New Books and Media

From the publisher's website: Supernatural elements are of central significance in many of Shakespeare's plays, contributing to their dramatic power and intrigue. Ghosts haunt political spaces and internal psyches, witches foresee the future and disturb the present, fairies meddle with love and a magus conjures a tempest from the elements. Although written and performed for early modern audiences, for whom the supernatural, whether sacred, demonic or folkloric, was part of the fabric of everyday life, the supernatural in Shakespeare continues to enthrall audiences and readers, and maintains its power to raise a range of questions in contemporary contexts.This edited collection of twelve essays from an international range of contemporary Shakespeare scholars explores the supernatural in Shakespeare from a variety of perspectives and approaches, generating new knowledge and presenting hitherto unexplored avenues of enquiry across the Shakespearean canon.

Further information on the publisher's website: Manchester University Press.

From the publisher's website: A new history which overturns the received wisdom that science displaced magic in Enlightenment Britain. In early modern Britain, belief in prophecies, omens, ghosts, apparitions and fairies was commonplace. Among both educated and ordinary people the absolute existence of a spiritual world was taken for granted. Yet in the eighteenth century such certainties were swept away. Credit for this great change is usually given to science – and in particular to the scientists of the Royal Society. But is this justified? Michael Hunter argues that those pioneering the change in attitude were not scientists but freethinkers. While some scientists defended the reality of supernatural phenomena, these sceptical humanists drew on ancient authors to mount a critique both of orthodox religion and, by extension, of magic and other forms of superstition. Even if the religious heterodoxy of such men tarnished their reputation and postponed the general acceptance of anti-magical views, slowly change did come about. When it did, this owed less to the testing of magic than to the growth of confidence in a stable world in which magic no longer had a place.

Further information on the publisher's website: Yale University Press 

From the publisher's website: What is life? Why are we here? What are we supposed to do in this physical existence? The Wonder of You, takes the reader on an in-depth exploration of the NDE (Near Death Experience) and the amazing life lessons being brought back. Through examining thousands of accounts, Lynn K. Russell offers a step-by-step explanation of the astonishing messages and beyond to the incredible wonder you are. This book is filled with research that stretches from man’s beginnings and onwards to the future through the exciting discoveries of physics.

Review by Robet A. Charman.

From the publisher's website: In Charles Richet: A Nobel Prize Winning Scientist’s Explorations of Psychic Phenomena, author, Carlos Alvarado, presents a collection of previously published scholarly papers about Richet. Charles Richet (1850-1935), the distinguished French physiologist who won a Nobel Prize for his work on anaphylaxis, was a renaissance man. In addition to physiology he wrote poetry and plays and took an interest in many topics including pacifism, eugenics, philosophy, psychology and psychical research, which he referred to as metapsychics—the subject of this book. Richet, in his role of psychical researcher, investigated ESP, mental and physical mediumship, survival of death and hypnosis. While never publically accepting survival and communication with discarnate entities, he became fully immersed in the phenomena and wrote in a letter to British physicist, Oliver Lodge, who had accepted it, “Without being resolutely spiritist in the sense of Conan Doyle and Allan Kardec, I gradually get closer to your ideas. I say to you—which is absolutely true—that your deep and scientific conviction had great influence, a very great influence.”

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

Review by Nemo C. Mörck.

From the publisher's website: This book takes you on a personal journey to both outer space and inner space. As your guide, the author, introduces you to astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon. You will gain personal insights into Mitchell's life, work, and personality and you will witness the 40 year friendship that formed between a moonwalker and a cleric from 1972 until Mitchell's death in 2016. 

From the publisher's website: Dive into the ghostly world of the supernatural with America’s leading paranormal investigator Inside, paranormal investigator, star, and executive producer of The Travel Channel's hit series, Ghost Adventures and founder of the award-winning Haunted Museum (Las Vegas’ most popular attraction), Zak Bagans takes readers on an exciting journey into the supernatural world. With insider information on the history of ghost-hunting to learning about ghosts with all kinds of temperaments, Ghost-Hunting For Dummies is peppered with true accounts and stories from Bagans' famous cases and investigations.

