Ghosts of the Northeast [Paperback]

David J. Pitkin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A painstakingly accurate collection of true ghost stories...which he writes about so knowingly. Genuinely fascinating and lovely. -- Dr. Hans Holzer

About the Author

Retired teacher of World Cultures and Religions, Pitkin taught 36 years in NY State schools. In 1974, following a major illness, he began a quest for enlightenment in parapsychology and developed an expertise in numerology. He had visited a haunted barn in 1968 and, following a study of the Riley House in Saratoga Springs, NY, became a dedicated collector of the details of hauntings. Traditional religions, he found, offer little constructive information about the souls trapped between the physical realm and the eternal, spurring him to write his successful SARATOGA COUNTY GHOSTS in 1998. Now a widely-sought after speaker, he has appeared frequently throughout the eastern United States. He had equal success as numerologist David James throughout a successful 25 year career, and wrote SPIRITUAL NUMEROLOGY: CARING FOR NUMBER ONE.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Aurora Pubns; First Edition edition (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966392523
• ISBN-13: 978-0966392524
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #506,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Biography for David J. Pitkin

Following a first experience with a ghost in 1968, retired teacher and author David J. Pitkin has sought understanding of the mysteries surrounding life and death. In the process, he has written 8 books, beginning with Saratoga County Ghosts in 1998. Fascinated with the unconscious mind and on evidence for consciousness surviving body death, he published his first metaphysical novel, The Highest Mountain, in 2007. He also has completed two books of New York State ghost stories, and one detailing over 200 tales in the northeast US and Canada. In the process, he has interviewed over 1,500 people, whose stories make up his fascinating rendition of ghost stories. "My motto is: enlighten, don't frighten," he states. He recently completed and published New England Ghosts.

Conducting investigations for thirty-five years at many reputedly haunted sites in New York State, the New England states and Canada, he has become a philosopher lecturing on death and its aftermath. A resident of Chestertown, NY, Pitkin lectures widely on parapsychology and metaphysical themes, including ghost stories.

He studied dream analysis with Dr. Montague Ullman and facilitated a dream study group for eleven years. Pitkin believes many dreams of the departed are genuine ghost or spirit contacts. He holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Social Studies Education from S.U.N.Y., Albany, and a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from Goddard College, Plainfield, VT. He is also a professional numerologist.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Really Good Book, December 17, 2002

By 

Bryan L. White (Duncanville, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ghosts of the Northeast (Paperback)

I'm sick to death of books that spend 15 pages telling you the history of a building or area-histories that are often spurious or just folklore-and then end the chapter with, "There are some who say that if you listen on a windy night..." These are not books about ghosts-they're collections of legends and they're pretty much useless to anyone who is actually interested in ghosts.
Pitkin's book is more in the style of the collections made by the early SPR-he is interested in the ghostly experiences of his subjects, not the history of the county they're in. Mr. Pitkin has spent his time wisely,interviewing witnesses instead of reading travelogues. The people in this book have seen apparitions, have watched the movement of objects when no one or thing was influencing them, etc. For some reason this is rare these days. I highly recommend this book and I hope Mr. Pitkin writes more like it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alternate Plain Road Trip, June 20, 2002

By 

Judith Baldwin (Astoria, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghosts of the Northeast (Paperback)

David Pitkin's latest book is not for those who want to be scared (or to scare others). It will take you to places that are not necessarily in the tour books already, or have had motion pictures made about them; ordinary houses and places where spirits manifest themselves across time BECAUSE OF THE PLACE and what it holds. Like the ones we all live in.

I finding out who these souls are, tracing back the history of a place and thus giving background to occurrances otherwise unexplainable, Mr.Pitkin both gives us a 'how-to' regarding our own experiences [whether frightening or benevolent] and an understanding of the sensitivity power that exists in most of us [whether developed or not] to the plains inhabited by the souls of the past.

This book is comprehensive, succint in its 'tale presentation' and definitely leaving its readers anxious for the author's NEXT book on the subject.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must For Those Who Collect Ghost Stories, May 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Ghosts of the Northeast (Paperback)

I had a hard time putting this book down!! Well written stories that come straight from the people who witnessed the events!! It was nice to see photos of the places the stories were written about.This will definately be added to my collection of ghost books. I hope Mr.Pitkin continues to research ghost stories and pass them along to us!!