Entertaining and of high quality

This is a very enjoyable book. The photos are varied and highly intriguing. A few are famous ones and one or two thought to be fakes, whereas others are simply mysteries, with it seeming highly likely in many that a ghost really has been caught on film. The narration is excellent too; just the right length to read bit at a time, with intelligent analysis and historical background. All in all this is a super book and one which turned out to be even better than I had expected. Great fun, and eerie to boot!

Enchantment of the Faerie Realm was

a very good book with a lot of helpful information on faeries and other elemental beings. I highly recomend this book to anyone interested in faeries.

NOT AT ALL WHAT IT PROMISES TO BE..

`EVERYDAY PEOPLE` JUST HAPPEN TO BE THE WRITER`S FRIENDS AND RELATIONS, WORKMATES ETC - AND PERSONALLY I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT ONE PERSON CAN KNOW SO MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD A GHOSTLY ENCOUNTER...<br />THE BOOK IS VERY SHORT - NOT MUCH IN IT REALLY - DEFINATELY NOT WORTH THE MONEY. <br />THUMBS DOWN.

Hidden Records review by N & L KW

We found this book riveting and a true insight into our likely origins. The time & effort Wayne & Birgit have spent unlocking the secrets and clues to a visit(s) by other life forms far more advanced than ourselves is awe inspiring.<br />Their correlation of the links between the pyramids and the brighter stars of the Milky Way to form a"star map" are very convincing and show what almost certainly took place thousands of years ago when we seem to have been visited and influenced by beings from outer space.<br />This is a must read. It is also sure to have the learned scholars in this field doind a double take or running for shelter.<br />Amongst the best investigations into our past that we have come across. Well done W & B<br />Dn & Et K-W

Well worth a look

I liked this book. I do have quite a number of ghost books but was particulary pleased with this one. The author didn't trot out a lot of time worn, much repeated old chestnuts as is common in others of this type. Could be because they are American and I was not familiar with them, but it was still refreshing. A good bedside standby as the stories are short and it is easy to dip in and out. Also liked that websites and contacts are included so should you feel the urge, you could visit or stay at some of the haunted locations written about. Well worth the money and well written

Eyeopener

A complete eyeopener regarding Elemantals and Nature, someone who spent months talking to them! Excellent.

Not at all what i expected...

I expected a ghost story. I expected to be at least a little bit scared. Neither of these two things happened.<br />There seems to be a feasible explanation for everything `ghostly` that happens in this book, while some things are just TOO unbelievable - i mean, come on - trees don`t just sprout out of the ground and grow several feet high overnight - do they..? I don`t suppose the neighbour who had been there since `the beginning` could have had anything to do with any of the strange happenings....? No....?<br />I`m not so sure.<br />Not recommended as a ghost story.

Frightening....

<br />I'm as open-minded as the next person and have always had an interest in things that go 'bump' in the night, thought to be honest i've never actually believed they really existed.<br /><br />After reading this excellent book I can confirm that I still don't believe in ghosts, vampires, ghouls, zombies, werewolves or other night-crawlers but thats exactly what I enjoyed about this book: It never tries to convince you that these creatures do exist.<br /><br />The book simply tells you the history surrounding these ancient evils and where the legends, stories and tales originate from and how they were shaped into the familiar monsters we know and love today such as the dread vampire Dracula. The author is always very careful to look at the information he has objectively and staunchly sits on the fence...which I think is very important in order to maintain credibility.<br /><br />The book isn't layed out as an 'encyclopedia' in the strictest sense. Its more of a collection of stories and ancient anecdotes created by a deeply religious and Superstitious population hundreds of years ago (as well as a few more recent tales) you get the impression that it was mostly fear that created these tales rather than the actual 'truth'. Even the so-called 'confessions' of the unfortunate people accused of being werewolves were always extracted after prolonged and brutal torture. I would think after which, you'd happily confess to anything just to end the pain.<br /><br />All in all a very interesting and entertaining book which I would recommend to anyone with an interest in learning more about the myths and truths surrounding the undead and their origins, some of which are very surprising...<br /><br />The only way I would improve the book would be to add more pictures and make them colour rather than black and white

very readable guide to the vampire legend.

As a guide to the vampire legend in folklore, and the history of some real-life"vampires" then I recommend this as a good starting-point. I found it very readable, and it was refreshing that he didn't seem remotely impressed by people who try to claim to be immortal blood-drinkers, which meant that the book wasn't clogged up with fantasists trying desperately to impress us that they're"different" somehow. The people who do claim to be mortal blood-drinkers are handled with sensitivity and restraint, and their case-histories make for fascinating reading.

