New Books and Media

From the publisher's website: Do not buy this book if you want to read a biased account of the famous Enfield Poltergeist case from 1977 through to 1978. There are many other choices you could make which will either try to convince you of the genuineness of the phenomena produced or its fraudulent origins according to the interpretation of the authors concerned. I do not mind whether you have a wide-open mind or a totally shut one, since I shall not be trying to convince you one way or the other.

Do buy this book if you want to know what really happened! I have listened and transcribed all of the several hundred audio tapes that were made by Maurice Grosse and Guy Playfair during their investigation of the alleged poltergeist case that took place in Enfield some 40 years ago and I shall present, in chronological order, what occurred. It will then be your decision as to whether you believe the phenomena came from spirit entities; psychic forces; mistaken interpretations; hallucinations; naughty children or any other source you might wish to present. I shall strive very hard not to be influenced by what I have read, however intelligent it might be, and instead rely on my ears to describe what was happening via the tapes.

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

Review by Nemo C. Mörck.

From the publisher's website: North Carolina is considered one of the US headquarters for ghost lights—that is, for spooky and unexplained luminous phenomenon. Nearly half of all reported ghost lights shine, blink, burn, dance, or float somewhere in the state. These ghost lights are well known in their localities. There are scary and fascinating stories associated with them, and they attract many visitors, each hoping to see a ball of fire floating over a cemetery or a jack-o’-lantern illuminating a corner of the Great Dismal Swamp or a long-dead railroad man swinging his lantern in search of his severed head.

Author Charles “Fritz” Gritzner has been chasing ghost lights for many years. A geography professor and luminous phenomenon buff, he has visited the sites, researched possible scientific explanations for the lights, and recorded the legends surrounding them. In this charming and fascinating book, he does not seek to debunk these phenomena, but to illuminate them as a part of the folk culture of North Carolina.

From the publisher's website: During the Cold War, the U.S. government began testing paranormal claims under laboratory conditions in hopes of realizing intelligence applications for psychic phenomena. Thus began the project known as Star Gate––the largest in the history of parapsychological research, it received more than $20 million in funding and continued into the mid–1990s. This project archive includes all available documents generated by research contractor SRI International, and those provided by government officials.

From the publisher's website: The author summarizes the conclusions of dozens of unexplained experiences, such as visions people have reported when they are about to die, near-death experiences, and patients who have recovered suddenly and completely from illnesses after a religious intervention. Nurses have also often had their own experiences in the hospital context, such as seeing apparitions, noting significant “coincidences,” seeing energy fields, lights, or “electric shocks” around or even emitted from a hospitalized patient. Other such experiences include observing anomalous behavior in animals, noticing the anomalous functioning of equipment or medical instruments, intuitively “knowing” the nature of a patient’s illness, or when he or she will die, and having unexpected experiences in intensive care units, neonatology areas, or pediatric or neuropsychiatric services.

Other nurses, who may not have had such experiences of their own, have heard about them from reliable sources who have told them about these events. Clearly, there are a large number of unusual experiences as reported by doctors, caregivers, and nurses, sometimes in relation to hospitalized patients. Although many professionals have themselves been witness to inexplicable events, very few efforts have been made to organize the narrations of these events in a rigorous and detailed manner. It is important that nurses, as well as physicians, be informed about how to respond to patients who have such experiences. This work, therefore, serves as a guide in the exploration of these impressive stories and extraordinary experiences that have come to light.

From the publisher's website: When Paul Marshall began to pay attention to his dreams, he could not have anticipated the transformative experience that would follow. A tremendous expansion of consciousness exposed the insignificance of his everyday self but also revealed unsuspected depths of mind and hinted at a deeper self that holds the universe within. In The Shape of the Soul, Marshall—now a mysticism scholar—draws on personal experiences, along with a wealth of religious, philosophical, and scientific ideas, to explore this deeper self, sometimes experienced in mystical and near-death states as spherical in form. Drawing inspiration from the philosophers Plotinus and Leibniz, Marshall takes mind to be more fundamental than matter and views the basic units of nature as perceptual beings. We ourselves are such beings, striving for fulfilment in a long evolutionary journey of soul-making. Bringing together mysticism, philosophy, biology, and even some physics, The Shape of the Soul offers a deeply integrated vision of the self and the universe. Addressing the mind–body problem, the origin of the world, evolution, reincarnation, suffering, and the nature of God, Marshall delivers what will surely prove an intellectual classic.