Here are 77 books that The Next World Interviewed fans have personally recommended if you like
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Though I’ve always found the idea of survival after death fascinating, it was my interest in Modern Spiritualism that really sparked the desire to write Chasing Ghosts. That era (mid-1800s to the early 1900s) was a time when millions confidently believed they could communicate with the dead. Of course, this was only the tip of the paranormal iceberg. So I continued the journey into the lore of haunted places, ancient cultural beliefs, and scientific endeavors to find evidence for paranormal experiences or to debunk it. As a historian of the weirder pages of the past, this topic endlessly fascinates me. I hope it will for you as well.
William Ellsworth Robinson, who became better known as the magician Chung Ling Soo, devised tricks for Alexander Herrmann and other great magicians in the late 19th century. While he was developing stage magic, Spiritualists were performing what they branded as real magic—actually communicating with the dead in various ways. One of those ways was through a slate. Ask a question and with the slate positioned beneath a table, spirits would scribble a message in chalk. In this book, Robinson explains how these ghostly miracles and others could be achieved purely through the ingenuity of the living. The numerous illustrations make this book as wondrous to look through as is it to read.
In the late nineteenth century, mediums across the country were busy delivering messages from the dead to anyone who would listen. And there were plenty who would. Often these words from beyond appeared on slates during séances. But the brand of magic that mediums offered was nothing more than that-magic. Author William E. Robinson, an accomplished magician who worked as a stage manager and assistant to Alexander Herrmann and Harry Kellar, knew all the tricks of the trade. His book, Spirit Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena, published in 1898, explained them all. This new edition includes all the original illustrations,…
Though I’ve always found the idea of survival after death fascinating, it was my interest in Modern Spiritualism that really sparked the desire to write Chasing Ghosts. That era (mid-1800s to the early 1900s) was a time when millions confidently believed they could communicate with the dead. Of course, this was only the tip of the paranormal iceberg. So I continued the journey into the lore of haunted places, ancient cultural beliefs, and scientific endeavors to find evidence for paranormal experiences or to debunk it. As a historian of the weirder pages of the past, this topic endlessly fascinates me. I hope it will for you as well.
Harry Price is one of history’s great ghost hunters. In this book, you’ll hear his tales about his remarkable adventures at the Borley Rectory—which he has called the most haunted house in England—his investigation of a talking mongoose, and much more. Price discusses his methods, his tools, the behind-the-scenes experiences that pulled him into such unusual cases, and of course, his findings.
Harry Price devoted his life to the study of paranormal phenomena, leading him to become one of the most famous 20th centuries psychical/supernatural researchers of all time.This book contains a comprehensive study of some of Price’s most interesting cases which had taken place over his lifetime of investigation into a variety of paranormal events. From an allegedly haunted mansion from the days of his youth to his initial encounters with the famous Borley Rectory, the house that gained infamy as "the most haunted house in England" after its ten-year-long paranormal investigation by Price himself.Other investigations covered in this book include…
Though I’ve always found the idea of survival after death fascinating, it was my interest in Modern Spiritualism that really sparked the desire to write Chasing Ghosts. That era (mid-1800s to the early 1900s) was a time when millions confidently believed they could communicate with the dead. Of course, this was only the tip of the paranormal iceberg. So I continued the journey into the lore of haunted places, ancient cultural beliefs, and scientific endeavors to find evidence for paranormal experiences or to debunk it. As a historian of the weirder pages of the past, this topic endlessly fascinates me. I hope it will for you as well.
Though Doyle will forever live on as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, he became an ardent Spiritualist and one of its biggest evangelists in the early 1900s. So strong were his beliefs that he lectured worldwide, and famously butted heads with Houdini over the legitimacy of communicating with the Other Side. This 1918 book explores his investigations into the world Spiritualism and the afterlife.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a Scottish writer and physician. He was born on 22nd May 1859 and was died on 7th July 1930. He was renowned for his ‘Sherlock Holmes Stories’.His famous work includes: A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Valley of Fear, The Mazarin Stone and His Last Bow etc.
