New Books and Media

From the publisher’s website: Whether you believe in them or not there is no doubt that tales of ghosts, strange happenings and things that go bump in the night are stories that we love to hear.  This spooky film includes eye-witness accounts of the girl who communicates with the dead, a phantom figure captured in a photograph and the unexplained story of the church bell that rings itself.  Prepare to be chilled and disturbed as you venture into a world of haunted police stations and ghosts of Cambridge Colleges.

Click here for further information.

Review by Tom Ruffles

From the publisher’s website:

Ghosts & Gallows: Murder and ghosts go hand-in-hand and vengeful spectres seeking justice or haunting the scene of the crime or their killers have adorned the pages of literature since before Shakespeare.

This chilling collection of true-crime tales dating from the mid-eighteenth century to the present day all feature some element of the paranormal. Gathered from across the UK, cases include the discovery of a body by a spiritualist medium, a murder solved by a dream of the mother of the victim, and evidence at a Scottish murder trial provided by the ghost of the victim herself. Featuring visions, psychometry, ghosts, haunted prisons, possessions, and spiritualist detectives, this book is a fascinating look at criminology and ghost hunting.

Paranormal historian Paul Adams has opened the case files of both the criminologist and the ghost hunter to compile a unique collection of crime from British history. No true-crime bookshelf is complete without Ghosts & Gallows.

Paranormal Luton and Dunstable: The paranormal histories of Luton and Dunstable are brought vividly to life in this, the first dedicated guide to the haunted and mysterious sites of these two unassuming Bedfordshire towns.

Paranormal historian Paul Adams opens case files both ancient and modern to compile a chilling collection of supernatural experiences, ranging from apparitions on lonely Galley Hill and the phantom Dunstable hitch-hiker to the haunted corridors of the doomed Alma Theatre and the ghostly knights of Someries Castle.  Richly illustrated and full of first-hand accounts, it will fascinate anyone with an interest in the unexplained.

Paul Adams has been interested in ghosts and the paranormal since around the age of eight. He studied the Borley Rectory case for many years, and co-authored the definitive study, The Borley Rectory Companion, with Peter Underwood and Ed Brazil in 2009.  He lives in Limbury, Luton.

Review by Tom Ruffles

From the publisher’s website: In 1878 eighteen-year-old Esther Cox arrived in Amherst, Nova Scotia, to live with her sister’s family. Shortly after Esther moved in, the story goes, the house was plagued by unexplained occurrences—something (or someone) knocked on the walls, hid household items, moved furniture around, and set fires. Esther herself was subject to mysterious fevers, prodding and, on one occasion, stabbing. These occurrences followed her when she went to stay with other families in the area. Eventually she was charged with robbery and spent a month in jail, after which the haunting ceased.

Was Esther the victim of paranormal powers or the troubled mind behind a series of elaborate hoaxes? At the time of her alleged haunting, the plausibility of Esther Cox’s claims were hotly debated in newspapers and by fellow Amherst residents. In the hundred years since her death, Esther’s story has been retold numerous times and she remains to this day the town’s most famous historical figure.

Includes 30 photos of key locations in Amherst related to the story as well as Esther's family members.

Please see publisher’s website for further details.

Review by Tom Ruffles

From the publisher’s website: A major work by a brilliant young biographer, Muckraker details the tenacity and verve of one of Victorian Britain’s most compelling characters. Credited with pioneering investigative reporting, W. T. Stead made a career of ‘muckraking’: revealing horri­fic practices in the hope of shocking authorities into reform. As the editor of theNorthern Echo, he won the admiration of the Liberal statesman William Gladstone for his fierce denunciation of the Conservative government; at the helm of London’s most influential evening paper, the Pall Mall Gazette, he launched the career-de­fining ‘Maiden Tribute’ campaign. To expose the scandal of child prostitution, Stead abducted thirteen-year-old Eliza Armstrong (thought by many to be the inspiration behind Eliza Doolittle, from friend George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion), thrusting him into a life of notoriety.

Labelled a madman in later life for dabbling in the occult, W. T. Stead conducted his life with an invincible zeal right up until his tragic demise aboard the Titanic. Revealing a man full of curious eccentricities, W. Sydney Robinson charts the remarkable rise and fall of a true Fleet Street legend in this enthralling biography.

Review by Tom Ruffles

From the publisher’s website: A Better Approach to Astral Projection. Experience the insights and joys of astral projection with Navigating the Out-of-Body Experience—a personalized, accessible, science-based guide from a top authority in the field. Drawing on more than twenty years of study and countless OBEs that he has brought about in himself and others, Graham Nicholls shares proven techniques for leaving the body. Gain greater insight into your psychological makeup and strengths with a unique approach to self discovery. Learn to use your greater awareness to build a customized approach to projecting into the astral plane. Integrating his deep knowledge of self-hypnosis, breath work, virtual reality, quantum science, nutrition, and healing, Nicholls teaches you how to move past limiting beliefs and deepen your level of self-understanding so you can achieve your astral goals.

