It was an irrational decision. Despite having just moved into a beautiful new house, the Williams family gave in to an odd, overwhelming desire to purchase and move into a Victorian home they had come upon by chance. They were curious, of course, as to why the house had, in the past, had such a high vacancy rate - no one ever seemed to live in it for a long period of time. But that curiosity didn't last long, because shortly after moving in, strange things began to happen. It became abundantly clear that the home's past owners had all had a reason for leaving: fear. The Williams' new home was haunted. At first, the family tried telling themselves there were logical explanations for the strange things they all were witnessing. But before long they came to accept the fact that they were sharing their home with ghosts. Haunted is the Williams family's story from the point of view of the mother, Dorah. Through her chilling reminiscences, we witness the all-too-real goings-on in the house. And we join the family as they seek a way to bring an end to the paranormal events that were occurring with ever more frequency and intensity, and learn why the events began in the first place.

A ghostly tour of coastal North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia; Acclaimed storyteller Nancy Roberts takes the reader on a haunted tour of coastal North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia in this engaging new collection of thirty-three ghost stories and legends. In North Carolina, we hear of the restless spirit who troubles visitors to the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and the phantom ship that, though lost in a storm at sea, sailed into Beaufort Harbor for a final farewell. South Carolina provides the backdrop for tales such as that of the Union soldier killed at Charleston's Fort Sumter - more than a century later, a tourist is startled to discover the eerie, blue-coated figure of the soldier standing next to him. And in Georgia, we encounter ghostly pirates doomed to sail the creeks and inlets of St. Simons Island forever without rest, as well as rambunctious child spirits who roll pool balls down the hallways of a Savannah bed and breakfast, just as they did when their family lived in the house following the Civil War. These new tales and classic legends, all collected firsthand by the author, reveal a thrilling undercurrent to some of the southern coast's most popular destinations.

Greyfrair's Cemetery in Edinburgh has a centuries old reputation for being haunted. Its gruesome history includes use as a mass prison, headstone removal, witchcraft, bodysnatching, desecration, corpse dumping and live burial. In 1998, something new and inexplicable began occurring in the graveyard. Visitors encountered 'cold spots', strange smells and banging noises. They found themselves overcome by nausea, or cut and bruised by something they could not see. Over the space of two years, twenty-four people were knocked unconscious. Homes next to the graveyard wall became plagued by crockery smashing, objects moving and unidentified laughter. Witnesses to these attacks ran into the hundreds. There were two exorcisms of the area. Both failed. The section of Greyfriars where the attacks occurred is now chained shut. The entity responsible has been named the 'Mackenzie Poltergeist'. It has become one of the best-documented and most conclusive paranormal cases in history. The Poltergeist is still growing stronger. This is its story.

Explore the strange and shadowy side of the civil war . . . A fascinating collection of ghostly sightings, auspicious visions, audible manifestations, and uncanny premonitions.

• In 1872 a photographer who claimed he could capture the "essence' of dead relatives took an image purporting to show Mary Todd Lincoln with the protective ghost of Abraham Lincoln behind her.
• The spirit of George Washington who appeared to John C. Calhoun in the 1840s to persuade him not to dissolve the union.
• The nameless drummer boy from the Army of Ohio who still plays at the Shiloh battlefield
• The twentieth-century schoolchildren who heard the Irish brigade on the Antietam battlefield
• Teddy Roosevelt and First Lady Grace Coolidge who both claim to have enountered Abraham Linicoln in the White House
• Jefferson davis and his wife Varina who both have been seen at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he was imprisoned after the War

Contrary to popular belief, ghosts do not necessarily reside in draughty old castles and ancient graveyards. In this book, the author has collected ghost stories specifically from Alberta where she has discovered strange tales of hauntings in schools, restaurants, theatres, hotels, government buildings and modern houses from Calgary and Edmonton to rural areas and the Rocky Mountains. Several spine-tingling tales are legendary accounts of native spirits who still inhabit the land.

In Edmonton, two former firehalls are widely reputed to be haunted; the McKay Avenue School is said to have at least half a dozen spirits; and employees of radio station CKUA have experienced a ghostly presence. "Alberta's Most Haunted Place" is probably the Deane House and Tea Room at Fort Calgary, where a number of different ghosts are taken for granted by the staff.

This eerie collection of supernatural tales includes, among others, the story of the Medicine Hat ghost train; the strange phenomena in a rural "castle" that cannot drive its owner away; the hauntings of the Banff Springs Hotel; the ghostly arsonist in a photograph at Chateau Lake Louise; evil ghosts of the Alberta Badlands; the beautiful lady in white who haunts Prince House in Heritage Park; the Canmore Opera House spirits; and the ghostly bookworm.

Features . . .

