Hawes, Jason, Wilson, Grant, and Friedman, Jan. Ghost Hunting: True Stories of Unexplained Phenomena from the Atlantic Paranormal Society. New York: Pocket Books, 2007. Print.



Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson are two plumbers that started the ghost-hunting organization known as The Atlantic Paranormal Society (T.A.P.S.) Jason first started experiencing supernatural activity and apparitions after getting involved with his girlfriend’s idea of life-force energy. Unsure how to deal with such activity, Jason started the Rhode Island Paranormal Society (R.I.P.S.). After Grant offered to redesign R.I.P.S.’s website for free, he began to explain his own ghost encounters with Jason. From there, Jason and Grant’s friendship grew until they began T.A.P.S. They gained a crew of specialists including EVP specialists, a born-again Christian able to perform exorcisms, and an environmental engineer, to name a few. The purpose of T.A.P.S. is to investigate reported hauntings, whether they are simple or complex, and to help the people involved with the hauntings. After receiving a phone call, the T.A.P.S. crew travels to the place reported, and performs tests, recordings, EVP’s, and numerous other techniques and experiments in order to determine whether the haunting is legitimate or not. Jason and Grant make it a point throughout the book that their job is to approach the idea of a haunting as scientifically as possible. They try to find rational explanations for every sound, light, breeze, and any other abnormal activity seen. By doing this, if a rational explanation is not found, they are able to further their investigation and prove that the place is, in fact, haunted. According to Jason Hawes, “In every investigation, we collect a wealth of data through different types of cameras, meters, and voice recorders, and from observations and reports of strange experiences” (Hawes 14). With such strong scientific approaches and involvement, T.A.P.S. is able to provide reliable proof that hauntings and ghosts do exist. Their goal as an organization is to use their scientific observations and accuracy to help enhance the scientific study of the paranormal. Throughout this novel, Jason and Grant tell numerous cases in which they have gone to study reported hauntings including possessions, incubuses, orbs, and spirits both benign and harmful. Many times, the people involved with the place being haunted had an exorcism performed to release the spirits. Sometimes these spirits were even brought upon by the humans themselves because of an involvement with the occult using Ouija boards, black magic, etc. When telling these stories, Jason and Grant explain each of their hypothesizes at the beginning, their scientific approaches and observations, the data they gained, and their conclusions. Today, they continue to plumb along side their ghost hunting that can be seen in television show “Ghost Hunters” on the Sci-Fi channel.
This novel is by far the best piece of research I have used in this project. Jason and Grant start off explaining their ghost-hunting program. While I had seen their TV show before, I have always been a little skeptical about those “ghost-hunting” shows. A lot of times the directors play up the noises and images to entertain an audience more. However, I had no idea that T.A.P.S. was a well respected organization before the show. They have numerous stories throughout the novel that I have never seen on the show that help prove the reality of what is shown on their show. They also provide the actual names of the people involved with each study, along with the location of the haunting. This also helps me to believe that what they are explaining is not made up. They also explained their scientific approach in each case. They went into detail to tell the reader what equipment they used, what they saw, heard, felt, and how they dealt with it. By being so specific and in depth, I found it much easier to believe that they had been dealing with actual supernatural activities and ghosts. Not only did I find myself believing them, I also was learning quite a bit throughout their stories.
While they explained each story, I learned that there was a lot more the ghosts than just seeing an apparition. Ghosts are not just spirits, but supernatural energies. Such things as orbs, which T.A.P.S. does not believe in, are associated with ghosts, but are not often known as the balls of energy that they actually are. While I have always been a little unsure about evil spirits, I found out through a few of their cases, that by experimenting with black magic, Ouija boards, or any other occult related activities, one can unknowingly invite such evil spirits into his or her home. Also, there are such spirits called incubuses. I had only known Incubus to be a band before reading this novel. However, I found out that an incubus is a spirit that lies on a person while he or she is asleep in order to perform sexual activity with them. That definitely freaked me out. I could also relate much of my previous knowledge to some of their other cases. For example, I have read in other books that hauntings are usually tied to a specific place because of the spirit or spirits’ relations with it. Almost every story I read throughout this novel involved spirits that were haunting a place because of a past the spirit had had with it. Jason and Grant presented research they had found when they studied the location’s history to support the conclusion of the tie, as well. Overall, this novel definitely helped in my persuasion to believe in ghosts because of their scientific approach to the study of ghosts and the paranormal alike.

The Amityville Horror

The Amityville Horror. Dir. Andrew Douglas. Dimension Films, 2005. Film.



