New Books and Media

From the publisher's website: Telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and telekinesis: these attributes of the paranormal mind are widely dismissed as nonsense, but what can an exploration of such pseudoscientific phenomena tell us about accepted scientific and cultural thought? In Parascientific Revolutions, Derek Lee traces the evolution of psi epistemologies across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries to uncover how these ideas have migrated into scientific fields such as quantum physics and neurology, as well as diverse literary genres including science fiction, ethnic literature, and even government training manuals.

Further information at the publisher's website: University of Minnesota Press.

From the publisher's website: ‘I know what I heard and saw’. It is 1650 and something is very wrong in your house. Pots and pans are flying through the air. Invisible hands are pelting your family with stones. Doors slam shut on their own, and strange knockings echo through the walls at all hours. Your neighbours whisper about demons, your servants flee in terror, and you don't know where to turn. Welcome to the world of the early modern poltergeist. While tales of witches and witchcraft have been closely scrutinized by scholars, the mischievous spirits that tormented ordinary households have remained largely overlooked. This groundbreaking study brings brings together and examines twenty-seven extraordinary cases from 1591 to 1718, drawn from contemporary accounts, and retold as vivid 'Relations' in the style of seventeenth-century demonologies.

Further information at the publisher's website: Hobnob Press.

From the publisher's website: The north-east of England – Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside – has witnessed many grisly and tragic events over the centuries and it is no surprise that it is one of the most haunted parts of the country. In Ghosts of the North East paranormal investigator Rob Kirkup examines some of the region’s most interesting ghostly stories. Newcastle’s Norman Castle Keep has many such tales, the best known of which is of the ‘Poppy Girl’ who haunts a condemned cell. Durham Castle has many ghostly legends and further afield in Northumberland, Chillingham Castle is infamous as the haunt of the torturer John Sage, who would maim, torture and kill Scottish prisoners within the twelfth-century fortress. These tales of hauntings and other paranormal experiences in the North East are accompanied by illustrations of places featured in the text. They will fascinate all those interested in the story of ghosts in this region of England as well as those who wish to know more about its history.

Further information at the publisher's website: Amberley Publishing,

From the publisher's website: A compendium of rare cross-cultural and historical accounts of extrasensory perception Taking readers on a cross-cultural voyage through extrasensory experiences, the author documents and contextualizes these mysterious phenomena. Daniel shares accounts from ancient Greek myth, traditional North and South American, African, and Polynesian stories. He considers unexplained ESP-related happenings, including bilocation, the ability to locate lost items, and early knowledge of one’s own death.

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

From the back cover: What would you do if you had a world famous psychic trance medium as a grandmother while you concurrently administered the work of a scientifically based nonprofit investigating the paranormal never truly contemplating how your grandmother could be speaking with so called spirits from beyond the grave? Suddenly you start experiencing a flurry of psychic experiences yourself coupled with the discovery of transcripts from someone in the spirit world who states they have taken an interest in you and your soul as the one who comes after? Would you believe this prophecy or not? Of greater importance just what is it that you are supposed to be doing which would be of interest to one residing in unworldly spheres? Join me as I am personally deviated onto an unexpected path examining my own life experience while anonymously visiting mediums and sensitives attempting to seek answers and unravel the mystery of just what is expected of the one who comes after.

From the publisher's website: Highly commercial book on unexplained phenomena by expert investigator Andy Thomas, bringing this perennially appealing topic right up to date and making the case that paranormal experiences are everyday occurrences. Every day, very ordinary people are having extraordinarily strange experiences. In one of the most insightful investigations ever published, using the most up to date evidence and refreshingly open-minded approaches, Strange reveals previously unrecorded true-life tales like these …

Further information at  the publisher's website: Watkins Publishing.

Review by Peter A. McCue.

