New Books and Media

From the publisher's website: Accounts of seemingly impossible phenomena abounded in the early modern era—tales of levitation, bilocation, and witchcraft—even as skepticism, atheism, and empirical science were starting to supplant religious belief in the paranormal. In this book, Carlos M. N. Eire explores how a culture increasingly devoted to scientific thinking grappled with events deemed impossible by its leading intellectuals. Eire observes how levitating saints and flying witches were as essential a component of early modern life as the religious turmoil of the age, and as much a part of history as Newton’s scientific discoveries. Relying on an array of firsthand accounts, and focusing on exceptionally impossible cases involving levitation, bilocation, witchcraft, and demonic possession, Eire challenges established assumptions about the redrawing of boundaries between the natural and supernatural that marked the transition to modernity.

Further information at the publisher's website: Yale University Press,

Review by Daniel Bourke.

From the back cover: The United Kingdom is claimed to have the highest population of ghosts in the world, a fair proportion of which "inhabit" its hostelries. Presented in this volume are over 800 spectrally afflicted alehouses and drinking dens. Within this book are details of these locations, hailing from nearly every region in the UK; while many public houses and clubs have a definite paucity of details, the owners and staff of some others are quite garrulous, even proud, when discussing their otherworldly guests.

From the back cover: West Norfolk provides a rich bounty of hitherto unknown ghost stories. While many of the more famous hauntings, such as Sandringham, Castle Rising and the various tales from King's Lyn are rightfully famous, there is an abundance of other tales. 

From the publisher's website: Wales is a land with a vast wealth of ghost stories, including fantastical animals, flickering death omens and unseen things that go bump in the night. Whether these tales are based on true events, or are the creations of active imaginations, is known only to those who have experienced them – but what is certain is that their power to delight and scare us remains undimmed to this day.

From the publisher's website: Into the Uncanny is the story of ordinary people who have experienced extraordinary things and want to make sense of them. Each one is a brand-new case never shared before; modern day, real-life ghost stories that will make your blood run cold. It is also a journey of self-discovery, as Danny explores what the paranormal means to us and the exciting and terrifying prospect that we are not alone. From poltergeists and apparitions, to UFOs and messages from beyond the grave, Into The Uncanny is a thrilling, adrenaline-filled supernatural adventure. Whether you're Team Believer or Team Sceptic, all you need is an open mind and a bit of courage. So, are you ready to investigate?

Further information at the publisher's website: BBC Books.

Review by Fred Andersson. 

From the back cover: The paranormal is more than just scary. It threatens our normal perceptions of reality and cuts to the core of human experience. This book and each individual chapter, in its own unique way, make this case by bringing together scientific research and scholarship from cultural and critical studies. Indeed, if the paranormal terrifies you even a little bit, imagine the impact on society if some of these exceptional experiences turn out to be true. Truth, as we will see, is often times stranger than fiction and is not so easily assured in our modern world of advancing technology and social change. Often relegated to myths or tall tales, the paranormal is rather already here among us, summoning and sometimes bedeviling us to reconsider our usual ways of understanding. This book is an invitation to just such a journey.

From the publisher's website: Terminal lucidity is a relatively common but poorly understood phenomenon. Near the end of life, many people--including those who have suffered brain injuries or strokes, or have been silenced by mental illness or deep dementia--experience what seems a miraculous return. They regain their clarity and energy, are able to talk with families and caregivers, recall their lives and often appear to be aware of their nearing death.

In this remarkable book, cognitive scientist and Director of the Viktor Frankl Institute Dr. Alexander Batthyány offers the first major account of terminal lucidity, utilizing hundreds of case studies and his research in the related field of near-death studies to explore the mind, the body, the nature of consciousness, and what the living can learn from those who are crossing the border from life to death.

Further information at the publisher's website: St. Martin's Essentials

From the back cover: The companion volume to the first in the "UK Haunted Hospitality" series, this work focusses on more than 800 spectrally infested hotels, bed and breakfast venues, camping and glamping sites etc. It would seem that some people enjoyed their stay so much they could not be coerced to leave in the afterlife, much to the bewilderment of staff and guests. From all areas of the UK, the quantity and quality of the haunted locations vary from simple - and sometimes vague - descriptions through to very detailed accounts from the proprietors themselves. Some managers were reluctant to speak of their phantom guests, while others proudly talked about their otherworldy visitor

From the back cover: Weirdly Queer is a narrative examination of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer sexual minorities found throughout the long history of fringe research into unexplained phenomena. From the foundations of the Society for Psychical Research and sexually-charged Spiritualist mediums to lesbian alien abductee reports, sodomizing cryptids, and queer Hippie witches, the truly queer stories of our puzzling, profound, and amazing world have hidden in plain view, waiting to be retold. This trailblazing journey uncovers a world where genders stretch beyond the confines of biology and the real monsters are buried in the closets of humankind’s darker side.

From the publisher's website: This large-scale international investigation into spontaneous After-Death Communications (ADCs) reveals the circumstances, nature and consequences of these beautiful and consoling experiences. You will discover the powerful beneficial impact of these deeply meaningful contacts, allegedly initiated by the deceased towards their loved ones.

Further information at the publisher's website: Iff Books.

Review by Gregory M. Westlake

From the publisher's website: In the year 1900, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was at the height of his success as a qualified doctor, keen sportsman, writer of historical novels, champion of the oppressed and, most notably, the creator of that honourable, fearless, and eminently sensible master-detective Sherlock Holmes.

Every new Holmes story was greeted with great anticipation and confidence in the knowledge that, however complex the crime, the supremely intelligent and logical detective would solve it. But in 1916 Conan Doyle surprised his readers by declaring that he believed in spiritualism. And when, in 1922, Doyle published a book in which he professed to believe in fairies, his devotees were nonplussed. How could the creator of the inexorably logical Sherlock Holmes claim to believe in something as vague, esoteric, and unproven as the paranormal?

In this fascinating study of the life of the creator of one of the greatest detectives of all time, Dr Andrew Norman traces the origin of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s strange beliefs. Can it be that Doyle’s alcoholic father holds the key to the unanswered questions about his son? What was Doyle’s involvement in the notorious ‘Cottingley Fairies’ affair?

By delving into medical records and the writings of Doyle himself, Dr Norman unravels a mystery as exciting as any of the cases embarked upon by the great Sherlock Holmes!

Further information at the publisher's website: White Owl.

This is a reprint of Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Sherlock Holmes

Review by Christopher Pittard.