By Lori Nick
Fraser Valley Regional Library
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”
-Albert Einstein.
As Halloween draws near—it often prompts one to ponder the existence of ghosts. This age-old question has been a controversial and hotly debated topic for centuries. For those interested in the paranormal, there are many books available to borrow from your local library to help you explore the possibility of the existence of a spirit world.
I have read several books by psychic medium John Edward, including One Last Time. In his book he tells fascinating stories about his life as a person who communicates with people who have “passed over.” The messages that he brings from spirits to their loved ones bring comfort to those that are left behind. It is harder to dismiss the idea that spirits may exist after reading one of John Edward’s books. His stories are touching, and he writes in a manner that conveys his sense of humor and awe on the subject of the spirit world.
Psychic/author Allison Dubois inspired the TV show “Medium.” Her books are very readable and interesting. Allison has apparently been receiving messages from the dead since the age of six and has written three books about her experiences as a medium. In her third book, Secrets of the Monarch, Allison touches on her involvement in criminal investigations. She has donated her time to missing and murdered persons and criminal cases for agencies across the USA.
Ghost: Investigating the Other Side, chronicles Katherine Ramsland’s journey to becoming a ghost hunter. The desire to see a ghost has followed Katherine since childhood, and in this book the reader follows her on her quest to achieve that goal.
Many readers will remember the eighties comedy Ghostbusters starring Dan Aykroyd. Dan’s family’s interest in the supernatural inspired him to write the screenplay. Dan’s father Peter Aykroyd has written A History of Ghosts: The True Story of Séances, Mediums, Ghosts and Ghostbusters. This book explores the development of spiritualism and the paranormal in American culture.
Have you visited the Irving House museum in New Westminster or the Burnaby Art Gallery? These buildings are reportedly haunted. In Ghosts: True Tales of Eerie Encounters, author Robert C. Belyk describes the history of the locations and paranormal experiences of reporters, curators and art gallery staff. He also identifies and describes haunted parks, hotels, and restaurants in British Columbia. There is even a haunted nightclub!
British Columbia is not the only haunted province. Journeys into the Unknown: Mysterious Canadian Encounters with the Paranormal is an interesting collection of ghost stories and paranormal occurrences that happened in and around Toronto. This book is written by paranormal investigator Richard Palmisano. Author and storyteller Dale Jarvis writes about east coast hauntings in Haunted Shores: True Ghost Stories of Newfoundland and Labrador. Jarvis also leads “Haunted Hikes” in the summer months in St. John’s Newfoundland.
If you are interested in reading about a variety of psychic techniques and paranormal phenomena, a good one to start with is Unseen World: The Science, Theories, and Phenomena Behind Paranormal Events. It is a reference guide that examines such topics such as Auras, Déjà vu, Telepathy and the World’s Most Haunted Places. BC’s own Ogopogo is mentioned in the chapter on Terrestrial and Aquatic Monsters. I was interested to read that in 1926 the provincial government equipped a lake ferry with monster repelling devices!
I am fascinated by the paranormal, and I enjoy reading about people’s creepy experiences with ghosts and the question of their existence. It is even more fun to read ghost stories near Halloween, so visit your local library soon and have fun reading some chilling ghost stories!