From the publisher's website: Parmi toutes les disciplines scientifiques, la parapsychologie tient une place à part entre reconnaissance et désaveu. En France, à l'inverse d'autres pays (USA, GB, Allemagne), les représentations qui circulent à son égard sont majoritairement nourries par des informations erronées ou datées. C'est à partir de ce constat et dans le but de développer cette discipline en France qu'est né le projet de cet ouvrage, qui présente les différentes dimensions et champs d'application de la parapsychologie conçus sur une base transdisciplinaire, en faisant intervenir une quinzaine de chercheurs universitaires et experts internationaux.

Further information at the publisher's website: Dunod. 

From the publisher's website: Regarded worldwide as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, the Black Country has a long and diverse history, where countless ghostly tales are born. From the blistering heat of the blast furnaces and the deafening din of the steelworks, the spectres of industry emerge. Yet, the region’s history spans over a thousand years, with sightings of ghostly monks and Civil War soldiers still reported today. In this book, author Richard O’Connor travels the breadth and depth of the Black Country to uncover the region’s darkest and most mysterious ghost stories. From murderous villains who lurked along the many canals to hooded riders fleeing musket battles with the sheriff, Paranormal Black Country offers spine-chilling stories for both history buffs and paranormal enthusiasts alike. Spend a night with Richard at one of the most haunted hotels in the country before venturing into the crypt at Dudley’s famous castle and zoo, where exotic animals aren’t the only unusual inhabitants of the ancient battlements. Uncover the region’s explosive connection to the infamous Gunpowder Plot, before enjoying one last drink at the legendary Crooked House pub. Though the collieries and foundries that once illuminated the night sky with a fiery hue have long since closed, the landscape of this vast region still bears the scars of its past – along with the whispers of those who haunt its shadows.

Furhter information at the publisher's website: Amberley Publishing.

Review by John Tate.

From the back cover: An experiencer of OBEs herself, Samantha Lee Treasure has dedicated over a decade to better understanding these extraordinary events. This illuminating guide is the culmination of this research, taking a holistic approach which draws together neurology, psychology, anthropology, parapsychology and religion. Her research has taken her from interviewing Korean and Siberian shamans, to participation in neuroscience experiments, fieldwork with the religious movement Eckankar, a year interviewing alien contactees and attendance at various workshops and retreats marketed within the growing spiritual marketplace. Based on experiencer interviews the author has conducted since 2015, the book will also explore how astral projection changes over the course of an episode or lifetime, taking into consideration generational, cultural, and biological differences.

From the publisher's website: What Lies Beyond answers two questions: What's beyond the functional, mechanistic, and materialistic conceptions of life and consciousness? And why does that matter today? From an overview of paranormal and mystical experiences - in the context of the prevailing mechanistic, materialist view of mind and life - to exploring why the mystery of consciousness remains ‘hard’ and the reasons for doubting that this mystery will be resolved in mechanistic terms, this book aims to encourage open enquiry.

Further information at the publisher's website: Essentia Books,

Review by Nemo C. Mörck.

From the publisher's website: In 2010, a sleepy small-town business plaza in rural New Hampshire rented space to an unusual tenant: a ghost laboratory. The Kitt Research Initiative’s mission was to use the scientific method to document the existence of spirits. Founder Andy Kitt was known as a straight-shooter; and was unafraid — perhaps eager — to offend other paranormal investigators by exposing the fraudulence of their less advanced techniques. Kitt’s efforts attracted flocks of psychics, alien abductees, witches, mediums, ghost hunters, UFOlogists, cryptozoologists and warlocks from all over New England, and the world. And there were plenty of them around.

Further information at the publisher's website: PublicAffairs.

Review by Jeffrey S. Debies-Carl.

From the publisher's website: In recent years, near-death experience (NDE) researchers have dared to suggest that this “out-of-body,” or dualistic, phenomenon is evidence that consciousness survives death, thereby validating the words of St. Paul that we have two bodies—physical and spiritual—the spirit body separating from the physical body at the time of physical death, or within minutes of it. This “spirit” body has also been referred to as an etheric body, astral body, vehicle of vitality, double, doppelganger, and mental body. Some mystics and psychics claim there are more than two bodies, the so-called “second death” which involves a transition from one spirit body to a higher spirit body.

Further information at the publisher's website: White Crow Books.