Set in Long Island, New York in the 1970's, George Lutz, his wife Kathy, and Kathy's three kids, all move into a beautiful home on the river. The house was being sold for a remarkably cheap price, but because of a catch. Years before, a family had been brutally murdered in the house by one of the family members. Supposedly, the son of the family, Ron, was hearing voices from the house, that lead him to killing his six family members. The Lutz's, however, never thought much of it. Soon after, they began hearing strange noises. Kathy's daughter kept ending up in potentially dangerous situations and was constantly talking about some imaginary friend she had named Jodie. Jodie was actually the ghost of one of Ron's sisters who was murdered years before. However, this seemed simple compared to the way George began to act. George began to hear "the voices," too. He became very angry, aggressive, and nearly violent. A Father even came to bless the house. After doing as much as he could, the Father was terrified and screamed, "Mr. Lutz, get you and your family out of that house! Right now!" When a Father tells you to get out, something is really wrong. On the twenty-eighth day, George almost killed the family. Right when he was about to hit Kathy with an axe, he realized what he was doing. George, Kathy, and the children were able to escape the house. They left the house, as well as all of their personal items, and never came back.

The Amityville Horror is said to be based on a true story. When it was first written as a novel, the Lutz's told their story on numerous talk shows and other public events. However, no other family to ever live in the house experienced what the Lutz family did. Personally, I am not quite sure whether I completely believe their house was haunted. I think I do, because the movie was not just based off of a story told, but the family members were able to all share the story themselves. Unless it was for attention, I think they were telling the truth. However, I am not sure how this affects my belief in ghosts compared to all my previous research. I do not think it really swayed me one way or the other. Overall, it was a great movie, and I believe the Lutz family was telling the truth.

Are we deceiving ourselves?

Rothschild, Bertram. "Belief in Ghosts is Merely Self-Deception." Ghosts and Poltergeists: Fact or Fiction. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Greenhaven Press, 2003. 78-82. Print.




In "Belief in Ghosts is Merely Self-Deception" by Bertram Rothschild, Bertram confesses how he "almost" believed in ghosts. Rothschild is a clinical psychologist and a lifelong skeptic. He has always considered such things as supernatural powers and magic to be foolish. One evening, however, while laying in bed, Bertram's bedroom door opened. Thinking it was his wife at first, he was not very concerned. Soon after, he realized his wife was downstairs, making it impossible for her to open the door. When he could not immediately come up with a logical answer to how the door opened, he began to jump to the conclusion that it was a ghost. Over the next few days, he and his wife began hearing strange noises. While Bertram and his wife joked that it was "the ghost," he soon began to freak himself out. Then, he decided to reject the ghost idea all together and wondered how he could even consider such a thing. The noises he heard were simply moans and groans from the house, but, already scared, his mind started to convince him otherwise. As for the door opening, he came to the conclusion that he did not have to have an explanation just to prove it was not a ghost. Bertram realized that when he could not come up with a reasonable explanation, his imagination took over. He uses a comparison from his childhood explaining that when he asked his mom how thunder and lightning were made, she said that "clouds bumped into each other, producing a spark and noise"(Rothschild 82). Bertram then states, "How many more subtle explanations have I (or you) lived by, never noticing their absurdity?"(Rothschild 82). So, after a short period of almost believing in spirits, Bertram easily convinced himself otherwise.

While so far I've only read things about how ghosts are real, this is the first thing I've read from an opposing side. I am undecided on if ghosts are real or not to begin with, but I tend to sway a certain way depending on what I am reading or watching at that specific moment. When I first started reading this, I did not think it would be very helpful or persuading as to why ghosts are not real. However, after Rothschild describes his event, he explains why he believed it was a ghost very quickly and precisely. When he could not come up with an immediate answer, his mind began to think the worst. Is that not what we all have a tendency to do as human beings? If a loved one is late to an event and does not call, you automatically worry, thinking the worst. In the same way, Rothschild, who has never even considered ghosts to be real, suddenly began to second guess himself. I am not convinced that ghosts are not real by this article, however, Bertram provides a great explanation that I think, in his case, would actually not involve any ghosts.

The Haunting in Connecticut

The Haunting in Connecticut. Dir. Peter Cornwell. Lionsgate, 2009. Film.




In The Haunting in Connecticut, Matt Campbell is suffering from cancer and has started an experimental treatment at a hospital hours away. The driving each day becomes a strain on him, as well as his family, so they buy a house in Connecticut that's much closer to the hospital. Suspicious of why they were able to get the house for such a good deal, the Campbells soon find out that their new house was once a funeral home. It was at that house that the dead were prepared for his or her burial and photographed for the last time with the deceased's family members. Soon after, the Campbells discover something even more terrifying. The funeral home's owner's assistant, Jonah, was used as a medium to communicate with the deceased. While the owner had his own obsession with a dark magic, he would dig up bodies from cemeteries, do horrid things to the corpses, and use Jonah's gift to try and obtain power from this magic. The spirits that were once in the bodies that the owner had taken, were now furious and eventually killed the owner, as well as Jonah. Jonah sets out to try and save Matt and his family by allowing Matt to see what Jonah went through years before. Matt even states, "I wake up in the middle of the night, and it feels like he's been inside me, looking out through my eyes." However, instead of escaping, Matt deals with the angry spirits lingering in the house. He discovers the corpses stacked in the walls, and after breaking the walls down, sets the house on fire. By burning the house, he allows the angry souls to finally be free. Soon after, Matt's cancer disappeared and the house is said to be perfectly normal to this day.