From the publisher: People are reporting apparently strange, unrealistic, paranormal emotions and experiences without showing the traditional signs of abnormal behaviour or any serious pathology. They confront the medical world, psychotherapists, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers, and even family doctors with the problem of choosing the right way.  This book is primarily intended as an introduction and guide providing background knowledge on how to evaluate these experiences and how to deal with them in clinical, counselling, and social welfare settings.

The contents of this book are the outcome of a three-day conference where specialists exchanged their clinical experiences, scientific knowledge, and personal opinions on how to help people who are from paranormal or exceptional experiences within a professional setting. The aim of the conference was to inform each other on theoretical concepts and practical experiences rather than persuading each other of personal beliefs. As a result, every chapter of this book is a stand-alone contribution to the existing knowledge on this subject from a different perspective. Because of the truly extensive overview of the leading literature on this phenomenon, this book is a useful guide for everyone interested in the field of clinical parapsychology, and the concepts discussed can be directly applied in everyday practice.

 

 

From the publisher’s website: The mystery of reincarnation has puzzled many different cultures throughout the centuries. What is reincarnation? Who will be reincarnated? What evidence is there for reincarnation? Roy Stemman's landmark work, The Big Book of Reincarnation, is destined to become the bible of reincarnation answer seekers, as he tackles these and other tough questions about the reincarnation phenomenon.

A self-described "skeptical believer," Stemman examines the best case studies of reincarnation. From the mountains of Tibet to the bayou of Louisiana, and to the Lebanese school where an entire class of students claim to remember their past lives, Stemman leaves no stone unturned in his quest to answer the question, 'is reincarnation real?'

With his scientific approach, the author takes the reader deep into the lives of those affected by reincarnation; children who remember in detail their previous lives, their parents, their past-life parents and siblings and spouses. Stemman also investigates the leading theories posed by skeptics against reincarnation and evaluates them in terms of the cases that he himself has witnessed all over the world.

About the Author:  Roy Stemman is an investigative journalist and publisher of Roy Stemman's Paranormal Reviewwww.paranormalreview.com. He is also the author of One Soul, Many Lives (Ulysses Press, 2005).

From the publisher’s website: From earliest times, people have speculated about what happens when they and their loved ones die. Their views vary from certainty about life after death to utter disbelief. Today, many continue to believe in the survival of consciousness after physical death with some claiming actual experiences of the departed and contact with them of some kind. In an era which we think of as the enlightened era of science, education and widespread secularism, many people report contact with dead. In a survey at the end of the 20th century, 31% of people in the USA , reported they had felt that they had been in contact with some one who had died (Greeley 1975), and in Europe the number was 25% (Haraldsson and Houtkooper 1991).

Scientist, Erlendur Haraldsson, a native of Iceland, sought an answer to his question, “Have you ever been aware of the presence of a deceased person?” In the modern and educated society of Iceland, one of the Scandinavian countries; he conducted an extensive survey. During the following years, detailed personal interviews were conducted with over 450 people who responded with a yes to questions about personal experiences of the deceased while in a waking state. These accounts form the basis for this book. The results are fascinating and make compelling reading.

Erlendur Haraldsson is a Professor emeritus of psychology at the Faculty of social science at the University of Iceland who, despite having retired from his former post at the University of Iceland, continues to be an active academic. He has published work in various psychological and parapsychological journals, and done work with Ian Stevenson and Karlis Osis on reincarnation research. As well as doing work in Iceland, Haraldsson worked in the United States and at the University of Freiburg, in Germany. While in the United States, he worked with J.B. Rhine.

He has written several books including Modern Miracles: An investigative report on psychic phenomena associated with Sri Sathya Sai Baba(1997), At the Hour of Death (1997), and his latest book, The Departed Among the Living: An Investigative Study of Afterlife Encounters (2012)

From the author: Trevor Davey’s new book – Beyond Reasonable Doubt – is a journey through the many facets of spiritual understanding and the various ways the Spirit Realms interact with the Physical Realms. The aim of this book is not only to provide information and guidance (without being dictatorial or promoting a particular way of thinking) but also to generate ideas and thoughts for students of Spiritual Understanding to consider in their investigations. Everyone is entitled to think in their own way and to question, discuss and change their minds as they progress in their particular Path of Discovery. The contents include the different ways that people of various (or none) Spiritualist and Spiritism organisations promote their ways of thinking and their understanding. The book looks at some of the many forms of spirit communication that are accepted and may lead to questions to be clarified and answered. It is also designed to assist researchers by providing them with necessary and valuable background information that should be known by all trainee mediums, speakers and those who are already giving their services on behalf of Spirit. The overall objective is to provide a great deal of information in a straightforward manner endeavouring to promote further investigations, as each and every one progresses at their own pace and requirement. Price: £3-50 plus £1-50 p&p per copy (U.K. rates) – multiple copies for Development Circles/Awareness Groups (at wholesale price plus postage at cost) direct from the author; e-mail [email protected] for details