• Mothman
• The Grafton Monster
• The Wampus Cat
• White Things
• Other bizarre creatures, including Bigfoot, lizard people, and out-of-place panthers

From reports of haunted castles, stately halls, hotels, public houses, Roman forts, stone circles and even England’s deepest lake, to heart-stopping accounts of apparitions, poltergeists and related supernatural phenomena, Ghostly Cumbria investigates twenty of the most haunted locations to be found in the area today. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources, this selection includes a phantom friar said to walk the lanes near Grey Friars Lodge Hotel in Clappersgate; the ghost of Mary, Queen of Scots at Carlisle Castle; a cavalier at Moresby Hall in Whitehaven; and several ghosts at the Kirkstone Pass Inn at Ambleside, including a young boy killed by a coach outside the building, a young woman who died whilst travelling along the road during a snow storm, and a seventeenth-century coachman who lurks around the bar. Illustrated with sixty photographs, together with access details for each location, this book will appeal to all those interested in finding out more about Cumbria’s haunted heritage.

The popular seaside resort of Scarborough has long been a haven for holidaymakers, but the town also harbours some disturbing secrets. Discover the darker side of Scarborough with this fascinating collection of spine-chilling tales from around the town. From poltergeists and mummies to the Headless Man and the mysterious story of the vanishing houses, this book includes many pulse-raising narratives that are guaranteed to make you blood run cold. Illustrated with over sixty pictures Haunted Scarborough will delight everyone interested in the paranormal.

This rich, absorbing, often very funny, book is a study not just of ghostliness but of Britishness, an exploration of why, now perhaps more than ever, we need the unexplainable - a sense of the unknown.

In this fascinating A-Z compendium, the author of "Adventures of a Psychic, Life on the Other Side," and other "New York Times" bestsellers delivers a complete guide to all things paranormal. Illustrations.

Tales behind the trails of America's national parks, thoroughly investigated and combining the popularity of ghost stories with the traditional aspects of a hiking guide. Readers will meet the chupacabra that roams the swamps inside Big Thicket National Preserve, Death Valley's moving rock and the disembodied legs that run around the Mammoth Cave Visitor Centre. A fright factor rating is listed for each hike, along with information on trailhead access, maps and difficulty levels.

The cultural landscape of the Hudson River Valley is crowded with ghosts--the ghosts of Native Americans and Dutch colonists, of Revolutionary War soldiers and spies, of presidents, slaves, priests, and laborers. "Possessions" asks why this region just outside New York City became the locus for so many ghostly tales, and shows how these hauntings came to operate as a peculiar type of social memory whereby things lost, forgotten, or marginalized returned to claim possession of imaginations and territories. Reading Washington Irving's stories along with a diverse array of narratives from local folklore and regional writings, Judith Richardson explores the causes and consequences of Hudson Valley hauntings to reveal how ghosts both evolve from specific historical contexts and are conjured to serve the present needs of those they haunt. These tales of haunting, Richardson argues, are no mere echoes of the past but function in an ongoing, contentious politics of place. Through its tight geographical focus, "Possessions" illuminates problems of belonging and possessing that haunt the nation as a whole.

Back by popular demand A supernatural detective story Winner of the 1977 National Writers Club Award for Nonfiction

Now in paperback, this true story recounts a Philadelphia family's encounter with a supernatural presence in their eighteenth-century mansion. After experiencing footsteps at night, opening doors, strange sounds and activity that centered around the library, they investigate, unearthing the mansion's tragic past and changing their beliefs about the supernatural world.

In "Visits from the Afterlife," Browne journeys even deeper into The Other Side, detailing stirring true encounters, describing visitations with ghosts, in-transition spirits, and other troubled souls seeking peace and closure. She travels to locations as diverse as haunted homes and ships possessed by otherworldly forces. Through these spiritual visits, she explains the reasons behind many of the world's most bizarre and mysterious hauntings, and she shares her own personal, face-to-face experiences with these inexplicable phenomena. From surprising revelations about the spirit world to moving reunions with those who have moved on, Visits from the Afterlife once again illustrates spirits' profound and eternal influence on our earthly lives.

In the twenty-first century, as in centuries past, stories of the supernatural thrill and terrify us. But despite their popularity, scholars often dismiss such beliefs in the uncanny as inconsequential, or even embarrassing. The editors and contributors to The Supernatural in Society, Culture, and History have made a concerted effort to understand encounters with ghosts and the supernatural that have remain present and flourished. Featuring folkloric researchers examining the cultural value of such beliefs and practices, sociologists who acknowledge the social and historical value of the supernatural, and enthusiasts of the mystical and uncanny, this volume includes a variety of experts and interested observers using first-hand ethnographic experiences and historical records. The Supernatural in Society, Culture, and History seeks to understand the socio-cultural and socio-historical contexts of the supernatural. This volume takes the supernatural as real because belief in it has fundamentally shaped human history. It continues to inform people's interpretations, actions, and identities on a daily basis. The supernatural is an indelible part of our social world that deserves sincere scholarly attention. Contributors include: Janet Baldwin, I'Nasah Crockett, William Ryan Force, Rachael Ironside, Tea Krulos, Joseph Laycock, Stephen L. Muzzatti, Scott Scribner, Emma Smith, Jeannie Banks Thomas, and the editors

In this fascinating new collection, Sue Smitten leaves no stone unturned in her global search for spirits. Her interviews with eyewitnesses in places such as Ireland, Japan, South Africa and Germany show that geography and history vary greatly, but ghost motives for returning after death are remakably consistent.