New Books and Media

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 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.

From the publisher's website: This is the first systematic exploration of the intriguing connections between Victorian physical sciences and the study of the controversial phenomena broadly classified as psychic, occult and paranormal. These phenomena included animal magnetism, spirit-rapping, telekinesis and telepathy. Richard Noakes shows that psychic phenomena interested far more Victorian scientists than we have previously assumed, challenging the view of these scientists as individuals clinging rigidly to a materialistic worldview. Physicists, chemists and other physical scientists studied psychic phenomena for a host of scientific, philosophical, religious and emotional reasons, and many saw such investigations as exciting new extensions to their theoretical and experimental researches. While these attempted extensions were largely unsuccessful, they laid the foundations of modern day explorations of the connections between physics and psychic phenomena. This revelatory study challenges our view of the history of physics, and deepens our understanding of the relationships between science and the occult, and science and religion.

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

From the publisher's website: A major 300 page photographic exploration of contemporary Spiritualism, documented over eighteen years. With a foreword by Dan Akyroyd, an introduction and stories by Shannon Taggart and supporting contextual essays from Andreas Fischer and Tony Oursler.

American artist Shannon Taggart became aware of Spiritualism as a teenager, when her cousin received a message from a medium that revealed details about her grandfather’s death. In 2001, while working as a photographer, she began taking pictures where that message was received – Lily Dale, New York, home to the world’s largest Spiritualist community – proceeding to other such communities as England’s Arthur Findlay College. Taggart expected to spend one summer figuring out the tricks of the Spiritualist trade. Instead, Spiritualism’s mysterious processes, earnest practitioners, and neglected photographic history became an inspiration. Her project evolved into an eighteen-year journey that has taken her around the world in search of ‘ectoplasm’ – the elusive substance that is said to be both spiritual and material.

With Séance – part documentary, part ghost story – Taggart offers us haunting images exploring Spiritualist practices in the US, England and Europe: 150 of her original photographs, many of which have never been published, as well as rare historical photographs. Supported with a commentary on her experiences, a foreword by Dan Aykroyd, creator of Ghostbusters (1984) and fourth-generation Spiritualist, and illustrated essays from curator Andreas Fischer and artist Tony Oursler, SÉANCE examines Spiritualism’s relationship with human celebrity, its connections to art, science, and technology, and its intrinsic bond with the medium of photography. The book concludes with the debate over ectoplasm and how Spiritualism can move forward in the twenty-first century.

Further information on the publisher's website: Fulgur Press.

Ghosts and the paranormal have been part of the human experience for centuries, and play a role in everything from Hamlet to Hollywood blockbusters. The evidence for ghosts, however, has always stayed on the periphery of science. Ghost hunting today is growing in popularity and is aided by modern equipment, but it must also be subject to modern standards of experimentation and objectivity. Strange events can sway even the most rigid skeptic, but it’s crucial that we see them for what they are, not just what we want them to be. Whether you’re a believer, a skeptic, or somewhere in between, this book will challenge your beliefs and force you to re-examine the evidence—and fakery—behind modern ghost hunting.

Review by Ashley Knibb