Though I’ve always found the idea of survival after death fascinating, it was my interest in Modern Spiritualism that really sparked the desire to write Chasing Ghosts. That era (mid-1800s to the early 1900s) was a time when millions confidently believed they could communicate with the dead. Of course, this was only the tip of the paranormal iceberg. So I continued the journey into the lore of haunted places, ancient cultural beliefs, and scientific endeavors to find evidence for paranormal experiences or to debunk it. As a historian of the weirder pages of the past, this topic endlessly fascinates me. I hope it will for you as well.
Like Spirit Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena, this 1897 book exposes the various ways that Spiritualist mediums manifest ghosts. Henry Ridgely Evans was a magician and historian who took on the Spiritualist movement, much like Harry Houdini would in the decades that followed. Filled with wondrous stories, secrets, and illustrations, this book is a must for any fan of Spiritualism and/or magic.
Spirit World Unmasked is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1897. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres.As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature.Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.
I've been a paranormal investigator (a paranormal reporter, actually) for over a decade. One of the very best parts of my job is that I get to gorge myself on books of true accounts of the paranormal. It's exciting to see what else is out there, and what other people have experienced – both historically, and personally. I'm so grateful for the chance to add to this body of work; there are many renowned investigators and writers out there, and I'm thrilled to be counted among them. And someday, someone will read about my experiences and be terrified and intrigued and inspired by them.
I will read absolutely anything that Richard Estep writes. He has written books about the Villisca Ax Murders, Malvern Manor, and other crazy-haunted places. This one, about a site in his native England, is utterly terrifying. Estep writes with a very straightforward, matter-of-fact style (his writing reminds me much of my own style), and the evidence he presents for this haunted site is deeply chilling -- especially since his team is one of the groups that has investigated the Cage.
When single mother Vanessa Mitchell moved into a historic cottage in Essex, she had no idea that a paranormal nightmare was about to unfold. The cottage, known as the Cage, used to imprison those accused of witchcraft back in the 1500s. From her first day living there, Vanessa saw apparitions walk through her room, heard ghostly growls, and was even slapped and pushed by invisible hands. Unable to handle the dark phenomena after three years, Vanessa moved out and paranormal investigator Richard Estep moved in. Spirits of the Cage chronicles the years that Vanessa and Richard spent in the Cage,…
I’ve written and published one hundred very short ghost stories, plus a handful of longer ones, and have spent a lifetime reading and watching and thinking about stories of ghosts and the afterlife. My expertise, such as it is, involves ghosts as beings of narrative and metaphor. I’ve encountered great numbers of them on the page and on the screen—nowhere else—but I confess that I would love someday (though don’t expect) to encounter them in the flesh. My flesh, that is to say; their fleshlessness.
Harington was one of the great unheralded—or at least under heralded—novelists of the last fifty years, bursting with stories and whole populations of flawlessly captured human voices, and With was one of his highest achievements. It follows the fortunes of a kidnapped girl in the Arkansas Ozarks who befriends the woods’ menagerie of animals, as well as the ghost (or, as Harington would style it, the “in-habit”) of a twelve-year-old boy whose body did not die but moved away and abandoned him. Recommended if you like your ghosts warm-hearted and aching for home.
With is the sensual, suspenseful and irresistible tale of Robin Kerr, a young girl abducted from her family and brought to a remote Ozark mountaintop, where she is left to fend for herself. Over the course of a decade, Robin grows up without human relationship, but with the company of animals and an inhabit, the half-living ghost of a young boy. In this magical novel in the Stay More series, Harington gives us one of the most original survival, coming-of-age, and love stories ever told.
As a parent, children’s book author, and fan of all things Halloween I have searched the globe for the best of the best when it comes to Halloween books for kids. Ok not really “the globe” but when the bookstore starts stocking the featured shelves with children's Halloween books around mid-August, I can’t resist either browsing or purchasing. These 5 are near and dear to my heart because instead of just a simple bedtime read, they all have something special and a memory attached to them. These are the books that are brought out year after year and still enjoyed by the kids, even when they are probably getting too old for bedtime stories.
I read this book to a Kindergarten class in 2006 and then again this past year.
This book is a smash hit with the kids and stands the test of time. The book is simple and the humor is silly which is what makes this book a fantastic read before bed or anytime really. It sets the mood when the leaves start to fall and spooky season is upon us.
