An Encyclopaedia of Faiths and Folklore

by W. Carew Hazlitt

It is very rare indeed that a book on popular antiquities or any other analogous topic so commands itself to the public, and so maintains its rank and estimation, as to continue to be the recognized source of reference in successive editions during more that a century and a half.

This work is a dictionary of national beliefs, superstitions and popular customs, past and current, with their classical and foreign analogues, described and illustrated. The governing aim herein was to accumulate and arrange to the best advantage and in the most convenient shape as large a body as possible of real or supposed matters of fact on all branches of the subject.

This is one of the most superbly complied works of encyclopedic knowledge that one can find on the subject. First, the scholarship is impeccable and Hazlitt has given us an authoritative and definitive treatment of the subject. As for an exhaustive encyclopedia, as a reference tool and a central piece of research, you're looking at the best book on the market right here.