   there are 9 pieces of merchandise in
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| Ghost Stories, Volume One, Loyd Auerbach. AUDIOTAPE approx. 60 min. $12.00 |
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This AUDIOTAPE is like
sitting down to a fascinating chat with one of my favorite parapsychologists. The very
low-key Auerbach casually relates stories from his investigation files like "Lois of
Livermore" — about a former homeowner who decided to stay on after death because
she liked the family who had bought her house. This story also answers the burning
question: why do ghosts wear clothes? Another fascinating story was about a woman whose
disturbed energies created a "spirit" that attacked and choked her in front of
witnesses. An amusing tale of the living couple who left behind echoes of their noisy
lovemaking, disturbing the next tenants. A ghostly dog who rescued his master. |
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| Ghost Sightings: Is There Life After Death (Strange
but True Series), Colin Wilson, 1997, photos, index, 168 pp $5.95 |
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| Wilson attempts to answer the question, "Do the dead
live among us?" in this fascinating, but very assorted collection of cases including
ghosts of the living, multiple personality cases, dreams that solved murders, OBEs, life
after death, spirit-rappings, time travel, possession, poltergeists and reincarnation.
Wilson jumps blithely back and forth between different types of manifestions, making this
a dizzying survey of the many possibilities for life after death. "The Palm
Girl" case, where a dead loved one contacted Arthur Balfour; Albert Adams, who died
twice during the Civil War—the second time after relating his accurate vision of his
brother and an important fort. The Black Monk of Pontefract, where two fur gloves beat
time to a hymn and a dark figure strangled the daughter of the house. Interesting, but I
think Wilson tries to cover too much ground in too few pages. I’ve read his other
works and understand the connections he’s trying to draw. However, this might be a
bit overwhelming to a first-time reader. |
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| Ghosts!
Appearances of the Dead & Cultural Transformation, R. C.
Finucane, 1984, photos, index, 232 pp. $14.95 |
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This brilliant and fascinating survey asks the question:
"If ghosts are an objective, real phenomenon, why have the types of ghosts
that people see changed so drastically over the centuries?" Traces the evolution of
ghostly types from the gibbering ghosts of the easily placated with a trench of ox blood
to the vapourous grey ladies of the Victorians. Scholarly, yet enjoyably readable. A
paperback re-issue of a book first published in 1984. |
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| Ghosts, A Beginner’s Guide, Teresa Moorey,
1998, biblio, list of organizations, 84 pp $11.95 |
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| This small volume ambitiously tries to cover everything
from ghosts to quantum physics. I’m not sure it totally succeeds (the physics chapter
lost me completely!), but there is some very solid, sensible information here. Moorey
defines the different types of ghosts, and discusses near-death experiences,
thought-forms, psychometry, telepathy, witchcraft, ley lines and mediumship: everything
and the kitchen spook! The sections on the Ouija board and coping with a ghost are
especially strong and sensible. The list of entity types that are likely to "come
through" on the board was exceptionally helpful. My favorite line about the use of
the Ouija board--an activity which Moorey calls "essential trivial"—is
this: "The dead are not always wise." The information on psychic protection,
cleansing and strengthening is top-notch! |
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| Ghosts in the Middle Ages: The Living and the Dead in
Medieval Society, Jean-Claude Schmitt, 1998, illustrations, notes, index, 290 pp $33.00
HB $18.00 Trade Paperback |
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| My university degree is in medieval/renaissance studies, so
I was ecstatic when I saw this book was available. If you liked Finucane’s Ghosts:
Appearances of the Dead & Cultural Transformation, try this title, although
it’s definitely one for the specialist. Schmitt takes the stance that ghosts are
imaginary, but intends to show how medieval society (5th-15th
centuries) shaped the forms in which ghosts appeared—and was, in turn, shaped by
them. Tales of ghosts favored "the promotion of the liturgy of the dead, the
development of piety, the attraction of charitable donations, and finally, a reinforcement
of the church’s hold over Christian society." The author distinguishes two types
of ghost stories: the autobiographical, "eyewitness" accounts; and the reported
accounts—often descending through a long chain of informants. Unfortunately, he
usually paraphrases the stories, rather than quoting them and much telling detail is lost.
Penitent ghosts, walking cadavers, ghouls who terrorized whole villages, unbaptized
infants, dead saints: they’re all in here in a kind of ghastly Canterbury Tales
cross-section of medieval society. Schmitt almost seems more fascinated by his
definitions and classifications than by the stories themselves. Translated from the
French, the book has an incredibly dense, academic tone. It requires careful reading (and
re-reading). I have to admit I had a job staying awake during some of his preliminary
expositions! Many of the tales follow the same patterns of stories I hear today. When a
cleric relates how he saw the luminous figure of a dead abbess after her holy death, why can’t
he be giving an accurate account of a real event rather than some pious embellishment?
Schmitt seems to struggle between his own nonbelief in ghosts and his desire to respect
people telling stories which are obviously real to them. This reminded me very much of the
patronizing Michel Meurger of Lake Monster Traditions, where all lake monsters are
explained away as misperceptions colored by local folklore. I was also acutely
disappointed in Schmitt’s limited use of Caesarius of Heisterbach’s Dialogue
on Miracles, which is just crammed with apparitions and an inexplicable neglect of
Froissart, who tells some strikingly modern poltergeist and ghost stories. I guess
it’s time to brush up my medieval Latin and put together my own collection of
stories. (Let me know if any of you would buy such a book!) |
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