New Books and Media

Ghosts and the paranormal have been part of the human experience for centuries, and play a role in everything from Hamlet to Hollywood blockbusters. The evidence for ghosts, however, has always stayed on the periphery of science. Ghost hunting today is growing in popularity and is aided by modern equipment, but it must also be subject to modern standards of experimentation and objectivity. Strange events can sway even the most rigid skeptic, but it’s crucial that we see them for what they are, not just what we want them to be. Whether you’re a believer, a skeptic, or somewhere in between, this book will challenge your beliefs and force you to re-examine the evidence—and fakery—behind modern ghost hunting.

Review by Ashley Knibb

From the publisher's website: Is death really the end? Do we each have a soul or spiritual essence that will journey on once the body has turned to dust? Will death appear as an oblivion or a nightmare? In recent decades – and thanks to sophisticated resuscitation techniques – research has grown into the number of people who have died and then returned to tell us of their experience. Doctors have noted that descriptions of near-death experiences (NDE), despite the people having very little in common, were remarkably consistent. All spoke of a sense of peace, of travelling through a tunnel towards light, of seeing cities of light and hearing celestial music. Some even overheard conversations that wouldn’t normally have been possible. Illustrated throughout with colour and black-&-white photographs and artworks, Near-Death Experiences examines in detail a wide range of NDE case studies, including children and adults, sceptics and deeply religious people, as well as those who were expecting death and others caught in sudden accidents. This thoughtful analysis offers a glimmering of what lies beyond.

This is a reprint of Beyond the Light: Files of Near-Death Experiences

Review by Robert A. Charman

From the publisher's website: Ingo Swann -- renowned psi researcher -- reveals a long-held secret series of experiences with a "deep black" agency whose apparent charter was simple: UFOs and extraterrestrials on the moon and worries about ET telepathic/mind control powers. The agency was so secret that it had no paper trail, and hence no written secrecy agreements. Only the verbal ones, which in Ingo's case expired several years ago. Now, in this era of burgeoning UFO "glasnost," he tells a story of meetings held in a secret underground facility not far from Washington DC, and of being taken to a remote location near the Arctic Circle to witness the expected arrival of a huge UFO over the surface of an Alaskan lake. This book discusses undeveloped human telepathy and contrasts it with the probable existence of fully developed alien telepathy, which may have many different forms. Ingo also explores the fact that we officially know far more than we're admitting about the Moon -- its origins, its atmosphere, its occupants and many other unusual features. Penetration is about one of the means by which we can learn more about those not of this earth (and vice-versa) -- telepathy. Do we have the means to answer some very important questions that many have been asking for quite a long time? Inside this book are the answers to some.PLUS...In a newly discovered missing chapter on his psychic probes of Mars ("9") to Penetration, Ingo asserts that there is a bigger question at play - the question as to "why do mass-consciousness humans, as it were, mass-consciously almost 'conspire' to avoid certain issues, and consistently so?" This inquiry, deep within Ingo's own awareness, is one that he would ponder until his passing in 2013. He no doubt wished to share this interrogation with the world back in 1998, but was uncertain how. Thus to commemorate and celebrate his birth sign (Virgo), we have put Ingo's question to the world by including "9" along with an Introductions by Dr. Krippner and Dr. Mitchell and Afterword by Thomas McNear, Lieutenant Colonel U.S. Army (Ret.), in this Special Edition.

Review by Nemo C. Mörck.

What is consciousness? How does it relate to the brain, to the mind?  Does it even extend beyond them? And if so, might those experiences — telepathy, extrasensory perception, near death experiences — be called ‘paranormal’ because we can’t explain them by any normal means?

Anything with a firm belief structure, whether it is science or religious faith, limits experimentation and a free spirit of enquiry.  I wanted to find a synthesis between these two fields of experience, the measurable and the immeasurable.  And it seemed to me that the best – indeed, the only way I could find out more was by finding people who had such immeasurable experiences and studying them ... - Peter Fenwick

Further information on the publisher's website: White Crow Books.

Review by Robert A. Charman.

