GHOSTLY EVIDENCE

An unexpected voice caught on a baby monitor. The strange face of someone who wasn’t seen captured in a photo. An object that moves by itself. Could these be evidence of ghosts?

Halls here turns her attention to the world of the paranormal. This brief effort examines five aspects of the ghostly world, offering an explanation of ghosts of different types; descriptions of some haunted places; information about a few famous ghost hunters, along with tools of the trade and techniques; a history of some hoaxes that at first appeared to be unexplainable hauntings; and a few people’s descriptions of their own paranormal experiences, including those of children’s authors Bruce Coville and Vivian Vande Velde. Large, generally satisfyingly creepy color photos accompany the high-interest text. Although this effort includes descriptions of photos of a couple of houses that were purported to include ghostly images, frustratingly, they are not included. The information is presented with an attitude of mild skepticism; Halls isn’t seeking converts. At the conclusion, techniques for faking two types of ghostly photos are appended. A bibliography and a list of suggested further reading, along with websites of numerous haunted places to visit, may inspire further research.

The paranormal is a popular topic, and this slender volume will likely be an easy sell.