Ghost-hunting for dummies

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Title:

Ghost-hunting for dummies

Author:

Bagans, Zak, 1977- author.

ISBN:

9781119584759

Physical Description:

xiii, 426 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Series:

--For dummies.

General Note:

Includes index.

Contents:

The basics of ghost-hunting. Searching for spirits: why do we do it? -- The phenomenon of ghost-hunting -- Believing in ghosts and spirits -- What's the science got to do with it? -- Seeing the spirit world as entertainment -- Preparing to look for ghosts -- Investigating ghosts and hauntings. Researching the spirit world -- Where the ghosts are -- The ghost-hunter's toolkit -- The dangers of investigating -- Putting the paranormal research into action. Ghosts on film: using camera to capture evidence of ghosts -- Talking to ghosts -- putting it all into practice: the paranormal investigation -- Interviewing the haunted -- Authenticating the ghosts -- The mundane side of ghost-hunting -- When things go wrong -- Going beyond just a hobby -- The part of tens. America's ten most haunted cities and towns: Virginia City, Nevada ; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania ; New Orleans, Louisiana ; Hollywood, California ; Salem, Massachusetts ; Savannah, Georgia ; San Francisco, California ; Alton, Illinois ; Vicksburg, Mississippi ; Charleston, South Carolina -- Ten of America's most haunted places: Goldfield Hotel ; Washoe Club ; Crescent Hotel ; Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum ; Queen Mary ; Pennhurst State School ; Bobby Mackey's Music World ; Winchester Mystery House ; Waverly Hills Sanitorium ; The Haunted Museum -- Ten signs your house is haunted--and what to do next.

Subject Term:

Parapsychology -- Investigation.

Ghosts.

Haunted places.

Summary:

Dive into the ghostly world of the supernatural with America's leading paranormal investigator. Inside, paranormal investigator, star, and executive producer of The Travel Channel's hit series, Ghost Adventures and founder of the award-winning Haunted Museum (Las Vegas' most popular attraction), Zak Bagans takes readers on an exciting journey into the supernatural world. With insider information on the history of ghost-hunting to learning about ghosts with all kinds of temperaments, Ghost-Hunting For Dummies is peppered with true accounts and stories from Bagans' famous cases and investigations. Featuring expert advice on picking a haunted location, setting up cameras, and dealing with unwieldy ghosts, this book shows how today's investigators use the tools of modern science to study a wide range of paranormal activity. --

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	133.1 BAG	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove)	133.1 BAG	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	133.1 BAG	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Dive into the ghostly world of the supernatural with America's leading paranormal investigator

Inside, paranormal investigator, star, and executive producer of The Travel Channel's hit series, Ghost Adventures and founder of the award-winning Haunted Museum (Las Vegas' most popular attraction), Zak Bagans takes readers on an exciting journey into the supernatural world. With insider information on the history of ghost-hunting to learning about ghosts with all kinds of temperaments, Ghost-Hunting For Dummies is peppered with true accounts and stories from Bagans' famous cases and investigations.

Featuring expert advice on picking a haunted location, setting up cameras, and dealing with unwieldy ghosts, this book shows how today's investigators use the tools of modern science to study a wide range of paranormal activity.

Take an exciting adventure into the supernatural world Explore haunted sites Get messages from beyond the grave Read true accounts from famous cases and investigations

If you're one of the countless fans of Ghost Adventures itching to get off the couch and track some spirits on your own, this book provides everything you need to know to conduct a successful paranormal investigation.

Author Notes

Zak Bagans is the host, lead investigator, and an executive producer of Travel Channel's popular series Ghost Adventures. He travels to domestic and international locations rumored to be haunted in search of evidence proving the existence of the supernatural. He founded the world's largest paranormal organization, The Ghost Adventures Crew.