The author cuts through all the tosh that has grown up around the vampire legend in recent decades, thanks to Hollywood, Anne Rice etc, and makes it clear that the original vampires of ancient folklore were not suave aristocrats in capes, but grotesque graveyard ghouls. He highlights how there are vampire legends in ancient folklore from all over the world, and describes some of the more famous historical"vampires", such as Vlad the Impaler and Elizabeth Bathory. Unfortunately he doesn't go into much detailed analysis of these people, but there are other books on the market for readers who want to go into that further (I can recommend any of Colin Wilson's true crime books). I will take exception to him including Haigh, the British acid-bath murderer of the 1940s, in amongst the historical vampires. It is largely accepted that Haigh only bragged about drinking his victims' blood to try and escape the hangman on an insanity plea. (It didn't work).

The book is rounded off with a section on psychic vampires, people who, either deliberately or unintentionally, drain other people's emotional energy. This is a fascinating area, as I think most of us have come across people like that at some time or another. The author though tries to tie it in with the common phenomenon of sleep paralysis, and the night hag visitations, and I didn't find this terribly convincing. Nevertheless, this book is highly recommended for anyone interested in the vampire legend.

not what I thought

I purchased this book after placing another's title wrong in the search engine. Not what I thought it would be but none the less interesting read if you believing in the spirit world. I have yet to see proof but like so many others fascinated by it. A house full of whispers was my target and I thought that was a more intriguing read and a lot more scary even though it dealt with living breathing people. I remember a saying that was once told to me. It's not the dead you should fear, but the living. In this instance I realised what that saying meant.

Vampires

Probably since the beginning of time, humans have wondered about death. Foremost in our ponderings is the key question of what happens to the dead after they pass from our world. Though our modern perception of the afterlife tends to be fairly positive with various versions of a perfect place where the good are rewarded for their behaviour, this attitude has not always been prevalent. <br /><br />In nearly every country and culture of the past, death has been a terrifying prospect. Moreover, commonly the dead have been feared as potentially harmful, full of revenge, and jealous of the living. Myths, legends, and stories worldwide repeatedly recount how the dead seek to kill and cannibalize the living in order to exact revenge or to regain their valuable life energy. <br /><br />Vampires: A Field Guide to the Creatures that Stalk the Night is a chilling must have reference for anyone who loves the mysterious horrors of the night. This book recounts shocking myths, creepy legends, and terrifying stories of vampire-like creatures from Germany, Austria, Sumeria, Babylonia, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Ireland, France, Scotland, Iceland, Wales, Brazil, Malaysia, India, Albania, Romania, South Africa, the United States, and Greece. I was completely mesmerized by the accounts in this book. I will also never look at Santa Claus the same way again.

Good introduction to the subject.

Edith Fiore has produced a very readable and well written introduction to the subject which also includes two sections on how to clear oneself and ones living space of earthbound entities.

However, there are many aspects not covered. I recommend"Remarkable Healings" by Dr. Shakuntala Modi for a more thorough read (all 600 pages of it !).

Priest; Not for the faint hearted

Priest volume 1 is first in a currently ongoing series. Drawn and written by Min-Woo Hyung. The story follows Ivan Isaacs, who in life was a priest of God, but who has now been resurrected and given over his soul to the devil Belial, so that he may now use dark powers and silver bullets to defeat the evil fallen archangel Temozarela and his minions. Ivan Isaacs is a character tormented by his past, feeding him rage and the greater use of his dark powers. Set in the wild west the art also portrays a gothic edge that gives the setting a very dark and grim feeling to it. Although technically a manga, Priest uses a very different style of art to the more popular type of Japanese art. Ivan Isaacs' conflicts with his enemies are very action-packed and quite thrilling, usually resulting in a horde of zombies being hacked away at by Ivan's silver blade, or blown to pieces by a sawed-off shotgun and tommy gun. It is a relief to find a manga that is not focused on a super-cute girl and her unusually large bosom.
The storyline is very intriguing but one which is only hinted at until later novels.
This is a great graphic novel and one which I would advise to anyone, the only problem being it seems over too quickly.

Great reference

This book gives a indepth guide to haunted national trust places.Great photographs and history.<br />I found this a good reference guide for future investigations.<br />www.ghostalone.co.uk

Sergio Leone meets H.P. Lovecraft

"Priest: A Prelude to the Deceased" is the first volume in a lengthly saga by Korean author Min-Woo Hyung. It traces the conflicts faced by Ivan Isaacs, a former priest, returned to the world of the living by selling his soul to the Devil, Belial. In the setting of the wild west, Isaacs continues his new master's ancient battle against the fallen angel, Temozarela and his minions. Armed with a Tommy gun, a shotgun, a bowie knife, and more rage than an Al Pacino performance, Isaacs battles the undead and demonic forces of Temozarela. The plot is first rate, although, as it is an ongoing series, the character development is a touch limited (but does improve in subsequent installments). All the classic staples of horror fiction are here - anti-heroes, near-omnipotent enemies and brain-eating zombies - however, Priest gives all these familiar territories a new lease of life. The artwork is rendered in evocative black and white, in a style that, whilst maintaining its manga heritage, bears no resemblance to the cartoony 'big eyes, small mouth' style more commonly associated with the genre. Min-Woo Hyung has created in Priest a magnificent book. The dark plot is well-matched with the gothicly menacing artwork, and the whole package does have as much in common atmospherically with the action-packed westerns of Sergio Leone as it does with the insidiously dark and mysterious writing of H.P. Lovecraft.

believing in fairies helps us

This is a beautiful looking book. The artwork is simply stunning. In the book Doreen recounts other people's experiences with fairies and how fairies can help people with all kinds of things, but are especially good with anything to do with nature and animals. They offer us protection, assistance and healing. If you have any problems with the above you might find this book helpful. It has helped me feel closer to nature. For those interested in fairies, there is also some good information about them in Sylvia Browne's book, 'Exploring the Levels of Creation'.