From the publisher's website: In this major study of near-death experiences with the newly born, babies, toddlers, and children up to age five, NDE expert P. M. H. Atwater reveals how those who experience a near-death state or other worlds at a very young age are profoundly affected for the rest of their lives, including developing psychic and intuitive abilities, higher intelligence and “wisdom beyond their years,” and a pervasive feeling of being “homesick for heaven.”

Drawing on interviews with nearly 400 childhood experiencers, both fully matured and young, Atwater explores their accounts of what it is like to be alive on the other side of death as well as what makes them different from others, complemented by a deep analysis of statistical evidence from her more than 40 years of NDE research involving more than 5,000 people. She shows how, in contrast to adult experiencers, child and infant experiencers of near-death states cannot compare “before” with “after” as adults do, because they don’t have a “before.” The world of these “forever angels” is the life continuum, a stream of consciousness that has always existed and always will. Integrating “where they once were” with “where they now are” is a lifelong challenge. The author explores how those who have a near-death experience very early in life, or even in utero, grow up “different”--sometimes geniuses, sometimes lost, yet unusually psychic and smart, all at the same time. She reveals how these experiences and their knowledge of the afterlife affect the individual in many areas, including family life, dating, health, education, and spirituality, as well as increasing the experiencer’s potential for thoughts of suicide, out-of-body experiences, and PTSD symptoms.

Examining the forever angels’ memories of the womb, birth, early childhood, and the other world, Atwater investigates the wide-awake consciousness of babies being born, the vivid recall of mature childhood near-death experiencers, and how memory of the life-continuum never fades, nor does the desire to go back.

From the publisher's website: W. T. Stead (1849–1912), newspaper editor, author, social reformer, advocate for women’s rights, peace campaigner, spiritualist, was one of the best-known public figures in late Victorian and Edwardian Britain. This a religious biography of Stead, giving particular attention to Stead’s conception of journalism, in an age of growing mass literacy, as a means to communicate religious truth and morality, and his view of the editor’s desk as a modern pulpit from which the editor could preach to a congregation of tens of thousands. The book explores how his Nonconformist Conscience and sense of divine calling infused his newspaper crusades, most famously his ‘Maiden Tribute’ campaign against child prostitution, and it considers his efforts, through forms of participatory journalism, to create a ‘union of all who love in the service of all who suffer’ and a ‘Civic Church’. The book considers his growing interest in spiritualism and the occult as he searched for the evidence of an afterlife that might draw people of an increasingly secular age back to faith. It discusses his imperialism and his belief in the English-speaking peoples of the British Empire and American Republic as God’s new chosen people for the spread of civilization, and it considers how his growing understanding of other faiths and cultures, but more especially his moral revulsion over the South African War of 1899–1902, brought him to question those beliefs. Finally, it assesses the influence of religious faith on his campaigns for world peace and the arbitration of international disputes.

From the publisher's website: A mid-19th century story of psychic drama and wonder surrounding the world-renowned spiritual mediums, The Brothers Davenport from Buffalo, New York. The author utilizes exceedingly rare source material collected over many years. N. Riley Heagerty unambiguously presents empirical evidence that will render the most negative of skeptical critics into silence. These physical mediums withstood innumerable tests throughout America and Europe, often met with hostility and rejection by bigoted and dishonest disbelievers. Yet the majority who witnessed the many wonders with their own eyes came to accept their experiences as above and beyond known laws of science and elementary human comprehension. You are now invited to witness the indisputable evidence which this highly-respected historical researcher has gathered from high and low, and experience The Brothers Davenport, who continue to stand preeminent within the hierarchy of the most powerful of physical spirit mediums.

Part two of Keith Linder’s, best seller book The Bothell Hell House, has arrived. This true story picks up where the previous book left off. Keith Linder, an IT professional from Texas now living outside Seattle Washington, feels the time is right for him to exit the home many now say is haunted. The question everyone’s asking themselves right now is what happened here? Why is this house haunted? Now that the two independent paranormal teams have substantiated Keith and Tina claims of the house being haunted Keith feels the time is right for him to move out. That should be easy right? Not necessarily. Not only is the activity showing signs of resurfacing. But one question that haunts Keith more than any other. Will the spirits follow him? Attachments – Poltergeist of Washington State has more video evidence than its predecessor. More EVPs. More unexplained audio data. More pictures of what was chasing Keith and Tina. And yes the reason why this house was behaving the way it was and the true makeup of the black wall markings are revealed in great detail in this book. The truth emerges. But at what cost to Keith?

