Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences

by Doug Dillon

This is a book of true life events, stories taken from Carl Jung’s life and the lives of others that vividly demonstrate our potential to connect with unseen worlds. Jung’s experiences, because of his fame as a world renowned psychiatrist, set the stage for the presentation of all paranormal adventures offered here. And his fascinating theory of synchronicity serves to give a depth of meaning to the nature of all strange coincidences, including those woven into the enclosed chapters.

Genres: Paranormal, Nonfiction, Psychology, Science, Philosophy

212 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 2014

About the author

Doug Dillon is a husband, father, grandfather, author, blogger and former educator living in Central Florida. He writes for both adults and young people, mostly in the arenas of history and the paranormal. Doug has written for Prentice Hall, Harcourt, Boys’ Life, Learning Magazine, the Orlando Sentinel, Mitchell Lane Publishers and Old St. Augustine Publications.

The paranormal thread in this author’s work stems not only from extensive research but personal experience as well. In fact, his first published work, a book co-authored with his wife, Barbara, is a family history of paranormal discovery and understanding. Titled, An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic, it was first published by a division of Prentice Hall in 1984.

Two of Doug’s articles for Boys’ Life were selected for use in student assessment programs. One of those articles titled, “Gentle Pioneer: The Life of Johnny Appleseed,” was implemented through Educational Testing Service for the state of Washington from 2010 through 2015. The other article, titled, “Walt Disney: America’s Fun Maker,” was implemented through Harcourt Assessment for the state of Michigan from 2007 through 2015.

Doug is a recipient of a Disney Teacheriffic Award for his efforts as part of an innovative middle school program, and his book, Where Are Saigon, Kampuchea and Burma? A Brief Political and Geographic History of Asia, for reluctant readers ages 11-14, won first place in the history category for the Florida Writers Association’s Royal Palm Literary Awards program.

Reviews

[Keep Calm Novel On]

I received a copy of the ePub from the Goodreads group Lovers of Paranormal (LoL) in exchange for an honest review.

Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences by Doug Dillon is a fascinating collection of paranormal experiences from a variety of individuals including the author and Carl Jung.

This well researched nonfiction is a quick paced read as the chapters are short and draw the reader in immediately. The author’s detail to research is evident. The ‘Further Reading’ list is proof that the author knows and understands this challenging subject matter. Dillon’s writing style flows smoothly from one example to the next.

It would have been interesting to be with Jung and Freud in 1909 in Vienna when they spent time together. How would they each interpret the event they experienced? The reader will pose the question are events in ones life coincidental? If you are curious about paranormal activity this is a must read.

[R.l.]

This was great. I took it to bed with me last night and stayed up till I had read it all. As a person who has had many paranormal experiences in my life, I'm always interested in this kind of thing, and I was delighted to win a copy of this book.
There are many different kinds of stories in this collection, from ghosts, to stories of coincidence synchronicity, and even stories of the human spirit traveling outside the body. The author does not attempt to explain, but rather shares these stories and let's the reader decide what to make of them. I like that. And I love the writing style here. It was as if I were sitting with Mr. Dillon and he was telling me these stories.
Intriguing material. Time richly spent.

*FTC Disclosure: I received this book free through the Goodreads Giveaway and the opinions in this review are my own.

[Aubree Deimler]

I thought given the title and description of the book that this was going to dig into Carl Jung and his supernatural experiences, however there was very little mentioned about that. Instead it includes some ghost stories and some other short “weird” things that happened to the author and his friends.

Bummed it wasn't what I was expecting and started to get aggravated that the author name drops his other books 32 times, LOL. Maybe those ones are better? Not that this was horrible, just not what I was expecting. A miss w/the title, description and what was delivered.

[Naomi]

Fairly thinly disguised ad for the writer's other books. The Jung connection was interesting but much of the author's proof of the paranormal is weak at best.

[TLCH]

Interesting concept

Informational book about the paranormal, out of body experiences, psychic abilities, etc. The author repeatedly refers to a book he wrote with his wife Barbara, who shares his way of thinking, titled "An Explosion of Being...." This book is mostly short stories based on occurrences in the author's life, in Carl Jung's life, and the lives of family and friends. Most of it was pretty interesting, however when he talked about parallel universes and such he kind of lost me.

[Mary Jones]

I enjoyed the anecdotes, I would have rated it higher, if in almost every chapter, one of his other books wasn't referenced by name. Very repetitive and needless.

