| Dan Aykroyd Book:
A History of Ghosts: The True Story of Seances Mediums Ghosts and Ghostbusters
Book
A History of Ghosts: The True Story of Seances, Mediums, Ghosts, and Ghostbusters |  |  | | List Price: $25.99 | | Publisher: Rodale Books
Salesrank: 18496
Released: September 29, 2009 | | Our Price: $12.98 | | Used Price: $12.88 | | | Media: Hardcover | |
Editorial Review:
Peter Aykroyd spent his childhood watching his family’s parlor séances through the crack of a basement door. Here, for the first time, Aykroyd tells the strange and delightful story that inspired his son, Dan, to make the mega-hit, Ghostbusters. Part history, part family legend, A History of Ghosts starts in 1848 in upstate New York, where the spiritualist craze first began. Aykroyd introduces the reader to notable mediums while telling the story of the development of spiritualism, interweaving a personal history marked by a fascination with ghosts and spirits with the larger narrative about the role the paranormal has played in our culture. Such legendary figures as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini appear and vanish. Everyone loves a good ghost story. Successful TV shows such as Medium and Ghost Hunters are proof that our national obsession with ghosts is here to stay. Millions of Americans believe in the paranormal—and even skeptics have heard a bump in the night and suspected it might be something supernatural. A History of Ghosts: The True Story of Seances, Mediums, Ghosts, and Ghostbusters Reviews:
Nothing Captures You Best 
2009-11-30 - A total delight to read for me it goes much deeper personal accounts and experiences that the book totally brings together captivating me in memories thoughts wonderment and possiblities. Totally recommend reading and buying.
A History of Ghosts
2009-11-28 - This book was a gift, but receptint said the book was extremely enjoyable and well written.
SPOOKY ENTERTAINMENT
2009-11-24 - PETER AYKROYD'S BOOK MAKES FOR VERY INTERESTING READING INTO THE WORLD OF THE UNSEEN: GHOSTS, PHANTOMS, SPIRITS, TRANCE MEDIUMS, SEANCES AND OTHER ASSORTED THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT. WITH THE ORIGINAL GHOST HUNTER AND PARANORMAL AUTHOR HANS HOLZER HAVING PASSED INTO THE WORLD OF SPIRIT IN APRIL OF 2009, IT IS GOOD TO KNOW THAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE CONTINUING HIS LEGACY OF WRITING ABOUT THE INVISIBLE HORIZONS ABOUT US.
Library Journal 
2009-10-23 - Aykroyd, Peter & Angela Narth. A History of Ghosts: The True Story of Seances, Mediums, Ghosts, and Ghostbusters. Rodale. Oct. 2009. c.256p. photogs. index. ISBN 978-1-60529-875-7. $25.99. PARAPSYCH
Séances were all the rage in the mid-19th to 20th century, and Aykroyd's family (Peter is the brother of actor/comedian Dan of Ghostbusters fame) was in the thick of it. Into this history of the paranormal going back to upstate New York circa 1848, the author interweaves family anecdotes and excerpts of his grandfather's diaries and correspondence. Aykroyd would have done better to give more weight to these sections, especially because there are far superior general histories of spiritualism available, including Ruth Brandon's Spiritualists and Ronald Pearsall's Table Rappers.
Verdict A nicely crafted book that readers intrigued by mediums and séances will find well worth their time despite its flaws.--Mary E. Jones, Los Angeles P.L.
GhostTheory.com Review
2009-10-13 - Peter Aykroyd (father of actor Dan Aykroyd) has gotten together with writer Angela Narth to produce a very informative yet compact book of the Spiritualist movement that swept across during the Victoria era. Combined with personal stories of childhood memories of when Mr. Aykroyd would sit and watch seances in his family's home, the book takes you back to the precursor of our current paranormal boom, and methodically explains where such interest came from. Written from a skeptical viewpoint (but not close-minded) the book takes you on a historical journey through what appeared to be legit paranormal encounters and the people who claimed to produce these paranormal effects, to their exposure as scam artists and their demise. The book will leave you with a better understanding of the importance of applied logic and skepticism, as well as a better understanding that science cannot explain all claims of the paranormal... [...].
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