Twenty Years' Experience as a Ghost Hunter - Primary Source Edition

by Elliott O'Donnell

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Genres: Paranormal, Horror

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1916

About the author

Elliott O'Donnell was an Irish author known primarily for his books about ghosts. He claimed to have seen a ghost, described as an elemental figured covered with spots, when he was five years old. He also claimed to have been strangled by a mysterious phantom in Dublin.

He claimed descent from Irish chieftains of ancient times, including Niall of the Nine Hostages (the King Arthur of Irish folklore) and Red Hugh, who fought the English in the sixteenth century. O'Donnell was educated at Clifton College, England, and Queen's Service Academy, Dublin, Ireland.

In later life he became a ghost hunter, but first he traveled in America, working on a range in Oregon and becoming a policeman during the Chicago Railway Strike of 1894. Returning to England, he worked as a schoolmaster and trained for the theater. He served in the British army in World War I, and later acted on stage and in movies.

As he became known as an authority on the supernatural, he was called upon as a ghost hunter. He also lectured and broadcast (radio and television) on the paranormal in Britain and the United States. In addition to his more than 50 books, he wrote scores of articles and stories for national newspapers and magazines. He claimed "I have investigated, sometimes alone, and sometimes with other people and the press, many cases of reputed hauntings. I believe in ghosts but am not a spiritualist."

Reviews

[Norseen Hussein · Rating 5 out of 5]

الكاتب أسلوبه سلس وجميل في الترجمة يجعلك تقرأ باستمتاع رهيب وتشوق لإنهاء الكتاب صائد الاشباح ياخذك في رحلة مع مغامراته المرعبة والمثيرة لقد اعطيت للكتاب خمس نجوم لانه يستحق ذلك عن جدارة وانصح بقراءته بشدة لانه ممتع

[Sarah A. Elshabrawy · Rating 4 out of 5]

لذيذ

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

youtube

[Mayar Maged · Rating 3 out of 5]

كنت متوقعة حاجة تفاصيل يمكن اكتر عن الأرواح و الجلسات او طرد الأرواح لكن الكتاب عن قصص مختلفة غير مترابطة عن مشاهدات مختلفة واماكن مسكونة

[MarilynLovesNature · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to these (true ?) excellent stories on Librivox which were very well read by Mark F. Smith. All of the stories are entertaining and take place in several different countries. Some are the author's own experiences and some are experiences told to him first hand by others who saw or heard what were believed to be ghostly or supernatural encounters. Some of the best stories come after the tenth chapter which is the only chapter that is not a story but is the authors explanation of his personal philosophy in comparing animals to humans, a rather original outlook. Some stories that were the most interesting to me were "A Haunting in Regent's Park", "A Haunted Mine in Wales", and "War Ghosts" to name a few. He ends with a story from Japan that was not told to him directly for which he states his source.

[Rahmah ♾️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

ممتع ، مرعب ، مخيف ، تتتخيل الاشياء وانت تقرأها ، مغااامرات مرعبه ومجازفات لاكتشاف الارواح ( الجن)
عالم الظواهر الخارقة ، ايناً مايُيسمى ، فهووو عالم غريب ومريب 😎

[Fatma Omar · Rating 4 out of 5]

هل واجهت في يوما ما امر اننا لانعش في الحياة بمفردنا بل يوجد عالم ملئ بالغرائب والاشياء التي ليس لهل اي تفسير ؟الكاتب بيحكى عن بعض القصص ماوراء الطبيعي حيث واجهه في حياته او حياة اقرب الناس اليه .الترجمه كويسه جدا والروايه لذيذة غير ان بعض القصص كانت ممله والبعض الاخر الكااب بيتركها مفتوح ايضا الكاتب اعترف في النهاية ان بعض من القصص حيث واجهها مكانش لها اي تفسير او حل انه يواجه بها هذه الاشياح او هذه الاشياء الخارقة للطبيغه ايا يكن مسماه ايه 😍🌹😔

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay...i guess I was expecting maybe some tips on techniques etc, but it was mostly just a recounting of various ghost stories the author had encountered over his travels, with a few run-ins he had himself.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

listened to audio-book on YouTube

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun enough. The writer's relaying of other people's ghost stories reminded me of today's TV shows like Paranormal Witness, but maybe a little more sincere.

[Alhussain Tarek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very boring "i read the arabic translated version and it wasn't good"

[Haitham · Rating 5 out of 5]

رغم عدم انتظامي طوال عامين في قراءة الكتاب ألا إنني استطعت انهائه اليوم وكانت تجربة ممتعة تمنيت لو لم تنتهي..

[Audiobook Heaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, I listened to the audiobook version on YouTube. I will leave the link below so that everyone can enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un5NV...

[Huguette Larochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

a audio book , i enjoy it ,

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I've been wee little lad, I've been fascinated with stories of the supernatural, especially those that are purported to be true. Imagine my pleasure when I was frequenting a favorite used book store and found a first edition book from 1916 titled "Twenty Years' Experience as a Ghost Hunter." The book even looks like something that could itself be haunted. Obviously, it is now another addition in my eclectic library.

What is refreshing about the author is that he does try to be objective. He professes to have no explanations as to how and why ghosts exist (if they exist), and he openly states several times through out the book that he dreads ghosts and hauntings even though he actively seeks them out, and he deeply distrusts mediums and Spiritualists (incredibly popular at that time) were nothing more than scam artists. He is also professes a deep hatred of beetles.

Anyway, the stories that the author relates fall into two categories:

1) Experiences the author has actually experienced

2) Stories told to the author. Some of these are even second-hand stories, so the author is telling stories that were told to him by someone who knew someone else that supposedly experienced a ghost or some sort of haunting.

Needless to say, these supposedly "true" ghost stories hardly seem plausible at all; however, many are remarkably creepy in their own right. If nothing else, Mr. O'Donnell is a very talented storyteller, and the strongest of these tales would fit right in at a campfire ghost story session.

[Kayla Holthe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can’t they have someone with a more Vincent Price-y voice do these???? Stories were okay.