Customer Reviews

People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The book is more a story of one family's exploration of the attached-ghost phenomena, and less a story about what to do about it. It's good as a folksy biography, but there isn't a lot of self-help stuff, as the title implies. Overall it's an interesting spin on ghosts and their influence on human psychology, one that I hadn't heard before.

The title of this book intrigued me. It's not everyday that you read about "People Who Don't Know They're Dead".
This book definitely makes you think. In fact, while reading it, I got a paranoid feeling that there could be dead people all around me at any given time. But I also thought that, if that were true, why don't they contact the living more often? And after being ignored for such a long time by the living why do these dead people never catch on to the fact that they are dead? Or do they? This is where the book raises more questions than it answers.
The author also strays off of the spiritual path several times and goes into other subjects like how DNA and pendulums work.
Another part that bothered me is the fact that spirit possession was blamed for a lot of the living's unsavory behavior. It strikes me as dangerous and irresponsible to me to place the blame for drug and alcohol addiction on forces outside of ourselves. As for criminal behavior, if spirit possession were to become a viable defence in court, we'd have a lot more rapists and murderers walking around our streets.
I think it's important to realize that just because information is channeled through a medium doesn't necessary make that information true. Spirits can lie too. (If you've ever used a Ouija board you know this.)
Ghost stories and hauntings are fun to read about. And I'm convinced that there are some restless spirits out there that are yet to find their peace. But let's not blame every whim or mood swing we experience on the undead.

I found "People Who Don't Their Dead" to be a very interesting book. The only downfall was that the author tends to jump around quite a bit, and so the ideas seemed a bit "scattered" to me. However, even with this "downfall", I think it's definitely a worthwhile read.

This book covers many diverse ideas & experiences, but the main theme is that many people who die don't have a clue as to what has happened to them because our society does not make an effort to teach us what to expect - and, since we are still "alive" after death, and appear to still have a body, many people don't realize that they've transitioned to the "Other Side". The idea is that this is the cause for earth-bound spirits or ghosts.

The author also discusses in depth the theory re: "hitchhikers" - the idea that those entites who don't move on after death tend to "reside" in the bodies of loved ones, those addicted to the same substances, and really anyone who had lost conciousness during the same time period that the deceased left their own body. I'm not sure what I believe re: this, but it's an intriguing theory.

So, how do we get rid of these unwanted visitors? A form of spirit counseling is described where someone explains to the spirit that they are dead, and that it's time to move on. A counseling "template" is provided.

Overall, this book kept my interest, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who's interested in the "paranormal".

Goodness..i'd buy this book for the title alone. Which I did. How could you resist finding out what this was all about? Intriguingly matter-of-fact about the subject of souls-not-at-rest. Whether I believe or not is beside the point.

In this book is the explination for the personality chages that often afflict organ transplant patients. Of course, there is a great deal more here as well. Written in a non technical manner, there is no occult or necromancy here. The book is a clear explination of the fact that the dead often afflict the living. Of course, sometimes they just 'hang out,' but this is also mentioned. The book is a must for those who may be having, or suspect they may be having problems with the deceased.
Recommended for the general reader, not the magician or necromancer who has had experience with these spirits of the dead.

Wonderful book! It sheds light on an area of the paranormal not often discussed, the idea of hitchhiker spirits. The author's style is one that is easy to read and believeable... I felt as if I personally knew the folks being written about. There is much wisdom here.. some of it pretty "down home," and that, as far as I'm concerned, is what makes the book such an enjoyable read.

Many other writers of paranormal subjects have given the same references regarding damaging the humam aura through the use of drugs, excess alcohol, and other negative behaviors, and the chance that such "beings" may have "troubles" once they die... none of this is new, nor should it be considered "wacko" or ridiculed. I was saddened to see this book so criticized by such seemingly narrow-minded reviewers.

This is definitely one of my "keeper" books that I'm adding to my personal library.

This book presented the author's perspective very well and in such a way as to keep the reader engaged. He presents a lot of information, in a concise way. Additionally, he introduces a lot of ideas that have been around for a very long time, but presents them in a new and interesting context. I recommend this book very highly.

It is obvious Gary Leon Hill is a writer of fiction. Dramatic writing for the stage does not transfer well to the page. I was not so much 'Shocked and Intrigued'as 'Shocked and Disgusted'at his portrayal of victims of suicide as having done so because a 'spirit' has taken them over and made them do it. According to G.L.H. drug/drink addicts are 'asking for it' and Psychiatric hospitals are full of the possessed.
Is this Victorian attidudes or Creative writing? The latter, I think.
Stick to writing plays, Mr. Hill, and don't insult my intelligence or the memory of many a poor soul who took their life due to whatever unfortunate circumstances they found themselves in.

From the catalog of occult publisher Red Wheel-Weiser comes this metaphysical madness, influenced no doubt by the half billion dollar spectacle that was The Sixth Sense.

People Who Don't Know They're Dead offers a unique (if insane) theory: people "get freeze-framed" when they die by accident. Or when they die through violence. Or even when they die while drunk, stoned, or angry. Must be a lot of freeze-dried ghosts floating around!

Apparently the story arc concerns Uncle Wally and Aunt Ruth. We can be grateful for the noticeable absence of that creepy Haley Joel Osment kid. At the very least, I must give thanks for this gem of an introduction to an interview with author Gary Leon Hill: "Of the many things that can put a cramp in your day, dropping dead is probably somewhere near the top of the list for most people." As my guru always said, Tru dat! This was fantastically topped only by GLH's own observation: "Being dead is so much like being alive."

(See interview link in Comments section below.)

Disclaimer: I haven't read this book. Maybe in the next life...

In order not to corrupt the Amazon rating system, I am assigning a rating equal to the current average: 2.888888888888888 stars

I am a little alarmed with what I've read in this book. I do believe that our spirit or souls live on after we die. But to believe that souls are wandering around interfering with those in the flesh is certainly a problem worthy of attention. I've met many with mental illness and now wonder if that individual may have hitchhiking spirits hanging out increasing their problems.

My thought is: If this is so then where are those protective spirits and guilds that help those living? Why is this happening if it is, and can religious thinking now taught in Monotheistic religion be causing this? Are these dead people who have no religious concept at all of life after death? I am certainly going to give this some consideration and have greater awareness. Fear though attracts negative energies who wish to interfer. Interesting book, and I think worth reading. Each person must weight the evidence and their intuitive feelings on this.

The fact is we have no proof of this, but it certainly is plausible as any other explaination.