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A History of Ghosts: The True Story of Séances, Mediums, Ghosts, and Ghostbusters
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 bega...more
Hardcover, 264 pages
Published
September 29th 2009
by Rodale Books
(first published 2009)
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Mar 29, 2010
Amy L. Campbell
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people mildly interested in doing research on Spiritualism
This book was a great overview of the history of Spiritualism, it's movers and shakes, it's skeptics and supports, and some of it's techniques and practices. There was a lose narrative surrounding the grandfather of author Peter Aykroyd as well as means of also providing anecdotal information and perceptions from a Spiritualist who lived during the time it was at it's peak. While I think this is a great resource for someone who is mildy interested in the movement, I would not call it particularl...more
This was actually a pretty good read. Inspired by a long-dead Aykroyd relative's interest in the paranormal (that was sustained through multiple generations of the family), this contains lots of good information about the spiritualist movement both in America and overseas. The only complaint I really have is the use of the word "Ghostbusters" in the title. Obviously, with the last name of "Aykroyd," we are meant to understand that this is a relative (it's his father, btw) of Dan Aykroyd of Ghost...more
This book was as boring as bat shit. I have always been interested in this topic, and was hoping for a more lively discussion from the notes of an eye-witness. The author does detail dates/times/places in an organized fashion, but presents them in a social vacuum. Desperate women (in particular) attempting to speak to the sons and husbands and brothers they'd lost in the trenches of WWI played an enormous part of spiritualism's popularity. The final chapters that make an apologia for some of the...more
I had no idea until I read the preface that this is written by Dan Aykroyd's dad and tells the story of their family's long-time obsession with Spiritualism. Being such a big fan of Ghostbusters, I should have already been all over this...damn.
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I am definitely a skeptic and this book did nothing to change that. It gives a history of spiritualism, but mostly focuses on mediums. It gives a list of who's who of mediums including modern ones. It tells a little bit of the origins and what each medium is famous for. Mildly entertaining at times, I got prettied bored fast and only made about half way through the book. I was hoping for a more in depth discussion on the veracity of the mediums and the evidence for or against it. Rather most of...more
An interesting if light survey of the history of paranormal apparitions of various types. Aykroyd does not seem to have many credential that make him an "expert" on such phenomena, so the personal experiences he relates are by far the more interesting and better conceived parts of the book. It's a little unbalance, but I learned about a world I really know nothing about, and I am a firm skeptic, so perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I was more of a believer. As a skeptic I felt that Aykroyd...more
The large and longstanding Aykroyd family, many of whom still reside close to their old homestead near Peterborough Ontario, have been responsible for bringing us much wisdom and entertainment over the years, though so many are unaware of the extent to which this family of reasonable and astute observers has impacted the paranormal community at large.
Peter H. Aykroyd’s newest book, A History of Ghosts; The True Story of Séances, Mediums, Ghosts and Ghostbusters (With a foreword by Dan Aykroyd) i...more
Peter H. Aykroyd’s newest book, A History of Ghosts; The True Story of Séances, Mediums, Ghosts and Ghostbusters (With a foreword by Dan Aykroyd) i...more
This is a fascinating story of several generations of a well-known and respected Canadian family's connection to the world of seances and otherworldly things. The origins of "Ghostbusters" is revealed. The author also gives a timeline of personalities and trends in the search for the unseen, along with notes, remarks, and an excellent bibliography on paranormal subjects. It's also quite entertaining. I was enthralled throughout a week of hot sticky summer nights, and recommend it highly.
I was hoping for campfire type ghost stories, based on true events that Aykroyd witnessed. But this book was just a history of spiritualism (90% of mediums suspected as frauds), and most circumstances are debunked in Mary Roach's Spook. If you are looking for a more fun ghost book, I recommend Ghost Hunting: True Stories of Unexplained Phenomena from The Atlantic Paranormal Society (SciFi's Ghosthunters).
Written by actor/writer Dan Aykroyd's father, this is both a general history of spirituality and ghost-hunting, and a personal history of the Aykroyd family's connection to the subject. Some interesting historical information, but I preferred the personal stories more. Also includes remarks from Dan Aykroyd himself on the inspiration for the movie "Ghostbusters."
I expected that this would be more about ghosts and less about mediums and seances (I guess I should've paid more attention to the subtitle, huh?). Some of the history was interesting and unknown to me, but the book was a little too true believer-y for my taste.
I thought it was pretty cool that Dan Aykroyd grow up with an open minded father
This was a very good and in depth look into the world of ghosts, spiritualists, & mediums. I really enjoyed this book.
There's a back story to Ghostbusters!
dry/boring/dull
Am I the only one who did not know that Dan Aykroyd wrote "Ghostbusters" based on family history? This book really changed my views on paranormal and spirits.
Jan 08, 2012
Robert Kristoffersen
marked it as to-read
This is my bathroom book
Kinda not what I expected.....
The book is definitely fun, and the history of the Aykroyd family is neat to get view to, but the book, overall, suffers from the author being a true believer. Some of the pictures / examples presented as *fact* are incomplete, obviously faked, or have even been proven hoaxes - those facts are just conveniently left out.
This was a very complete history of ghosthunting. I never realized that Dan Acroyd had a serious connection to "Ghost Busters".
Oct 24, 2011
Nicole
marked it as to-read
After meeting with Dan Akroyd (the author's son) on Sunday, he clued me in to tell me the book was mainly about Mediumship, but that it was intriguing.
Knowing how long the Akroyd family has studied the after-life, I am very excited to read this book!
Knowing how long the Akroyd family has studied the after-life, I am very excited to read this book!
I guess I shouldn't really rate it since I couldn't get past the first few chapters. I was hoping for more "ghosty" stuff, but it was more a dry history of seances and other paranormal claims.
Interesting subject, but not a page turner. It took me a while to get through, but I didn't dislike the book.
A hard slog to get through it.
Stiff but/and likable.
Dreadfully dull!!
May 15, 2013
Mariah
marked it as to-read
Apr 22, 2013
Michelle
marked it as to-read
Apr 20, 2013
red pill junkie
marked it as on-my-shelf-unread
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Jun 17, 2012 02:54pm