Review by Ashley Knibb.

From the publisher's website: We are at critical moment in the history of humankind’s relationship with the Earth, and all the species that co-inhabit with us. This is a time of climate change, species loss and ecological collapse on a scale that has never been seen before. New ways of thinking will be required if we hope to overcome these global problems and develop a more harmonious relationship between the human and non-human worlds. In the spirit of creative exploration this book suggests that approaches emerging from the study of (and engagement with) the super-natural may ultimately help us to re-connect with the natural, and in so doing develop innovative approaches to confronting the eco-crisis.

Greening the Paranormal explores parallels between anomalistics (the study of the paranormal in all its guises, incorporating parapsychology, paranthropology, cryptozoology, religious studies, and so on), and ecology (the study of living systems), not just for the sake of exploring interesting intersections (of which there are many), but for the essential task of contributing towards a much broader – necessary – change of perspective concerning our relationship to the living planet. The chapters collected in this book demonstrate that we have much to learn from exploring the ecology of extraordinary experience.

Further information on the publisher's website: White Crow Books.

Sarah from Living Life In Full Spectrum brings her highly popular series: Stuff Paranormal Investigators Need To Know to paperback and Ebook! Volume 1 : What the eyes see and ears hear the mind believes .... but is everything what it seems? This series takes a rational approach to paranormal investigating, offering natural explanations for common paranormal phenomena while exploring spiritual and other possibilities. What you are left with is a great reference guide for paranormal enthusiasts of all levels to compare against their own experiences. Delve into the psychology behind visual and auditory phenomenon such as pareidolia, optical illusions and how our brain processes information. This leads us to our memory and perception and how the brain interprets our experiences. This often makes us feel we are experiencing something paranormal, as do certain medical conditions and physical responses to our natural surroundings. Knowledge is power, and by educating ourselves with this information, we can eliminate different possibilities and see what we are left with. When you start delving into what we do know about the human mind, it makes us question just what it is really capable of when it comes to paranormal phenomena.

Review by Vladimir Dubaj.

From the publisher's website: From the US to Nepal, author J. Bradley Wigger travels five countries on three continents to hear children describe their invisible friends—one-hundred-year-old robins and blue dogs, dinosaurs and teapots, pretend families and shape-shifting aliens—companions springing from the deep well of childhood imagination. Drawing on these interviews, as well as a new wave of developmental research, he finds a fluid and flexible quality to the imaginative mind that is central to learning, co-operation, and paradoxically, to real-world rationality. Yet Wigger steps beyond psychological territory to explore the religious significance of the kind of mind that develops relationships with invisible beings. Alongside Cinderella the blue dog, Quack-Quack the duck, and Dino the dinosaur are angels, ancestors, spirits, and gods. What he uncovers is a profound capacity in the religious imagination to see through the surface of reality to more than meets the eye. Punctuated throughout by children's colorful drawings of their see-through interlocutors, the book is highly engaging and alternately endearing, moving, and humorous. Not just for parents or for those who work with children, Invisible Companions will appeal to anyone interested in our mind's creative and spiritual possibilities.

Review by David J. Halperin.

From the publisher's website: Single case studies have a long tradition in the field of parapsychology and anomalistics research. Naturally, thorough case studies do not usually provide hard evidence for the existence of paranormal effects. However, they demonstrate the dynamics of occurrence of such extraordinary phenomena and experiences in the living world. This volume is intended to give an overview of the methodological peculiarities of anomalistic field research. On the basis of historical and current case studies, certain specific psychosocial dynamics and problems in this interesting and challenging field of research are presented and discussed.

This book contains 15 chapters written by different authors on the subject of single case studies. Although the focus is on poltergeist cases, other fields of anomalistics are also addressed, such as the UFO topic, cryptozoology, or allegedly photographic anomalies. 

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