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"Funny, exciting, and strangely haunting."--Jon Ronson, author of THEM
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"crisply written and rich in deadpan comedy...a rattling read!"
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this in less than a week, and at the end feel totally bereft. In his (initially skeptical) journey to investigate the supernatural Mr Storr discovers a strange, frightening and yet wondrous world to the one he'd anticipated - one I've always more hoped for than been entirely convinced by, one populated by several fascinating characters (and even the ones that seem silly at the outset end up making you feel guilty for judging them so - the stuff about 'the Founder' almost had me in tears). And yet the knowledge that there might be something to the supernatural isn't always comforting - the chapters that touch on possession are decidedly unsettling. Will writes fluently and to the point, and does good atmosphere. Tension is built gradually from the first pages ('You haven't heard of the Enfield Poltergeist?!?'), till at the end you're left breathless with the implications. This is one of the very best non-fiction books I have ever read.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It's refreshing to read a book about the paranormal by someone who is totally open minded & has no axe to grind or anything to prove. It's a very funny & easy read & yet manages to cover a wide range of topics from poltergeists to philosphy & quantum physics - not in any depth of course but that's not what it's for. I can't recommend this book highly enough for anyone with a sense of humour & an interest in the paranormal...the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked this book up on a whim, mainly for 2 reasons: firstly, it came with a recommendation from Danny Wallace, who at the moment is one of my favourite presenter-author-journalist-comedian-thingies. Secondly, I have had a casual interest in the supernatural since my childhood days when I used to scare myself silly reading children's books full of "real life" accounts of hauntings.
Storr writes with a compelling ease and honesty. He clearly expressed his dilemma, one that I'm sure many of us have contemplated at some point - one can find a lot of reports of ghostly phenomena, but to actually accept them as evidence of an after-life challenges our most fundamental beliefs about the nature of life and the universe, posing some very difficult questions. In order to answer these, Storr dips his toe in to the murky waters of philosophy, religion, psychiatry and even quantum physics.
Many of the characters that Storr meets are unintentionally humorous or even tragi-comic. For the most part he does a good job of presenting the facts and letting the reader make their own minds up about the demonologists, psychics and mediums he meets. Although Storr is never as openly facetious as some of his contemporaries, sometimes I found myself wishing he had pushed a little harder with some of his interviewees. I did detect a subtext that several of these people were attention seeking in an attempt to make up for short-comings in other aspects of their lives - something that was echoed by the psychiatrist that Storr talks with.
I recommend dimming the lights and finding a quiet spot to yourself to read this book. Encounters with the supernatural are often intimately related to the context in which they occur. Reading this book before bed certainly brought back some of that childhood sense of dread upon turning the light off, but as I sit writing this in the June sunshine in a busy coffee shop, I find it hard to believe in an invisible world of ghosts and demons that permeates everyday life.
Storr writes with a compelling ease and honesty. He clearly expressed his dilemma, one that I'm sure many of us have contemplated at some point - one can find a lot of reports of ghostly phenomena, but to actually accept them as evidence of an after-life challenges our most fundamental beliefs about the nature of life and the universe, posing some very difficult questions. In order to answer these, Storr dips his toe in to the murky waters of philosophy, religion, psychiatry and even quantum physics.
Many of the characters that Storr meets are unintentionally humorous or even tragi-comic. For the most part he does a good job of presenting the facts and letting the reader make their own minds up about the demonologists, psychics and mediums he meets. Although Storr is never as openly facetious as some of his contemporaries, sometimes I found myself wishing he had pushed a little harder with some of his interviewees. I did detect a subtext that several of these people were attention seeking in an attempt to make up for short-comings in other aspects of their lives - something that was echoed by the psychiatrist that Storr talks with.
I recommend dimming the lights and finding a quiet spot to yourself to read this book. Encounters with the supernatural are often intimately related to the context in which they occur. Reading this book before bed certainly brought back some of that childhood sense of dread upon turning the light off, but as I sit writing this in the June sunshine in a busy coffee shop, I find it hard to believe in an invisible world of ghosts and demons that permeates everyday life.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Lazy and gulible
I was looking forward to reading this book and was curious to find what actually convinced him that ghosts really exist. Read more
Published 9 months ago by A. Burch
Best paranormal non-fiction ever!
What can I say, this book changed my life!!! I must have read a million books on the paranormal and they all approached it from the same angle, that is believers and non-believers. Read more
Published on 7 April 2010 by fairy queen
At last a writer who doesn't sit on the fence!
An outstanding book from a writer that initially sets out to dispel ghosts as a myth but who ended up realising (as most of us do who seriously research the subject) that in fact... Read more
Published on 24 Sep 2009 by M. Huggins
More 3 and a half stars. Not quite four, yet 3 is too low for a good...
Will Storr is in the USA with a chap who calls himself a demonologist. Will is there on writing assignment for a UK mens magazine and expects to write a mocking article about this... Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2009 by Reformed Geek
Hmmm...
I give Mr Storr top marks for his punchy writing and good research. And it can't have been easy to wheedle certain phone numbers and audiences, so I give him much credit for... Read more
Published on 20 Sep 2008 by Bianca White
Intelligent, Funny and Frightening
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. As an open minded sceptic, journalist Will Storr sets out on a mission to uncover the truth about the supernatural. Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2008 by Sc East
A brilliant well-balanced read!
This book prompted me to write my second ever Amazon review (to date!). I was so pleased to read a genuinely well balanced book on the Paranormal. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2007 by N. Mosley
Brilliant
I've never been moved enough to write a review, but this book was so good on so many levels. It presented a really balanced argument in an easy to read way. Read more
Published on 21 Nov 2007 by J. Beaver
Drivel
Unlike other readers I couldn't see the appeal of this book and had to be prompted to finish it. Tedious is the word I think is the word that best describes Storr's writing.
Published on 8 Aug 2007 by Ian Cuthbert
Important Investigative Journalism
This is why narrative non-fiction is so enjoyable. Take a man that doesn't believe in ghosts and then send him out to try and prove that there is no such thing as a ghost. Read more
Published on 20 July 2007 by I. Losada
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