[Laura]

Quirky, chilling, and spooky. I love this author. He adds a little humor to a collective of paranormal experiences. I like that he includes some of Carl Jung's experiences.

[Christine Whittington]

I first picked up this book after reading about Jung's philosophy of synchronicity and my (and my family's) own experiences with coincidences beyond--far beyond--mere coincidence. There is a bit about that, but Dillon's book is primarily based or composed of his own blog posts on chapters from a previous book, "An Explosion of Being: An American Family's Journey Into the Psychic"--and it shows. He has also included guest posts from his blog. Chapters are very short--blog length--and introductions are quite repetitious, each beginning with references to his previous book "An Explosion of Being" or his series for young adults. They do not present an overall structure or theory--more bits and pieces. The chapters about Jung can all be found in Jung's own work.

Dillon seems like a sincere, sympathetic, and friendly guy and a kindred spirit. He has been an educator and I'll bet he was the best classroom teacher ever. I would love to get to know him personally and compare experiences, maybe over a classic cocktail or a glass of wine in St. Augustine! He would be a great companion for visiting Cassadega as well. I enjoyed his chapter about his experiences there the most. The coincidences Dillon writes about are very similar to the ones I have experienced. Some fall into the phenomenon of synchronicity and others are quite ordinary--I would not find them odd at all. Most of his chapters are subtle; you won't find much spine-chilling horror here. There is a bit about the old slave market in St. Augustine that is the most chilling section of the book. What Mr. Dillon's book has done is inspired me to keep reading about Jung and synchronicity, think about travel to St. Augustine (the oldest and most haunted city in the U.S.) and consider his example and write down my own experiences. Although I gave the book just three stars for its content a lot of warmth came through and a felt like I was having a conversation with a friend.

[Elizabeth Graf]

I have been following Doug Dillon since I was introduced to his St. Augustine trilogy.

When he told me about this book and jumped at the chance to read it as I knew it would be as great as his other books. I was right---I loved this book. I am sure that when most people think of Carl Jung, they think of psychiatry. This book talks about all types of different paranormal encounters or coincidences. They range from physical phenomena, to haunted placed, to psychics, dreams, out-of-body experiences and just about everything else. Each section has a chapter about an experience that Carl Jung had and then it is followed by experiences by other people such as Doug Dillon, fellow authors, and every day people like you and I. I really enjoyed reading about the experiences that each person had.

If you like paranormal, you will greatly enjoy reading this book. If you are a skeptic, I would recommend that this book as you may be surprised by what you read and what you think about the paranormal or coincidences when you are finished with it. At the end of the book, there is a list of other books, that you can further your reading in regards to the paranormal.

[Jane Baker]

. no need to stretch to maybe classify them as perhaps paranormal.

This is often 2nd-hand accounts and always "well, it COULDA been that" stories but nothing substantive. Repetitive & endlessly self-referencing. Rip-off use of Jung's name - a few anecdotal stories are included. About as interesting as a bored housewives gossip hour. No, not even that. I've had vastly more interesting experiences than are related here and have . The author should stick to young adult novels. If really interested in that area's paranormal activity, buy a good book of ghosts of St. Augustine or if you're interested in the subconscious, look Jung's own writing. This is neither here, there or anywhere but warmed-over gee-whizzers.

[Jo Oleksy]

I was so excited to receive this book from a first reads giveaway. Kevin and I had planned to go on a local ghost hunt the night after I received it, so that was a fun sort of coincidence. Another one involved a chapter about the Skybridge collapse -- which I was just looking at pictures of and had read about for the first time the other day.
This book was a fun and interesting read. Do I believe in this stuff? Absolutely.

[Elodie]

this is just my cup of tea being interested in anything a little mysterious that raises more questions than can be answered. Doug tackles the book with a warmth and humour and a real human quality in which he is honest about is own experiences and feelings. a fast paced and interesting read.

[Lamar]

I was very intrigued by this book despite winning this here and I'll never look at the Paranormal the same way again, love the book!

[Gargeya Vunnava]

Cant wait to get one in my hand.

[Heather]

Unfortunately this was not the book I was anticipating. I was expecting a book about Carl Jung and his experiences with, and thoughts about, the supernatural. Actually, it's a collection of the author's blog posts on his, and his friends' and family's experiences with coincidences, dreams, and feelings with what they consider spooky. Jung is only referenced intermittently, in short, somewhat random, stories.