Customer Reviews

Will Storr vs. The Supernatural: One Man's Search for the Truth About Ghosts

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Will Storr, journalist, not only does not believe in ghosts, he's not even sure there is a God. So when the idea to research the paranormal occurs, he approaches the concept with more than the usual amount of skepticism. However, he gamely plunges on, interviewing the possessed, the ghost hunters, and the demonologists, relentlessly seeking answers as he investigates haunted places on both sides of the Atlantic. What he finds causes him not only to re-evaluate his position on things that go bump in the night, but his belief in what happens when we die and therefore his own agnosticism.

Written with a great deal of humor, Will Storr covers a wide variety of paranormal research, including not only ghosts but demons, possessions, and Satanic worship. He's tenacious in finding those who are famous (or infamous) in the world of paranormal research, including those who don't want to be interviewed. He doesn't shy away from the hard questions, and in pursuing the "truth", he discovers that some things simply cannot be explained, though he does spend a good deal of time trying to find scientific reasons for what's he's finding. A point in his favor is that he doesn't swallow everything he's fed without analyzing; his observance on the set of England's TV prgram "Most Haunted" is particularly revealing. However, as is often said in the paranormal investigations world, once everything has been analyzed carefully, what cannot be debunked becomes evidence, and Storr certainly sees some gripping substantiation that there is something else out there.

You don't have to believe in ghosts to enjoy this title. Storr has an engaging style that will definitely keep you entertained. A minor irritation for me was the fact that at times I felt as though I was left hanging without conclusion to the investigation, though probably Storr himself felt this way occasionally. Storr's about-face on his beliefs may indeed make you question your own, and in this case, that's a good thing. Recommended.

I have read many ghost story books, seen many if not all the documentaries on ghosts, poltergiests, demons, etc. . . But I have never read a book with such a refreshing perspective on ghosts than the one that Will Storr has wrote. This book is very well done, it makes you believe and question the reality of ghosts. Will plays both sides of the fence skeptic and believer. He takes you through the lives of ghost hunters, demon chasers and exorcist priests. Will shows both sides of the coin, laying the facts in front of you to let you decide what is real and what is not. If you are a believer in ghosts you will question your belief and if you do not believe you will suspect that ghosts exist. You have to get this book especially if you are not a believer in the paranormal, you will be amazed and quite entertatined by the notion of ghostly beings. I hope Will will write a sequel to his awesome ending. Write on Will!

I have read and thoroughly enjoyed several books on the paranormal over the years and `Will Storr Vs. The Supernatural', written by Will Storr, was no exception. It was one of those books that you start to read and then have difficulty putting down. In fact I had read it cover to cover in less than three days, despite working and being mum to a four-year-old child!

Storr's narrative style of writing and investigative journalism have earned him comparisons with Louis Theroux and Jon Ronson. I personally found the book to be a fascinating piece of work. Thought provoking, to the point, balanced, well researched and in places his description of events had me laughing out loud! As a sceptic, he started his journey to disprove paranormal events and poke gentle fun at those who believe in them when he was sent on a journalistic assignment to follow a Demonologist in Philadelphia, USA. As events unfolded, he found himself being unable to debunk what he was witnessing and he became more and more convinced that there really was `something' out there. On returning home, he decided to try and explain these events for himself, so he delved into several different areas of the paranormal in an attempt to clarify things in his own mind. He takes part in investigations with various paranormal groups including the Ghost Club, he visit's Maurice Grosse at home, goes on set with Most Haunted Live, has coffee with sceptical psychologists, experiments with Ouija boards and dowsing rods and is exorcised by the Vatican's chief exorcist in Rome. He meets some very interesting and colourful characters along the way!

Will Storr's assessment of events is fair and unpretentious. It will appeal to the believer or sceptic alike as Will keeps an open mind and evaluates each event in its own context. The book includes favourite UK investigation sites such as Michelham Priory and Coalhouse Fort. I particularly enjoyed the way Will involves the reader in his thought process but doesn't force his own view on you, merely suggests explanations and lets you, as the reader, draw your own conclusions.

As a Council member of 'The Ghost Club' which is featured in the book I would like to congratulate Will on an accurate portrayal of the club - which incidently does use scientific methods and equipment during it's investigations; something that a previous reviewer has quoted wrongly.

On that note I only have one thing left to say. More of the same please!

I read this book on holiday and found it a fascinating read. Will Storr is a journalist who stumbled across `the Supernatural' whilst doing an article for a magazine. He is neither wholly sceptical nor a firm believer, but rather takes us through a journey of discovery through a variety crackpots in both camps. Will never really offers an opinion on his subjects but prefers to let the various people hang themselves, or not as the case may be. Its testament to his writing that one often doesn't come to an overall opinion about many of the people he meets: that even if they do seem completely wacko they come across as very ordinary people like you and me: which of course (at least some of them!) are.

One of the best things about this book is not the fear factor (and I'm ashamed to say I was a bundle of nerves while reading a lot of it) but the humour. His visit to the set of TV's Most Haunted is particularly funny, in an `isn't the Media so ridiculous' kind of way and Will's Brazen cheekiness at stealing the evenings programme of `Happenings' makes particularly funny reading.

On the other hand this is not simply an exercise in poking fun at those who believe in ghosts. There were many passages that we're genuinely terrifying reading, and Will does a very good job of recreating the experience of fear, whether rational or irrational. What this book does is remind us that there is a lot in the world that we don't know about and often Scientists who believe that they know everything are often just as scary as Ghost hunters. Will's trip to the Vatican and his meeting with the Vatican's chief exorcist is a real eye opener and a fascinating piece of writing, and I recommend this book just for that piece alone.

