As many of you may know
Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson are the founders of TAPS (The Atlantic
Paranormal Society), but they also wrote Seeking
Spirits
(Pocket Books, 2009), along with Michael
Jan Friedman.
(Note: I am not affiliated
with Jason Hawes, Grant Wilson, Michael Jan Friedman, TAPS, Ghost Hunters, or Pocket
Books. Seriously, I don't think I even have a TAPS forum membership,
though I'm now wondering why I don't, I've certainly have come up with
some questions I'd like to ask the good folks there. I might go
sign-up after this. Anyways, this review is the result of reading the
book via a local[ish] library, and I am not being commissioned or
compensated in any way. I just like to read.)
This is my third book
review, and the third time I feel the book deserves 4 out of 5 stars.
This could have something to do with me still working on actually
reading books I suspect I won't rate as high (though one of my
current books might rate higher). Anyways, onto the review!
This book is another good
casual read. The language was kept simple, and it was well edited (I
only noticed a single typo). There's not a lot of evidence, public
locations, or technical information provided (though there are some
ghost hunting tips and explanations at the end of many chapters), but
rather a series of mostly private resident cases, presented in an
easily accessible story format. The chapters alternate between being
told by Jason and Grant, and read slightly differently.
The book takes on a
catering to Christian audiences feel at times, despite the reference
to Reiki and the suggestion that the type of brief doesn't matter in
blessing/exorcisms, as much as just having a someone do an
blessing/exorcism. I always find this religion blind views of dealing
with the dead interesting, in so much as what does it actually mean
for the dead? Why would they respect a multitude of
priest/practitioners, with opposing beliefs?
Back to the tips and
explanations, they were a nice touch, and a good place for amateur
ghost hunters to take notes, though a lot of it is opinion or common
sense. There's a few loosely related pictures thrown into the middle
of the book as well, but none of them are particularly convincing, or
well explained. They could really have benefited from the authors
having spent a few more minutes on captions.
One of the most
interesting things in this book, is that they expand on the debunking
side of ghost hunting. While almost every episode of the show
features some sort of paranormal activity, reality is that in 80% of
cases (at least when they're doing house calls), they don't find
anything paranormal. The actual causes for such cases can be anything
from rodent infestations and loose pipes to menopause and dementia.
There's also a good
variety of explanations for the cases where they do find activity,
not all paranormal events are caused by ghosts and demons. . . I
found their interpretation of döppelgangers
as soulless particularly interesting, so I will be attempting to find
out more about their opinions on döppelgangers.