Introduction	p. 1
About This Book	p. 1
Foolish Assumptions	p. 2
Icons Used in This Book	p. 2
Beyond the Book	p. 3
Where to Go from Here	p. 3
Part 1 The Basics of Ghost-Hunting	p. 5
Chapter 1 Searching for Spirits: Why Do We Do It?	p. 7
My Approach to Ghost-Hunting	p. 8
The Search for Life After Death	p. 10
Chasing Ghosts	p. 11
Is All the Work Really Worth it?	p. 12
Chapter 2 The Phenomenon of Ghost-Hunting	p. 15
Ghosts in Antiquity	p. 15
Egyptians	p. 16
Arabs	p. 17
Greeks and Romans	p. 17
Scandinavians	p. 18
Indians	p. 19
Chinese	p. 19
Japanese	p. 19
Native Americans	p. 20
Classic Encounters with Ghosts	p. 20
The Drummer of Tedworth	p. 21
Old Jeffrey	p. 23
The Cock Lane Ghost	p. 23
The Bell Witch of Tennessee	p. 27
Spiritualism and the Beginning of Paranormal Research	p. 32
Rapping with the Fox sisters	p. 35
Levitating with Daniel Dunglas Home	p. 41
Investigating the Eddy Brothers	p. 46
The First Ghost-hunters	p. 51
The Society for Psychical Research	p. 52
Harry Price	p. 55
Hans Holzer	p. 64
Ed and Lorraine Warren	p. 66
Chapter 3 Believing in Ghosts and Spirits	p. 71
Incorporating Ghosts into the Christian World	p. 71
Ghost Stories	p. 72
Exploring American Belief in the Supernatural	p. 73
After-Death Communications	p. 73
Arthur Conan Doyle	p. 75
Harry Houdini	p. 76
A personal experience	p. 79
Chapter 4 What's Science Got to Do with It?	p. 81
The Relationship Between Science and the Supernatural	p. 81
Testing for spirits	p. 82
The role of spiritualism	p. 83
Applying the laws of science	p. 84
Science and spiritualism meet up	p. 84
Sir William Crookes and the Paranormal	p. 86
William James and "One White Crow"	p. 94
Thomas Edison and Communicating with the Dead	p. 99
Examining Mysteries with J.B. Rhine	p. 102
Ghosts Don't Always Perform on Command	p. 106
Adapting the Scientific Method	p. 108
Using History as Science	p. 110
Chapter 5 Seeing the Spirit World as Entertainment	p. 113
Having Fun with the Spirit World	p. 114
Writing about the spirits	p. 114
Participating in mediums, séances, and spirit circles	p. 115
Creating magic shows	p. 116
Transforming into spook shows	p. 117
Viewing Ghosts at the Movies	p. 118
Changing Ghost-Hunting with the Internet	p. 120
Watching How Television Changed It Again	p. 121
Chapter 6 Preparing to Look for Ghosts	p. 127
Getting in the Right Frame of Mind	p. 127
Ghost-hunting with an Open Mind	p. 128
Maintaining a healthy balance	p. 128
Fitting into the scientific framework - or not	p. 129
Achieving a balance	p. 130
Things to Know Before You Begin	p. 131
Gathering information	p. 131
Keeping accurate records	p. 131
Analyzing your evidence	p. 132
Affording the research	p. 132
Part 2 Investigating Ghosts and Hauntings	p. 135
Chapter 7 Researching the Spirit World	p. 137
What Are Hauntings?	p. 138
Traditional Hauntings	p. 139
Residual Hauntings	p. 141
Poltergeist-Like Activity	p. 146
Portal Hauntings	p. 147
Demonic Hauntings	p. 151
Common symptoms	p. 152
My approach to demonic hauntings	p. 154
Haunted Objects	p. 155
The Dybbuk Box	p. 155
The Devil's Rocking Chair	p. 158
"The Hands Resist Him"	p. 160
Robert the Doll	p. 162
Annabelle	p. 164
Chapter 8 Where the Ghosts Are	p. 167
Finding Ghosts	p. 168
Homes	p. 168
Cemeteries	p. 170
Theaters	p. 171
Ghost towns	p. 171
Schools and colleges	p. 172
Hotels	p. 173
Battlefields and crime scenes	p. 175
Hospitals and asylums	p. 175
Jails and prisons	p. 176
Chapter 9 The Ghost-Hunter's Toolkit	p. 179
Exploring the Basic Items for Investigations	p. 180
Ghost-Hunting Experiments	p. 182
Working with trigger objects	p. 182
Testing for psychic abilities	p. 184
Ghost-detection Devices: The Basics	p. 187
The compass	p. 187
Dowsing rods	p. 188
Ghost-detection Devices: The Advanced	p. 189
Using an EMF meter	p. 189
Basic EMF meters	p. 190
TriField EMF meter model TF2	p. 191
TriField Natural EM meter	p. 192
Using Other Detection Devices	p. 193
The REM pod	p. 194
Infrared motion detectors	p. 195
Temperature sensing devices	p. 196
Relative humidity gauge	p. 197
Combination devices	p. 197
Final Thought on Ghost-hunting Equipment	p. 198
Chapter 10 The Dangers of Investigating	p. 199
What Not to Do as a Ghost-Hunter	p. 200
Health Hazards from Ghost-Hunting	p. 202
Allergies	p. 202
Dust and mold	p. 202
Histoplasmosis	p. 203
Asbestos	p. 203
Carbon monoxide	p. 204
Part 3 Putting Your Paranormal Research into Action	p. 205
Chapter 11 Ghosts on Film: Using Your Camera to Capture Evidence of Ghosts	p. 207
A Brief History of Photography	p. 208
Capturing the light	p. 208
Developing daguerreotypes	p. 210
Working with wet plates: Ambrotypes and tintypes	p. 211