It is highly interactive and the kids love to make the “hic-hic” sound while you read. When reading the book out loud, it gives adults a chance to let their silly flag fly and the kids all respond in-kind.
As a kid I loved visiting the local history museum, wandering through the dusty displays of taxidermy buffalo and medieval helmets. I enjoyed the creepy feeling I’d get when I stood next to the wax figures and looked at their frozen faces and not-quite-right hair. As I grew older, I became more interested in seeking out weird and unusual history, and it became a passion throughout my teenage years and into adulthood. Now, I’m able to combine my love of the creepy and occult with historical research. I teach U.S. history at SUNY Brockport, I co-produced Dig: A History Podcast, and I am the co-author of my new book (below).
I really love this book because I have been known to go on a “haunted” history tour now and again and I love a good ghost story. However, I realize that sometimes the true stories from our past are more scary than the fantastic ones.
This book particularly hit home because it covers quite a few ghost stories from New Orleans that I am very familiar with. However, those “spooky” ghost stories become truly frightening when contextualized by Miles.
In this book Tiya Miles explores the popular yet troubling phenomenon of ""ghost tours,"" frequently promoted and experienced at plantations, urban manor homes, and cemeteries throughout the South. As a staple of the tours, guides entertain paying customers by routinely relying on stories of enslaved black specters. But who are these ghosts? Examining popular sites and stories from these tours, Miles shows that haunted tales routinely appropriate and skew African American history to produce representations of slavery for commercial gain. ""Dark tourism"" often highlights the most sensationalist and macabre aspects of slavery, from salacious sexual ties between white masters and…
As a middle grade horror writer, I attribute my love of everything spooky to my early obsession with reading. Of course, my little brain was twisted already, but I found a perfect home in the monsters and ghouls of the library. These are the five books that inspired me to become a writer who scares children in the best possible way.
These fall more in the young adult world rather than middle grade because of the sexual situations. With that being said, I totally devoured them in middle school.
In my opinion, there is no greater master of the end of chapter cliffhanger than R.L. Stine, which keeps you frantically turning the page waaaaay after lights out. I carried these books around with me in my grandmother’s huge makeup case like my spooky book security blanket. And yes, my family was concerned.
FEAR STREET -- WHERE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARES LIVE...
The new girl is as pale as a ghost, blond, and eerily beautiful -- and she seems to need him as much as he wants her. Cory Brooks hungers for Anna Corwin's kisses, drowns in her light blue eyes. He can't get her out of his mind. He has been loosing sleep, ditching his friends...and everyone has noticed.
Then as suddenly as she came to Shadyside High, Anna disappears. To find a cure for his obsession, Cory must go to Anna's house on Fear Street -- no matter what the consequences.
I spent all my teenage years daydreaming about being magical (cue a handful of sparkling glitter). Even as an adult, those daydreams haven’t stopped. Magic promises the ability to change the story. I revisit those teen years when I can because ultimately, what each of these stories of magic offer is a coming-of-age story. The struggle of being pulled between two different worlds has always felt familiar to me, whether those worlds are literally different worlds (magical vs non-magical) or figurative (childhood vs adulthood). I’ve felt some version of that struggle my whole life, and I think I always will, which is why these stories will always feel like home.
Suze Simon might be one of my favorite characters of all time.
She’s a mediator (which means she speaks to the dead, and sometimes kicks their butts too). She grew up in New York, which made her tough and edgy. Our story starts when her mom remarries and they move to sunny California to live with Suze’s new stepdad and step-brothers (who are all varying degrees of hilarious, annoying, and down right adorable). Suze has to figure out how to navigate going from life as an only child to life as one of four kids kind of overnight.
I love how Meg Cabot plays with what it’s like to be the new kid, particularly the new kid with a BIG secret.
Shadowland is the first book in the thrilling, romantic Mediator series, from the New York Times bestselling author of the Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot.
Suze is a mediator—a liaison between the living and the dead. In other words, she sees dead people. And they won't leave her alone until she helps them resolve their unfinished business with the living.
But Jesse, the hot ghost haunting her bedroom, doesn't seem to need her help. Which is a relief, because Suze has just moved to sunny California and plans to start fresh, with trips to the mall instead of the cemetery, and…
