The Paranormal Caught On Film [Hardcover]

Melvyn Willin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2008

The Paranormal Caught on Film is a mysterious and mesmerizing collection of photographs depicting ghosts and other extraordinary phenomena from around the world. Believers will marvel at the range of unexplained activity captured on camera and sceptics will not be able to resist debating the provenance of these enigmatic images. The book covers everything from the unfathomable to the downright spooky--mediums and spiritualists producing bizarre phenomena, eery lights, fogs and auras, astonishing appearances, levitating children and flying objects. Each compelling picture is accompanied by illuminating commentary from ghost expert and psychical investigator, Dr Melvyn Willin.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Melvyn Willin is archive officer for the Society of Psychical Research (SPR) and has been a council member of the Ghost Club and the SPR. He gives talks on the paranormal and has carried out investigations at alleged hauntings throughout the UK. Dr. Willin is the author of Ghosts Caught on Film, as well as numerous articles on the subject.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: David & Charles (September 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0715329804
• ISBN-13: 978-0715329801
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #674,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I think I would have preferred more content..., October 18, 2008

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Paranormal Caught On Film (Hardcover)

I follow my local library's new books in circulation via an RSS feed. So when the book The Paranormal Caught On Film by Dr. Melvyn Willin showed up, I though it might be a fun few hours of reading. In reality, it wasn't much more than about 90 minutes of pictures and commentary that in the end didn't do much more me one way or the other.

The book is 141 pages of pictures and commentary on photographs that purport to show paranormal activity or beings. They are classed into the categories of Ghostly Figures, Strange Lights & Apparitions, Simulacra, The Unexplained - Poltergeists & Other Phenomena, and Back From The Dead. The layout of the book is small, usually with a picture on one page and the commentary on the opposing side. To Willin's credit, he doesn't attempt to defend each and every picture as authentic. In fact, he usually states the case for both sides of the argument of "staged" or "real". It's even more surprising given that he's a paranormal researcher, and you'd expect some bias towards one end of the spectrum. The pictures range from old turn of the century shots to camera phone clicks that ended up showing more than the phone owner originally saw. Based on what type of picture it is, Willin is realistic as to what normal events could have happened to create the image. Some are very explainable, while others are much less so.

While the pictures were interesting, ultimately the book didn't do much for me. I'm more than willing to be open to the existence of "paranormal" phenomenon, so it's not as if I disagreed with the writer. I think it was more along the lines of the book being small, and the writer never really coming down on one side or the other on many of the images. In the end, I felt like I was looking at someone's personal photo album with a few comments thrown in. For a library read, it was good. But if I had paid money to purchase the book, I think I would have been very disappointed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book if you like looking at paranormal photos, November 7, 2009

By 

A. Purvis (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Paranormal Caught On Film (Hardcover)

A lot of the photos in this book are from ghoststudy's website & soem are from other sites on the web, but I prefer looking at photos on paper. There are stories to go along with the photos, it's not a "picture book". I recommend it if you're into ghost photography or if you just like the paranormal.

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money...., January 24, 2011

By 

Bethany Beauchamp - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Paranormal Caught On Film (Hardcover)

The photos are poor quality.... and few .... this book is not worth the money. I was totally disappointed. All of the pictures are available on the Internet. The author's comments do not include any enlightening information.