The Weiser Field Guide to the Paranormal: Abductions, Apparitions, ESP, Synchornicity, and More Unexplained Phenomena from Other Realms

by Judith Joyce

Stranded motorists on a lonesome road are rescued by angels. The phone rings with a call from beyond the grave. A bloodsucking predator is sighted again in the south of Texas. The Weiser Field Guide to the Paranormal is your gateway into the world beyond the known. Covering topics from cryptids to psychics, telekinesis to telepathy, this concise handbook will guide you through the eerie, the undeniable, and the strange world of the paranormal. Once upon a time, events like ghost sightings were commonplace. Parlors were redecorated to accommodate seance rituals, and ghost stories poured from the culture. Psychic occurrences and abilities might have been feared and disliked, but they were accepted as a normal part of life. Today, we are experiencing a resurgence of all things paranormalin our books, our movies, on the internet, in the way we look at life. Join paranormal investigator and psychic Judith Joyce as she delves into this world with haunting detail and illuminating clarity. Joyce touches on all of the major aspects of paranormal phenomena, and more. Do you have telepathic powers? Can the Ouija board really speak from the Other Side? Use this paranormal primer to find out.

Genres: Paranormal, Nonfiction, Monsters

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2010

Reviews

[yalini · Rating 4 out of 5]

cooool it has literally everything!

[EZRead eBookstore · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the same style of the last Weiser guide I reviewed (“The Field Guide to Witches”), Judith Joyce creates this quick directory as an introduction to the paranormal. But even though I profess to be a die-hard ghost hunting beast, there was a lot to learn about the history of Spiritualism and ghost hunting in the later 1800’s and onward. This book covers a big hunk of stuff, like the history behind séances and EVP devices, and the different kinds of UFO encounters and sightings. But it’s far from dense, and in fact, would be completely appropriate for a YA crowd. Unless of course that YA still sleeps in footie pajamas.

Light and speedy, the guide jumps from topic to topic like a dictionary. But even though the tone is straightforward, I still got the heebie jeebies reading the story of people like Baba Vanga and the Fox sisters. Since the passages were so brief, I had to turn to faithful ol’ Google to read more. But Google or guide book, I still was peering around my cubicle for any sign of ghostly terror.

The guide benefits from not being too sensational or scholarly, and covers a wide span of topics for the casual paranormal-er. For fans of that special brand of Discover channel special, or the history of Spiritualism, this book would make a great gift. And even though I recommend it for only the bravest of YA readers, this would also be a fun introduction for kids who are interested, but don’t know where to begin.

Ghost hunting at noon in my office,

-EZ Read Staffer Jenifer

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting, matter-of-fact, and brief. Discusses many well-known persons, phenomena and incidents that comprise the paranormal world as known in the USA, and provides key terms and references to study further. I was reminded of much that I had read about as a child--but this time the subjects were treated with a more common-sense, "the jury is still out" approach rather than sensationalism or condescendingly incomplete debunking or denunciation.

[Bonnie Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick little directory with some not-oft used terms....nice research device

[Jolie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A succinct and handy little who’s who and what’s what guide/mini-encyclopedia for the paranormal novice or aficionado.