Experiencing Outside The Box

The Orb Project is an outstanding look at a phenomenon that seems to be too far out of the reality box for Newtonian scientific understanding and therefore is criticized as such. For many people it is just too hard to believe that some sort of life form that is possibly conscious could exist outside the framework of scientific materialism. The Amazon.com review by A. Scientist, not willing to give his name, is an example of a limited perspective by a person who obviously didn't even bother to read the book. If he or she had read it they would find all of their arguments clearly refuted. Granted, if you shake a rug for dust or spritz the air with water when you digitally photograph you will get a photo of a cloud of dust or water, but the orbs of various colors and shapes will not be in the photo. <br /><br />The forward was written by William A. Tiller, Ph.D., who is `a scientist' and professor emeritus from Stanford University. The book's authors are also highly credentialed, with Klaus Heinemann, Ph.D., holding his degree in experimental physics and who worked for many years at NASA, UCLA, and as a research professor at Stanford University. Miceal Ledwith, D.D., LL.D., was the president of Maynooth College in Ireland for ten years. These people know the difference between dust, moisture and lens flares from orbs. <br /><br />When Drs. Tiller, Heinemann, and Ledwith presented their findings in 2007 at The Orbs Conference in Sedona, Arizona, they were greeted by over 300 delegates from around the world who had been photographing the orbs with infrared, video, 35mm, as well as digital cameras. Many of the pictures showed orbs at special gatherings such a christenings, weddings, various celebrations, and around animals and children. The delegates by and large understood the orbs to be benevolent and conscious. <br />

A Brooklyn Ghost Story

Over the years I have read enough ghost books to fill a small library, most of which are the familiar collections of several stories written by one author. Many of these writers are old pros and have a very polished writing style; sometimes a little too polished and detached in fact. Elaine Mercado is a new writer and sometimes it shows, but her candor and vulnerability is a refreshing change for the fans of this type of book. It is also nice to hear the story from the point of view of the person who experienced the haunting rather than a third party interviewer.

The story begins as the author and her husband purchase a new home and move in. Almost from the outset the family begins to feel as if they are being watched and things escalate from there. All of the family is effected but the author and her eldest daughter seem to get the brunt of the storm. A storm that only intensifies as time goes on. To add to the problem, this is a family that does not particularly believe in any form of life after death and so they must also deal with what is happening in relation to their beliefs. After finally coming to terms with this conundrum they begin to seek help and find it in the form of famous Parapsychologist Hans Holzer. Dr. Holzer is very familiar to anyone who is partial to this type of book and I have several of his books in my own library. In many ways this is like one of Dr. Holzer's books except with a much more detailed description of the haunting before Holzer arrives on the scene. This is a ghost story that portrays in detail the haunting much more so than the investigation. I like it!

This is a book that you will read very quickly because the author does a very nice job of making you wonder what is going to happen next. She makes the reader feel as if they know this family personally so that you will want to find out how things turn out. It does occasionally show through that this is the author's first book but not often and the story flows very smoothly. Mrs. Mercado does have a tendency to engage in a little too much psycho-babble which slows the book down a little in places but I can easily live with this in order to get this kind of first person account of a haunting. It is often said that the Devil is in the details and there are plenty of details here. I like that also.

I know the author doesn't want to have another first person account to write about but maybe she will find herself drawn to write about other people's experiences. I think that there is much potential here.

Informative and analytical

I was wary of reading this book when it arrived afraid it was going to be"Hollywoodesque" with a focus on graveyards and midnight and urban legends.

But it turned out to be an excellent book that approaches the subject from a very informed and well-researched angle. It's an easy read that explains what ghosts are and how best to experience them. There is an overview of environmental factors that influence ghostly activity and a very good listing and analysis of equipment that could help with ghost-hunting.

The author assumes the reader already believes in ghosts so there are no pages wasted with unnecessary justifications of the subject/book. But everything that is written has an explanation behind it so you don't feel that you are being asked to believe things on faith. His focus is thoroughly analytical and based on the appreciation of the"science" of ghosts - electro-magnetic energy, temperature fluctuations etc. There is a very strong emphasis on looking for the obvious first before leaping to a ghostly conclusion.

There is a lot of information in this book that makes it an interesting and exciting read. Well worth buying for anyone with an interest in ghosts and the paranormal (not just ghost-hunters).