The Haunting in Connecticut, is said to be based on true events that happened to a family in Connecticut. After the deceased's bodies had been taken advantage of and not left in peace, their angry spirits lingered in the house with vengeance. Personally, I'm not sure if the entire storyline is true. Obviously, Hollywood spiced up the movie to make it scary and more entertaining. The real story it was based on was probably less dramatic, but I do believe that some of it has potential to be real. First of all, it makes sense for a funeral home to be haunted in some form or fashion. While I'm sure many are not, being that a funeral home is constantly filled with the deceased, presences of those people may not be uncommon. However, they most likely are spirits at peace. Being that such inhumane things were performed in the house, I believe that it is possible that this house could have been haunted. Also, Jonah was there for a reason. He was not just a lingering spirit, but a spirit trying to warn and save the Campbell family. Overall, I'm not completely convinced that this entire movie was based on a true story, but I do think it's possible that aspects of it may have been based on real events.

Kallen, Stuart A. "Ghosts Throughout the Ages." The Mystery Library: Ghosts. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Lucent Books, 2004. 14-29. Print.




Ghosts have been reported for centuries and interpreted in different ways by different cultures. While today, many are unsure if ghosts are harmful, peaceful, or why their presence is among the living in the first place, many different groups of people throughout the years have had their own ideas, as well. For example, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics contained many pictures of ghosts. They believed that the soul was made of up to nine parts; two of these nine parts, ba and ka, stayed after one's death to protect the corpse. The ba stayed at the burial ground, while the ka would haunt the living if a priest failed to make it a daily offering of food and and drink. If made mad enough, the ka would kill many people, including small children. In Greece, one's ghost was said to take form of a bat and fly to the underworld, or Hades. These ghosts remained in the underworld and complained constantly about the loss of their lives they once enjoyed. From time to time, ceremonies would be held to call up such ancestors' ghosts to receive advice. However, these ghosts would become mischievous if the Greeks did not hold their annual festival for the dead. This festival, Anthesteria, was to help ensure that such spirits remained in the underworld. Throughout the Middle Ages, many Europeans had become very strong Christians, but suffered from many hardships. Throughout starvation, disease, and war, many were surrounded by death and ghosts of ones who had died. The grim reaper soon became the scariest ghost of all. He was said to appear to a person and force them to face his or her own death. The grim reaper would then perform a dance with its victim and say to him or her, "As I am you will be." Towards the end of the 1400's, many Protestants viewed reports of apparitions to be untruthful. By the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, anyone claiming to have seen a spirit was considered to be drunk or suffering from a mental and/or physical illness. Many were also accused of witchcraft. Finally, during the nineteenth century, or Victorian era, ghosts began to become accepted once again. Newspapers and books became constantly filled with reports of ghostly encounters. Apparition reports became so popular that in London, in 1882, Sir William Barrett and Edmund Dawson Rogers even established the Society for Psychical Research. Today, Hollywood portrays ghosts throughout the media as harmful, humorous, and peaceful. High-tech equipment is used to play up stories and images in order to give viewers a more entertaining experience. Throughout the centuries, while many different cultures and religions have viewed spirits as harmful, harmless, mischievous, and peaceful, all believers seem to all share a common outlook on spirits. They all are believed to be simply the souls of the deceased, lingering among the living on earth. According to Kallen, "Ghosts are timeless phenomena that have been assigned surprisingly sommon characterisitcs across all cultures throughout history" (14). Today, one can compare and contrast such differences seen throughout the years.

Ghosts appear to have been reported for centuries passed, and continue to be seen among us today. Many different cultures seems to have different beliefs as to exactly why deceased people's spirits return. Personally, I think religion plays a huge part to such ideas. For example, a Protestant would have a different view of ghosts based on his or her personal beliefs in Heaven and Hell, while an Greek from hundreds of years ago, would view such ghosts in a different perspective because of his or her beliefs in Hades. However, all cultures seem to share the similar idea that these ghosts are simply souls from the dead that have come back to be among the living for a purpose. In the same way, none of the cultures can be sure about what that purpose may be. Overall, this chapter in The Mystery Library: Ghosts provides numerous examples of the changes in beliefs and views of ghosts over the passed hundreds of years, allowing the reader to compare and contrast different reports of apparitions to what one may consider reality.