THE SCENE: The Archbishop of Uppsala describes the ghosts of Iceland, who were apparently so life-like that you could encounter a ghost and not know it.
THE TEXT: Praise is due to this Island [Iceland] for its unusual marvels. It contains a rock or promontory, as I mentioned in the last chapter, which, like Etna, seethes with perpetual fires. It is believed that a place of punishment and expiation exists there for unclean souls. Undoubtedly the spirits or ghosts of the drowned, or of those who have met some other violent death, are to be seen there exhibiting themselves in human occupations. These spectres make those who are ignorant of their death receive them as though they were alive and offer their right hands; nor is the mistake detected before the shades have vanished.
– A Description of the Northern People, Olaus Magnus, 16th Century AD
