And the belief long prevailed that after death the soul or spirit remained with the body in the place where it lay, leaving the body and returning to it as the spirit was held to do in sleep.

The spirit was also thought to be able to quit the body and enter any other body, both during life and after death; most of the beliefs in spirit-possession and many of those about the power of witches arise from this view.

The soul or spirit was commonly conceived of in concrete form; the Egyptians, Greeks and Hindus thought of it as a little mannikin inside the body.

After death the Hindus often break the skull in order to allow the soul to escape.

Often an insect or a stone is thought to harbour the spirit.