Review by Steven Parsons

From the publisher's website: Since our very beginnings, human beings from all civilisations across the globe have encountered the Others – intelligent, self-motivated beings that are clearly not human in their origins. This book offers the most comprehensive survey ever made of such otherworldly visitors, from gods, angels, demons and djinns to hobgoblins, poltergeists and ghosts to UFOs and aliens. In addition to fully detailing the history of these encounters, the book attempts a bold explanation (never before undertaken) of the true nature of these beings. The book will explore the increasingly frequent “entheogen” encounters facilitated by substances such as dimethyltryptamine, ayahuasca, 5-Meo-DMT and LSD, as well as the beings encountered by individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s-related Charles Bonnet Syndrome, young children’s non-corporeal companions, and the seemingly independent beings met during lucid dreaming and near-death and out-of-body experiences.

Further information on the publisher's website: Watkins. 

From the publisher's website:The New Prometheans traces the evolution of psychical research through the intertwining biographies of four men: chemist Sir William Crookes, depth psychologist Frederic Myers, ether physicist Sir Oliver Lodge, and anthropologist Andrew Lang. All past presidents of the society, these men brought psychical research beyond academic circles and into the public square, making it part of a shared, far-reaching examination of science and society. By layering their papers, textbooks, and lectures with more intimate texts like diaries, letters, and literary compositions, Courtenay Raia returns us to a critical juncture in the history of secularization, the last great gesture of reconciliation between science and sacred truths.

Further information on the publisher's website: University of Chicago Press.

From the publisher's website: After a period of strong skepticism among writers and intellectuals regarding the reality of ghosts, the Victorian era (1837-1901) revitalized interest in seriously exploring houses and other locations alleged to be haunted. The paranormal investigators, including Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle, chronicled their methods and discoveries. Equipped with little more than candles, patience, and perhaps a flask of brandy, these men and women laid a foundation for the ghost hunters of today.

The Victorian Ghost Hunter’s Casebook presents some of the most intriguing, most frightening, and most charming of the chronicles left behind. Ghostlore scholar Tim Prasil provides an Introduction about what motivated the Victorians to investigate spectral manifestations, along with the history of ghost hunters that preceded them. He also provides enlightening details on twelve ghostly cases located in Britain, and an Appendix with two more ghost hunts held in the United States during the Victorian era.

Further information on the publisher's website: Brom Bones Books.

Review by Ciaran Farrell.

From the back cover: Britain has long been regarded as a haunted land. Tales of apparitions, supernatural manifestations and earthbound spirits are commonplace. But are there such things as ghosts? John West firmly believes that they do exist. Within this book you will find some of the stranger and more terrifying cases from Britain's ghostly past. These tales of terror make for chilling reading and will give even the most hardened sceptic pause for thought. Here you will discover a phantom butterfly, Roman soldiers in a cellar, hooded monks, a murderer or two, haunted churches, a pair of hairy hands on a lonely road and an Egyptian curse. You'll meet a sinister half-wolf, half-man creature, a vampire and even an amorous spectral naked lady who once took a fancy to a country vicar! After reading this book, you may even find yourself agreeing with the author's belief that Britain is the most haunted place on earth.

Review by Chris Phillips.

From the back cover: If you could ask a ghost any question, what would it be? Have you thought about ghost hunting? Do you dream of exploring a haunted locale but don't know where to start? Want to learn more about ghost hunting, but you don't understand all of the paranormal lingo? The excitement of ghost hunting is enticing people all over the world. Whether it’s solving the mystery of the afterlife or the allure of the unknown, the paranormal field teases us just enough to want to dive in head-on. But exploring the paranormal can also be overwhelming and confusing. In this book, you will learn about multiple areas of the paranormal from ghost hunting, research, evidence review, equipment, to what to do when you encounter a ghost. Join Alex Matsuo, respected paranormal researcher and leader in the ghost hunting field, as she walks you through the basics of becoming a ghost hunter. Alex is known for her balance of skepticism, belief, and rigorous research. You can apply her strategies to your paranormal experience with this how-to manual. Are you brave enough to take the plunge?

From the back cover: If there is a heaven, as countless Near-Death Experiences suggest, shouldn’t modern science be able to identify its existence? This is the central question with which historian Dr. Jean-Pierre Isbouts embarked on an ambitious research project at Fielding Graduate University, drawing from quantum physics, neuroscience, astrophysics, electromagnetic energy, Asian health practices, faith traditions, and psychic observations. Written in the engaging style that made him a bestselling National Geographic author, Dr. Isbouts guides the reader step by step through the evidence while building an operational model of the afterlife. In the last chapter, he compares this model to Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhists concepts of heaven, concluding that our religious ideas have much more in common than we realize.Immersive, witty, and illustrated with astonishing observations by the renowned British psychic Sue Dunderdale Jones, 

Review by Robert A. Charman.