Ghost Hunters: A Guide to Investigating the Paranormal

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The Hauntings - Taking facts and information from the original investigation worked well here, I mean, who doesn't want to read about a ghosty nun staring at you through windows while taking jolly walks across the garden?

The book itself claims Borley is surrounded by 'Essex marshes' but that's not true - it stands on a small hill (Suffolk is fairly flat) and is surrounded by arable fields. The "ghost" was slightly interesting, at least, but she wasn't nearly strong enough to carry the rest of the tale, or possibly, the tale would have been served a great deal more by glossing the early debunking stuff and focusing on the manor entirely. Mrs. Piper was the character I found most interesting. She often came off as petulant, but that is because I think that's how Hodgson and others saw her. At one point, if memory serves, James came to his senses a bit and remembered that she was a PERSON. I think it would be interesting to get her POV, but I don't know that she had any letters or journals to draw from. As usual, I'm left disappointed and wondering whether it's just me...I struggled to keep reading this until I got to 60% and then I thought, nah, life's just too short. This is basically a relatively simple story spun out and spun out and spun out and spun out and (are you tired of reading this yet?) spun out and spun out and (seriously, giving up yet?) spun out and... I thought this was an okay novel. The thing that made it quite good was the fact that it was based on some reality, although the characters did enjoy some embellishment for the sake of the story. Obviously, a lot of research had been put into the novel, and for that, I can give it good props.This book is much more sympathetic to spiritualists and spiritualism than I would have thought likely. If I have one prejudice it is that this stuff does not deserve anything more than laughter. This book is an imaginative account of the haunting of Borley Rectory, apparently "the most haunted house in England" and the investigation of it by ghost hunter, showman, charlatan - make up your own mind which - Harry Price. Set between the 1920s and the 40s, it takes us to a world where the relatives of those who fell in the First World War are exploited by false(?) mediums. The mediums who are in turn turn hunted down by the indefatigable Price. But Price has a problem. He is being supported and his "laboratory" accommodated by the Spiritualist movement, whose pet mediums he keeps debunking. So it may seem very convenient when an opportunity arises to investigate a serious haunting. Will Price, and his assistant, Sarah Grey, encounter something much darker and much nastier than they expect? This excellent piece of popular scholarship has been on my "to read" list for many years and I was glad to finally get the opportunity to read it. Blum, a science journalist by profession, does an excellent job of telling a captivating story about the foundation of the SPR (in England) and the ASPR (in America) at the end of the 19th-century and into the first decade of the 20th, as well as the continual antagonism between the founding figures of psychical research and their more "scientifically minded" colleagues. Several times while reading the book I thought how this story would make a very interesting film. But even aside from Blum's talents as a writer the book showcases her excellent use of scholarly resources (particularly the tremendous amount of archival material she had to wade through to extract this story). The Victorian era was probably the high-point of belief in spiritualism - who doesn't picture all those fine gentleman and corseted ladies participating in seances, dabbling with Ouija boards, tilting tables and automatic writing? It's probably no coincidence that this peak in belief coincided with the rise of science as we understand it - perhaps this emerging insistence that the universe could be codified and classified and explained also gave rise to some kind of reaction against it, this belief that there were some things beyond explanation?

This is absolutely not a horror book, more a mystery would I say. A paranormal mystery book. Despite dealing with a house that is said to be haunting was the book never scary to read. And, it could feel a bit long sometimes. I can honestly say that if Sarah Grey and Harry Price had not been so interesting to read about had this been dull to read. But they give the book life. What? People are disappointing? They're flawed and given to delusions no matter where you look? Noooo... it can't be! *sigh* Everything about this story is enchanting. Not in a fairy-tale kinda way, but a ghostly kinda way, if you know what I mean. I really, really enjoyed The Ghost Hunters. I, like many others out there, find the paranormal mysterious and I've always enjoyed reading stories, seeing pictures of haunted houses and "apparitions". What's included in the book is exceptionally mystifying; maps of the actual Borley Rectory, illustrations of the house and newspaper clippings. It's terrifying yet entertaining and I just couldn't put this one down. There's something about this book... I can't put my finger on it, but there's definitely something different about it. And personally, I LOVE different. There's nothing better than it. I love the Victorian period. It was a time of great invention and creativity. I've always loved stories about the paranormal so I was sold on this book when I read the blurb. If you're interested in spirits and mediums this is a must read. Well written and researched Blum looks at the history of the Society of Psychical Research and its key membership. Through their personal stories and obsessions there are many questions raised.Blum counters this positive portrait of a remarkable medium with the more ambiguous and disturbing portrayal of Eusapia Palladino, a rough-around-the-edges Italian medium who was often caught "cheating" during her seances, but also seemed to manifest some genuinely puzzling phenomena (including the first reported instance of "ectoplasm"). The two mediums similar and yet, in many ways, contrasting reputations and fates and Blum skillfully uses these two women as a means to structure the second half of her study. Written in first person, everything we read is from Sarah Grey's point of view, except at the very beginning and the very end. I don't want to say too much about this as it will give a huge part of the story away so I'll leave it at that! In the process, the researchers spent a fair amount of time debunking fraudulent mediums, from the slate writers at Lily Dale (a popular Spriritualist retreat in upstate New York, still active today) to the world-famous founder of Theosophy, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. And yet, despite finding many con-artists, they also found a few genuine examples of paranormal activity beyond explanation. One was the medium Leonora Piper, who lived in Boston, MA. She was a subject of study for nearly two decades, and never once was found to cheat. In a survey of "crisis apparitions," taken in Britain and America, it was discovered that the number of people who had had seen spirits of dying friends or family, when limited to only the stories that could be verified in their particulars, was far above the normal statistical expectations for the surveyed populations. Perhaps the most striking experiments were the cross-correspondance ones, where four individuals, two in England, one in America, and one in India, all received the same messages from one of the researchers who had recently died. The messages corresponded to a specific poem of great meaning to the group, and the communication was further tested by asking questions of the "spirit" in Latin, a language unknown by the mediums who were receiving the messages. So far this is an excellent glass of wine, roaring log fire sort of ghostly tale. Lots of dark hints, a mysterious journal, parapsychology professor and a spooky old building. What more could a reader want? I'll update when done. Regarding ghosts, in the end you are free to think whatever you want, to accept the hauntings as true or not. The way this book is written, both are acceptable. I think this is this book's greatest strength. I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been expecting a horror story. The most important thing is to start reading this knowing this is closer to historical fiction than horror.