Review by Tom Ruffles

From the publisher’s website: Acclaimed neuroscientist Mario Beauregard reveals compelling new evidence set to provoke a major shift in our understanding of the mind-body debate: research showing that the mind and consciousness are transmitted and filtered through the brain—but are not generated by it. Following his boundary-breaking neuroscience bookThe Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Case for the Existence of the Soul, co-authored with Denyse O’Leary, Brain Warsmakes a powerful and provocative case against the widely held view equating human beings to complex biological computers. Like Jeffrey M. Schwartz, Beauregard believes that consciousness is more than simply a physical process that takes place in the brain. And here, he presents the evidence to prove it. Brain Wars will revolutionize the way we think about thinking forever.

Is the brain "a computer made of meat," and human consciousness a simple product of electrical impulses? The idea that matter is all that exists has dominated science since the late nineteenth century and led to the long-standing scientific and popular understanding of the brain as simply a collection of neurons and neural activity. But for acclaimed neuroscientist Mario Beauregard, Ph.D., along with a rising number of colleagues and others, this materialist-based view clashes with what we feel and experience every day.

In Brain Wars, Dr. Beauregard delivers a paradigm-shifting examination of the role of the brain and mind. Filled with engaging, surprising, and cutting-edge scientific accounts, this eye-opening book makes the increasingly indisputable case that our immaterial minds influence what happens in our brains, our bodies, and even beyond our bodies. Examining the hard science behind "unexplained" phenomena such as the placebo effect, self-healing, brain control, meditation, hypnosis, and near-death and mystical experiences, Dr. Beauregard reveals the mind's capabilities and explores new answers to age-old mind-body questions.

Radically shifting our comprehension of the role of consciousness in the universe, Brain Wars forces us to consider the immense untapped power of the mind and explore the profound social, moral, and spiritual implications that this new understanding holds for our future.

From the author: James Hutchison, a doctor on the west coast of Scotland, takes into his house a consumptive young man called Dòmhnall MacDiarmid on the eve of the Second World War because MacDiarmid, a fisherman, appears to have remarkable psychic gifts. With a psychoanalyst friend from St Andrews, Hutchison decides to hold séances with his protégé. The doctor’s niece Alison, who will succeed him in his practice, spends most of each summer with her uncle. But that summer she falls in love with Dòmhnall, and is drawn into the remarkable and sometimes terrifying paranormal phenomena surrounding him, with the local minister publicly accusing Dr Hutchison of helping to raise the dead.

Heavenly Pursuits is not fantasy, but a contribution to a new genre of fiction, with Lorn Macintyre drawing on his own experiences through sitting with mediums, and on his knowledge of psychic literature, to create a gripping and ultimately tragic story.

From the publisher's website: The importance of spiritual and religious frames of reference in making sense of and recovering from mental health difficulties is increasingly being recognized by mental health researchers. This book focuses on a variety of broad existential experiences. These are variously termed ‘religious, ‘spiritual’, ‘anomalous’ ‘extraordinary or exceptional experiences’, or ‘aberrant perceptions or beliefs’ by researchers and health practitioners active in this field. In recognition of the burgeoning work in this area in recent years, this book brings together a broad range of approaches and perspectives to focus on an important set of topics that are important in demarcating this topic area. Table of Contents: Acknowledgments Chapter 1. The role of understanding, engagement and meaning in anomalous experience: A narrative review of the evidence from cultural research (Greg Taylor and Craig Murray) Chapter 2. Religious visions and voices (Simon L. Dein) Chapter 3. ‘Sense of presence’ experiences in bereavement and their relationship to mental health: A critical examination of a continuing controversy (Edith Steffen and Adrian Coyle) Chapter 4. Reflections on researching sense of presence experiences with a bereaved population (Catherine Keen) Chapter 5. Psychological and mental well-being in palliative care: Needs of patients and caregivers (Mary Oliver) Chapter 6. Clinical psychology of anomalous experiences: Roots and paradigms (Renaud Evrard) Chapter 7. Health and well-being benefits of exceptional human experiences (William Braud) Chapter 8. Psychopathological and psychodynamic approaches to anomalous experiences: The concept of a paranormal solution (Thomas Rabeyron) Chapter 9. On niches and nutters: An alternative view (Pieter R. Adriaens) Chapter 10. Anomalous experiences and mental health: the double-edged sword (Kerry L. Schofield) Chapter 11. Psychosis and religious/spiritual experience: Ethnographic, cognitive and neurobiological perspectives (Simon L. Dein) Chapter 12. Grief illusions and/or pseudo-hallucinations in children: A “ghost” slips by (Pascal Le Maléfan) Chapter 13. Humanistic group therapy, mental health and anomalous/ paranormal experiences (Alejandro Parra) Chapter 14. Musings on anomalous experience in a therapeutic context (Lisa Herman) About The Authors/Index