Ghost: Investigating the Other Side [Hardcover]

Katherine Ramsland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 12, 2001

With the same open and personal style that won her much praise for Piercing the Darkness, Katherine Ramsland turns her keen and curious eye to the phenomena of ghosts to uncover the truth behind a number of supernatural "sightings". Written in the bold tradition of participatory journalism, Ramsland's extraordinary investigative memoir takes readers directly into the world of ghost hunting and paranormal activity, offering an unflinching account of this mysterious world. On the track of an authentic "haunting," Ramsland encounters psychics, shamans, voodoo practicioners, and high-tech ghost hunters eager to reveal how to contact spirits. But through her own daring experiments, Ramsland is able to penetrate the supernatural mystery that has inspired paranormal investigations worldwide.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ramsland (author of numerous books on Anne Rice, vampirism and other ghoulish subjects) is just the sort of person you'd want to tell you a ghost story: credible, smart, sane and funny, neither a believer nor a skeptic. Cast as an adventure in "participatory journalism," the book begins with Ramsland's chance acquisition of a haunted silver ring. Determined to extract its secrets, she sets out on a quest that gradually turns into a full-blown investigation of psychic aberration in America. She plunges into the vast culture of ghost detection, sleeping in haunted bed-and-breakfasts from Salem to Sedona, familiarizing herself with the latest technology while also consulting conventional occult modes tarot, palm, Ouija. Charmingly understated at all times ("I never quite know how to talk to someone who lives simultaneously in two time periods"), Ramsland admits to being impervious to the spirit world; while psychics and sensitives of every description reel and recoil at the mere sight of her ring, she at first feels and sees nothing. Her gradual conviction, as she delves deeper and deeper into the realm of the unseen, that "something is out there" is all the more spine-tingling. Ramsland is a master of foreboding, and as her tale unravels, an explosive climax seems inevitable. What results more a creepy certainty than a frightful resolution may disappoint some readers. But whatever its payoff, the book will find avid fans among X-Files watchers, amateur ghost hunters, and the vast majority of those who feel that things that go bump in the night should be heard rather than seen. Agent, Lori Perkins.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A haunted ring acquired during Ramsland's research for Piercing the Darkness: Undercover with Vampires in America Today (LJ 9/15/98) drove her to explore the ghost world in this investigative memoir. With a healthy blend of skepticism and avid interest, Ramsland journeys, X-Files-style, into the realm of medians, channelers, psychics, exorcists, and ghost hunters to research the ring's connection to its former owner, a murderer who claimed to be a vampire. Ramsland is careful not to impose easy frameworks on the facts, and her openness enhances the hunt as she sleeps in haunted bed-and-breakfasts and gives tarot and palm reading a try. This daring jaunt is recommended for public library collections on the paranormal and any library with a large occult collection; browsers will be attracted. Leroy Hommerding, Fort Myers Beach Lib. Dist., FL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (October 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312261640
• ISBN-13: 978-0312261641
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,113,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Katherine Ramsland began her career as a writer with Prism of the Night: A Biography of Anne Rice. She had a bestseller with The Vampire Companion. Since then, she has published 40 books and over 1,000 articles, reviews and short stories. From ghosts to vampires to serial killers, she has taken on a variety of dark subjects. She holds graduate degrees in forensic psychology, clinical psychology, criminal justice, and philosophy. Currently, she teaches forensic psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University. Her books include The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds, The Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation, Inside the Minds of Serial Killers, Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators, and Inside the Minds of Mass Murderers. Her background in forensic studies positioned her to assist former FBI profiler John Douglas on his book, The Cases that Haunt Us, and to co-write a book with former FBI profiler, Gregg McCrary, The Unknown Darkness, as well as The Real Life of a Forensic Scientist with Henry C. Lee and A Voice for the Dead with James Starrs. She speaks internationally about forensic psychology, forensic science, and serial murder, and has appeared on numerous documentaries, as well as such programs as The Today Show, 20/20, 48 Hours, NPR, Coast to Coast, Montel Williams, Larry King Live and E! True Hollywood.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "Gone to be an Orb", May 24, 2002

By 

L. Holloway "lee77" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ghost: Investigating the Other Side (Hardcover)

"Gone to be an Angel" is a popular epitaph, but if the IGHS (International Ghost Hunters Society) has its way, it won't be long before we walk through a cemetery and see a marker bearing the inscription, "Gone to be an Orb"! I would have liked Ms. Ramsland's book a lot more had she not devoted so much of it to the IGHS and its ridiculous theory that "orbs" (reflections of light off minute particles directly in front of the lens and flash of cheap digital cameras) are spirits of the dead. (Quite frankly, I cannot think of anything less appealing than dying and becoming an orb!) The book contains 300 pages and on page 296, the author finally gets around to interviewing a reputable ghost hunter who cast some doubt on the "orb" theory, but she devoted only a single paragraph--and a short one at that--to his opinions. I expected something more objective from Ms. Ramsland. This book was a great disappointment.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Flawed, but fun., October 18, 2002

By 

Lisby "[e-mail]" (Myersville, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost: Investigating the Other Side (Hardcover)

As a meandering, first-person tale of paranormal dabbling, this book isn't bad, although many of the people Ramsland contacts for their "expertise" are so over-the-top that they damage the credibility of parapsychology rather than bolster it.

The main problem with this book is that Ramsland ties her paranormal explorations to "Christian," a dead and supposedly sadistic vampire wannabe. Ramsland obtains Christian's ring from a psychopathic youth named "Wraith." Wraith then stalks Ramsland to get the ring back. Ramsland refuses to give it to him or get rid of it, as she feels it is her connection to the departed Christian. As all this drama unfolds, Ramsland never does the very first thing any journalist should do: verify that Christian existed. She accepts Wraith's high-gothic tale of multiple murders and psychic mayhem without a blink, yet never seems to have tried to find police records, new reports, or other vital records about Christian and his supposed victims.

Lacking any kind of hard evidence that Christian was a human on Earth, it's hard to accept her evidence of Christian as a tormented ghost in need of Ramsland's intervention. In the end, this book does nothing to prove the reality of the paranormal, but it is fun to read, if only to encounter the many unusual personalities she introduces who claim to have an in with the Other Side.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars rambling, fails to capture interest, April 23, 2002

By 

Karen Sampson Hudson "Karen Sampson Hudson" (Reno, NV United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ghost: Investigating the Other Side (Hardcover)

I expected more from this author, who, according to the book jacket, "taught philosophy for many years at Rutgers University." There is little intellectual rigor in this rambling discourse down already well-known paths. Ramsland includes a section of "orbs" photographs taken with a digital camera, and in several places quotes camera manufacturers who say they have no explanation for the pictures. Anyone who uses a dig cam (and without making an accusation, I remind readers of Adobe Photo Shop) knows that aberrations of light do occur at times.
In short, although the topic remains fascinating, Ramsland's treatment is woefully short of originality.