply ingrained in British culture. Many popular pieces of media sought to navigate the cultural conflict between secular science and traditional spirituality, such as Sir Walter Scott’s Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft, for which George Cruikshank provided illustrations. In some cases, though, depictions of angels and devils provided a way to explain the annoyances of everyday life. Items within this collection speak to the otherworldly nature of Cruikshank’s illustrative career, exploring his devils, spirits, ghosts, and witches.

Click on the image icons below to learn more about each illustration: 

Dozens of fairies drag a man through the air and over rooftops.
A man lies petrified in his hammock as a wind monster points down at him with a ghastly face and a sign that reads “Ann Dobbs.”
Title page for “The Greatest Plague of Life.” A devilish woman fans a fire as several small spirits fly within the smoke of the flame.
Two men stand outside on a dark and windy night by a road sign. Under the sign stands a ghostly drummer with white eyes.
Three witches fly on brooms in a house, much to the surprise of the three men who enter through the door to see them.
A standing man attempts to shave the beard of a sitting ghost covered in shaving cream.
Captioned "A Discovery Concerning Ghosts," A suit of armor stands tall and holds a rod, though no one appears to be inside of it.
A well-dressed man with a sword decapitates a host of other well-dressed men in an ornate party-hall.