Reviewed by Ashley Knibb
Brandon Alvis and Mustafa Gatollari should be well versed in investigating the paranormal. They have around three hundred investigations between them. In addition, as both have had heavy involvement in the A&E television show Ghost Hunters, they have had the opportunity to investigate many places that are often considered to be out of reach for the weekend ghost hunter. The pair have had the chance to investigate many locations such as mental hospitals, prisons, well-known murder sites, cemeteries, private homes; but also, some more well-known locations such as Alcatraz Island, Preston Castle and the South Pittsburgh Hospital.
The pair have certainly managed to gain great field experience, both as members of teams such as the American Paranormal Research Association (APRA) and the New Jersey based team that Gatollari investigated with; and as members of the Ghost Hunters team. Alvis to applies his sceptic mind to research the location in detail and collects potential evidence to build a credible case. Whilst Gatollari looks in detail at the history and finer details of the investigation, approaching perhaps more like an investigative journalist might research a story.
Their book, Elements of a Haunting, is in my opinion structured in quite an interesting way. Usually, from the few books I have read by individuals that have been involved in TV shows, not all may I add, but some focus on documenting the investigations of various locations that they have attended. However, this book by Alvis and Gatollari has added an interesting element. They also discuss the science of ghost hunting, ethics, protocols, standards and technology. This includes a ‘Classification of Ghosts and Hauntings’ which at least shows that the pair are thinking more deeply on the subject than most weekend ghost hunters.
We of course learn a bit about both Alvis and Gatollari’s journey into the paranormal, where their interest may have originally evolved from and why they are so passionate about the subject. As ever these origin stories are important in my opinion, as they can provide great insight into why individuals may approach the paranormal as they do. As the book’s introduction states, “eight out of ten Americans (81 percent) believe in an afterlife of some sort. Another 9 percent said life after death may exist, but they were not certain. Just one out of every ten adults (10 percent) contend that there is no form of life after one die on earth.” This being according to the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California. The latest position on this can be found with a simple Google search. The point here, is that we need to address belief as a part of how we approach the investigation of the paranormal as belief can very much create a bias towards an individual’s approach to the paranormal and their interpretation of the events they encounter.
This concept of belief, in my opinion, can be clearly seen when the authors outline their classifications, as they focus on the fact that what they are dealing with is likely to some kind of entity related directly to survival. It focuses more on describing the experience, rather than defining a source or explanation for the experience. Some of these classifications even appear to define or lean towards a narrative, that in turn helps to establish a ghost story. For example, within class three, we find the likes of ‘suicide apparitions’ which are described by the authors as “the spirit of someone that has taken their own life and regrets the act.” Although I can understand completely where this concept may have come from in relation to ghost hunts, I equally understand that there is lacking fundamental proof to make this leap of assumption. We cannot simply conclude that the experiences of individuals at a certain location are directly related to an apparition we believe to be related historically to someone that may have committed suicide there. Regardless of how successful an investigation we may conduct, to date I would argue that there has been no level of detailed communication from spirit or similar that would allow us to make such an assumption. Let alone add the aspect that we believe they haunt somewhere because they regret their decision to commit suicide. This, in my opinion, displays an introduction of belief into the mix that has created a narrative, which simply makes a good ghost story. Something which is not good science.
However, that said the pair of authors do focus on other areas which do show that they are leaning into some good understanding of basic principles, protocols, ethics and standards, which need to be considered to help progress the field in the future. I like the fact that they outline the immense preparation work that they put into an investigation; the equipment they utilise and the information that they collate. This in my opinion is some excellent work that outlines that there is more going on than just wandering around a location fishing for ghosts. The pair mention looking at correlations between data and questioning everything, which is refreshing and does begin to balance that belief driven classification system. This is further stabilised by the fact that they mention that “many of the gadgets invented specifically for paranormal research are riddled with flawed theories and false positive.” Which shows that the pair have a good understanding of the abundance of paranormal gadgets out there that add nothing to true research.
Once the pair have covered aspects of how they investigate and their opinions on the field; the book moves onto a firm favourite for many ghost hunters out there, the ghost story section. They provide the reader with a few detailed accounts of investigations that they have been a part of over the years and how those have played out. If the case in question was featured on A&E’s Ghost Hunter’s then they provide the related episode details for further review later, which is useful for the reader to gain another perspective after they have read the chapter. Something which I believe works well for books of this type these days.
The chapters on the investigations, are well laid out; providing some good insight to the investigations they conducted. Providing the paranormal claims, the historical research and past stories on the locations. It is understandable why in some cases they may have come to the conclusions they did, making assumptions based on a wealth of local information that provides an excellent narrative, that wraps around the supernatural events beautifully. It is perfect, to tell the story of the location and related individuals as a part of the investigation. To be fair, as a writer myself, I can totally understand the desire to tell the story of someone that may have been the victim of a murder or even simply an accident but was long forgotten until they were rediscovered as a part of a paranormal investigation. This has always created a double-edged sword for me in my own psychical research; as I want to remain factual and deliver what can be proven, but equally I want to tell the story of those that have already left us. It is part of the honour we have when reporting on our investigations. However, it could be equally said, that by focussing on elements of hauntings we have no true proof of such as the stories of those that have passed away; this could be seen as disrespectful. It is often a fine line we walk.
Still, as I stated, Alvis and Gatollari do an excellent job of providing the reader with lots of information to work from, and whilst they do draw their own conclusions; there is most certainly opportunity for the reader to disagree and potentially come to their own understanding. There are also some nice ideas in there around the data they collate and the oddities the encounter. It is a little more than just a ghost story, it is more like a report.
I especially like that the pair bring their book to close with a brief conclusion, that, with all respect, is far from a conclusion as they outline the simple fact that they are only just scratching the surface. There is still so much more to be done by them and the field for its field research to progress and I could not agree more. Their journey is certainly an interesting one and is still very much in-flight; it would be good to see how they evolve within the field, as they do seem to provide quite an honest perspective.
This is a good book for those starting out in ghost hunting, as it provides some good structure for them to follow for their own investigations and offers up some methods to use. Whilst the classification system could do with some refining, it is like one I used many years ago. At least they are thinking about such things and that is a great direction to be taking their own research. The cases that they have shared, provide excellent details of their encounters and to a degree those of others too, which is something that can really help the field to grow its greater knowledge of these strange events that appear to occur more often than we may like to admit. There is certainly a slight paradox in that, in wanting to ‘step out of the shadow of a pseudoscience’ they may need to change their own approaches. If we call out to potential spirits, for example, are we not assuming that the activity is due to spirits, which is following a bias from the outset.
However, it is difficult to write about the paranormal without making a connection to spirits or the deceased, as survival is our immediate association to such things. So, perhaps this bias can be forgiven, as there are still some good aspects to this book. It certainly worth a read, as it provides some interesting stories, approaches and thoughts from those that are in the field attempting to investigate spontaneous phenomena. I look forward to hearing more from this pair.