The book 1) reveals the true nature of medieval belief in the Double of the Soul, 2) demonstrates the survival of a pagan belief that each individual ownsthree souls, including a double that can journey outside the physicalbody and 3) explains the nature of death and the Other World hiddenbeneath the monsters and superstitions in stories from the Middle Ages.

Monsters,werewolves, witches, and fairies remain a strong presence in ourstories and dreams. But as Claude Lecouteux shows, their roots go fardeeper than their appearance in medieval folklore; they are survivors ofa much older belief system that predates Christianity and waswidespread over Western Europe. Through his extensive analysis ofGermano-Scandinavian legends, as well as those from other areas ofEurope, Lecouteux has uncovered an almost forgotten religious concept:that every individual owns three souls and that one of these souls, theDouble, can—in animal or human form—leave the physical body while insleep or a trance, journey where it chooses, then reenter its physicalbody. While there were many who experienced this phenomenoninvoluntarily, there were others—those who attracted the unwelcomepersecution of the Church—who were able to provoke it at will: witches.

Ina thorough excavation of the medieval soul, Claude Lecouteux revealsthe origin and significance of this belief in the Double, and followsits transforming features through the ages. He shows that far from beingfantasy or vague superstition, fairies, witches, and werewolves alltestify to a consistent ancient vision of our world and the worldbeyond.