Morris M. Faierstein is an independent scholar. His previous books include Jewish Mystical Autobiographies: Book of Visions and Book of Secrets and The Early Modern Yiddish Bible: From the Mirkevet ha-Mishneh to Blitz and Witzenhausen.

"This book offers an excellent overview of the development of the dybbuk phenomenon in Jewish history, bringing to light new primary sources that expand on what has been published on the concept to date. Through superb translations of valuable literary accounts, Faierstein opens up novel, engaging, and highly entertaining narratives to English-speaking readers." - Andrea Gondos, author of Kabbalah in Print: The Study and Popularization of Jewish Mysticism in Early Modernity

"This wonderful book collects and explores, for the first time, the full spectrum of Jewish sources on the dybbuk. The author seeks to understand why and how this phenomenon emerged in sixteenth-century Safed, examining earlier roots and tracing the reception history of the dybbuk into early Hasidism. The book's scope, the huge number of sources included (in translation, some for the first time), and the synchronic history of the dybbuk in Jewish writings are all significant strengths." - Ariel Evan Mayse, Stanford University