Photographing movement	p. 212
Taking snapshots: The rise of Kodak	p. 213
Improving overtime: Further developments in photography	p. 215
Advancing to digital cameras	p. 216
Understanding Cameras	p. 217
Using a camera in an investigation	p. 218
Photographing the unseen: The history of spirit photography	p. 220
Capturing ghosts: The strange case of William Mumler	p. 220
Exploiting spirit photography: Novelty photos and widespread fraud	p. 222
Gaining credibility	p. 223
Photographing ghosts	p. 225
Evaluating Anomalies in Photographs	p. 226
Understanding orbs	p. 227
Dealing with mists	p. 228
Photography in Paranormal Investigations	p. 230
Using 35mm cameras for investigations	p. 232
Ghost-hunting with digital cameras	p. 233
Using full spectrum cameras	p. 234
Using Video in Your Investigations	p. 235
Reviewing footage	p. 236
Verifying anomalies	p. 236
Analyzing Your Photographs	p. 237
What to look for in paranormal photographs	p. 238
When it's not a ghost	p. 240
Detecting trickery	p. 241
Chapter 12 Talking to Ghosts	p. 243
Table Tipping	p. 244
Automatic Writing	p. 244
Talking Boards	p. 245
The history of the Ouija board	p. 246
Using a talking board safely	p. 249
Understanding the dangers of talking boards	p. 250
EVP - The Voices of the Dead	p. 251
The history of EVP	p. 252
Classifying ghostly voices	p. 257
Experimenting with EVP	p. 257
Analyzing your EVPs	p. 259
Using Devices to Talk to the Dead	p. 262
Instrumental transcommunication	p. 263
Ghost boxes	p. 267
The Koenig Generator	p. 268
Spiricom	p. 269
Frank's Box and others	p. 274
Using the P-SB7 Spirit Box	p. 276
Using the Ovilus	p. 278
Chapter 13 Putting It All into Practice: The Paranormal Investigation	p. 281
What to Do Before You Get There	p. 281
Tracking Down Leads	p. 283
Guidelines for Your Investigation	p. 286
Setting Up the Nerve Center	p. 289
Starting and Conducting an Investigation	p. 292
Learning Ghost-Watch Skills	p. 294
Chasing the Poltergeist	p. 298
Examining the House	p. 300
Investigating Outdoors	p. 301
Tracking down battlefield haunts	p. 302
Tracking down graveyard history	p. 303
Investigating your outdoor locations	p. 308
Going out in the Dark	p. 310
Chapter 14 Interviewing the Haunted	p. 313
Sample Questions for the Paranormal Witness	p. 315
Interviewing Children	p. 318
Chapter 15 Authenticating the Ghosts	p. 321
Reaching into the Past	p. 322
Land deeds and directories	p. 323
Newspapers	p. 324
Online resources	p. 324
Architectural drawings	p. 324
Maps	p. 325
Biographical encyclopedias	p. 326
Building permits	p. 326
Photographs	p. 326
Bringing the Dead to Life	p. 326
Chapter 16 The Mundane Side of Ghost-Hunting	p. 329
Building Your Case Reports	p. 330
Picking a Case Manager	p. 333
Organizing Your Records and Files	p. 334
Releases and Permission Forms	p. 336
Covering Your Assets	p. 338
Chapter 17 When Things Go Wrong	p. 341
Afraid of Ghosts	p. 341
Equipment Failures	p. 343
Weather and the Paranormal	p. 344
When Spirits Attack	p. 346
Faking the Ghosts	p. 349
Chapter 18 Going Beyond Just a Hobby	p. 353
Making Contact with Other Investigators	p. 353
Building an Online Presence	p. 354
Building a Presence in Your Local Community	p. 354
Attending Lectures and Workshops	p. 356
Starting a Ghost Tour	p. 356
Part 4 The Part of Tens
Chapter 19 America's Ten Most Haunted Cities and Towns	p. 363
Virginia City, Nevada	p. 364
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania	p. 364
New Orleans, Louisiana	p. 365
Hollywood, California	p. 366
Salem, Massachusetts	p. 367
Savannah, Georgia	p. 367
San Francisco, California	p. 368
Alton, Illinois	p. 368
Vicksburg, Mississippi	p. 369
Charleston, South Carolina	p. 370
Chapter 20 Ten of America's Most Haunted Places	p. 371
Goldfield Hotel	p. 372
Washoe Club	p. 374
Crescent Hotel	p. 375
Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum	p. 377
Queen Mary	p. 381
Pennhurst State School	p. 384
Bobby Mackey's Music World	p. 386
Winchester Mystery House	p. 389
Waverly Hills Sanitorium	p. 393
The Haunted Museum	p. 396
Chapter 21 Ten Signs Your House Is Haunted - and What to Do Next	p. 401
Unexplained Temperature Drops	p. 402
Electrical Glitches	p. 402
Unusual Smells	p. 402
Movement of Objects	p. 402
Unidentifiable Sounds	p. 403
Odd Behavior from Your Pets	p. 403
Feelings of a Nearby Presence	p. 403
Sensation of Being Touched	p. 403
Seeing Shadows and Movement	p. 404
Feelings of Depression and Sadness	p. 404
Actions You Can Take	p. 404
Keep a log or journal	p. 404
Decide what you want to do	p. 405
Contact a qualified paranormal investigator	p. 405
Index	p. 409

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