[.ca] Ghost: A Firsthand Account Into The World of Paranormal ... (ISBN 0312983735)

Only one problem...:
This book was, on the whole, more gripping and interesting than I expected. But I had one major problem with it which plagued me throughout: Wraith tells her that he and Christian murdered multiple people. Yet Ramsland never seems to consider, oh, calling the police and getting that maniac off the streets. She obsesses over contacting Christian (the murderer's) spirit, but evidences no concern for the spirits of the people the two of them tortured and killed. She believe the story enough to be scared of Wraith.. but evidently not enough to have the police check it out, see if people had gone missing that might have been their victims. In the end, Wraith is still walking around free to do more violence. If she is having trouble sleeping, it might be her conscience...

captures the imagination and holds the attention:
I love a good ghost story, and Katherine Ramsland has a gift for creating a tale and an ambience that captures the imagination and holds the attention of her reader. Ghost, a Firsthand Account into the World of Paranormal Activity is a wonderfully written account of the author's experimentation with ghost hunting, starting with her first halting steps and ending with an expanding network of resources and equipment. Although the story is ostensibly about the possible murder or suicide of a young man named "Christian," a member of a vampiric sub-culture, his tale serves primarily as the supportive backbone of a more complex tale. The author combines an interesting psychological account of her own pursuit of danger and excitement, a sense of mystery and suspense, a wonderful almost playful sense of humor, and a gift for story telling that makes the book hard to put down. Her discussion of the history of ghost hunting, the individuals involved in it, their various styles of research--tarot reading, mediumism, electronic and photographic equipment, etc.--and their personalities make the book almost a textbook on the subject. The theories of what produces ghostly phenomena are discussed by each of the individuals with whom the author interacts, so that the reader learns a lot about what is believed about the subject. I was a little disappointed, however, that the author did not interact with or discuss in more detail the work of Hans Holzer, a name with which anyone with any knowledge about the subject would be familiar. For those who want to follow up on the subject, the author provides an in situ bibliography, citing a number of authors and their book titles throughout the text. She also provides a fairly detailed formal bibliography with very current entries, mostly from the 1990's, although some as old as the 1970's. In addition there are a number of resources provided for the reader to follow up if desired, including addresses and websites for some of the authorities she had occasion to consult and the addresses, email addresses and phone numbers of various haunted places to visit or to spend a night. Although I found the resolution of the mystery of Christian somewhat disappointing, I found Ms Ramsland's critique of the subject of ghost hunting a very objective one, far more so than I would have expected. Since I'd love to write ghost stories (fictional) myself, I found her discussion of the equipment very interesting and useful (I've bookmarked some of these pages for future use!) A very intelligent and gifted lady. Probably someone it would be fun to know. For THOSE WRITING PAPERS in literature, history, sociology, psychology, anthropology, physics: this book would make a fun resource and starting point. One might, for instance, write a paper on how this type of book bridges the gap between narrative and expository prose. Is this a "story" or a research paper? What aspects of both give it an arresting character. How does history become folklorized by tales of ghosts and hauntings? What function does the ghost story have for group cohesion, for reinforcing group values, etc. How might one explain ghosts as a social or a psychological phenomenon? Why do even people who "don't believe in ghosts" often still have difficulty with cemeteries, haunted houses, and the like? Is there something evolutionarily beneficial to a fear of or veneration of the dead? The author mentions the Skeptical Enquirer, a journal dedicated to debunking beliefs in ghosts, extra terrestrials, and other phenomenon. Read an issue and discuss the subject of science and myth/folk beliefs. Is this journal as much a "soap box" for its readers as ghost societies are for their constituency? What can be said of both? Some of the equipment mentioned as useful in detecting ghosts seemed plausible, how would physics support or refute the use of them in this way?

This Spooked me!:
I don't get spooked too easily but this book had a real effect on me. I foolishly purchased this book on my honeymoon, read half of it then woke my new wife up in the middle of the night after a horrendous nightmare to tell her that I couldn't read any further. I did finish the book, though, on the airplane home (you're safe from ghosts there). Every now and then I have a compulsion to purchase a voice-activated, digital tape recorder (which picks up sounds the human ear cannot) and place it next to my bed to see exactly who is talking to/about me when I'm asleep. Then I gave the book to my new mother-in-law. She said 'That won't scare me'. She called me up this evening to say 'Ok now I'm getting a little scared'. Not for the faint-hearted!

The only scary thing was that I finished it.:
Personal experiences received some validation in this story. There were plausible explanations of paranormal activity, although she spent way too much time incessently droning on about how she would remain unbiased. Ramsland never seemed to concretely investigate an allegedly dead murderer, and was content to "play" in an insidious world. (Unbelievably stoic and cavalier.) Expecting the conclusion to wrap uploose ends, she instead wimped out and left it to the reader to decide, discrediting many of her "findings." I looked for missing pages...the ending was that lame.

Spooky, but what a letdown!:
This book gave me the chills. When it comes to ghosts and paranormal phenomena, I am on the skeptical side. Basically, I have to see it for myself. I liked the fact that Ramsland seemed to truly be objective- neither a skeptic, nor a believer. I enjoyed her experiments in haunted houses, battlefields, etc., because she went into them as a scientist, intent on proving or disproving a theory - spirits exist and we can see/hear them if we know how. What I did not care for was her involvement with Wraith/Christain/The Ring. It was like the scientist in her went right out the window and she got way too caught up in the "romanticism" of the vampire scene. It was almost like she was obsessed. Another thing I found extremely disturbing was the way she discussed Wraith and/or Christian's killing spree. Didn't she feel a moral obligation to get to the truth? The ending just plain sucked. If you're going to write a book about a quest, it should have some sort of resolution, not some anti-climatic BS. The book needs a sequel. Or not. To be honest, I don't care much for the vamp underground, what they do or don't do. I've had a bit of experience with those freaks, (including 3 of the people mentioned in the book) and they are so delusional and sick that giving them any attention at all is ridiculous.