What happens when a confirmed skeptic takes on the supernatural world?

Well, in the real world, not a hell of a lot. The skeptic will, in most cases, remain utterly skeptical, always finding some logical reason by which to relegate the supernatural into something mundanely prosaic.

But if that skeptic happens to be internationally famous journalist Will Storr, known for his irreverence and straight shooting style of Gonzo-journalism, then you know to expect the unexpected- even from someone as proud of his level headed skepticism as Storr.

This is a quest, written by a man who wants to find the truth, and goes to great lengths to find it. Storr walks us through his own doubts, giving us an honest assessment of his emotional tensions throughout his two years of research. He admits that he started the book with a smirking derision about all things spiritual (including his own religious upbringing), but by its end has a different view on the things he witnesses that have no rational explanation.

Even though Storr doesn't take things at face value, at one point in his fascinating quest he decides to try and believe anything that anyone tells him without question. This includes some obviously delusional people who see something supernatural in even the most common of events, and some earnest people who believe in their possession and haunting without a modicum of scientific proof. Needless to say, Storr's intelligent skepticism soon kicks back in and he seeks out hard scientific reasoning for the things he sees and hears along the way, including phantom lights that follow people around their homes, heavy breathing and being touched by something in an empty room, and many other creepy moments that are sure to make even the most stalwart unbeliever pause for a second and wonder.

Storr tries to cover all aspects of supernatural, visiting philosophers, doctors, scientists, parapsychologists, mediums, priests, demonologists, and everyday people who have been victims of hauntings, possessions, and other less than normal events for answers. He finds superstitious people that seem to still live in the Middle Ages where demons and devils control every aspect of their simple lives and a skeptical doctor who, although he confesses to having seen a ghost as a child, blindly refuses to accept that anything beyond the normal can exist. Storr cleverly shows us the two ends of the extreme, and smartly decides to plop himself somewhere between them. His 2004 visit to the set of Most Haunted (a successful reality show about haunted places on the U.K.'s Living Channel) is laugh out loud funny reading, as he exposes the show for fake.

So do ghosts really exist? Are devils and demons all around us? Is there something beyond when we shuffle off this mortal coil?

Unbeliever, or one of the faithful, WILL STORR VS. THE SUPERNATURAL will give you much food for thought, and may even give you chance to answer those questions for yourself.

--Nickolas Cook

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down! The pages just flew by. The author, a journalist, recounts his journey of exploration and research into the world of the supernatural - in particular, the existence of ghosts. Starting off basically as a skeptic, his travels lead him into all sorts of situations - some more baffling than others. On the matter of the existence of ghosts and an afterlife, he has discussions with a philosopher, a psychiatrist, research physicians, a priest/exorcist and a variety of ghost hunters; he interviews people who have had various experiences with ghosts; he travels to several places in England, the USA and even the Vatican; he participates in various investigations, including haunted houses, poltergeists, possessions and even examines the issue of Near Death Experiences. Throughout his researches he remains focused, objective and open-minded. He continuously reflects on what he's experiencing in his investigations, in light of the history of these various phenomena throughout the ages, looking for patterns. He even considers quantum physics (Uncertainty Principle) and string theory (multi dimensions) as possibly having the potential for eventually explaining these phenomena. Could it be that consciousness and the physical body are two separable entities? The evidence is there to be studied. The bottom line is that some of these events, as described, are simply not obviously explainable through conventional knowledge. This is an excellent book. The prose flows in a very friendly and engaging style. It should be of interest to skeptics and believers alike, as well as those simply interested in unsolved mysteries.

This is a balanced and thoroughly entertaining exploration of ghostly phenomena written by a journalist with an impressive profile in the UK. Storr is neither credulous nor so blinkered as to dismiss his subject matter out of hand. In fact, one of the delights of the book is an ongoing dialogue the author maintains between the part of him that wants to believe and the part that doesn't. In his quest Storr also covers a lot of territory, examining philosophical, psychological and scientific aspects of the supernatural as well as forming astute assessments of the characters he encounters. Both sceptics and those who believe that ghosts are real will therefore find much to delight and challenge them here. Best of all, Storr does not sit on the fence at the end but readers will be hard pressed to second guess his conclusions as they make their way through the text.

I read this book as a sceptic, but ended up really enjoying it.

A sceptic in terms of the fact that the author and I are related and I was reading it more from a sense of duty than anything else. After the months of dinner-table chat about his adventures racing around distant houses and woodlands it was only natural that I buy a copy, if only to join in future conversations around it!

I did in fact enjoy it immensly. It's an engaging, funny, curious and most of all accessible romp through a complex and mysterious question; is there more to life than we perceive? I was pleased to see that many other people shared my opinion, have a look at the reviews on amazon.co.uk.

Having known Will all my life and spoken to him many times during his research for this book, I can assure the previous reviewer he is no James Frey and this is no "Million Little Pieces".

Will Storr Vs. The Supernatural is one of those books that beg to be read on a rainy day while drinking some hot tea or coffee. It's very easy to read, funny, and some times terrifying.

I really enjoyed this book because Will Storr wrote it without taking the subject matter so seriously. He investigated many issues dealing with the paranormal, and played devil's advocate, skeptic or believer; he played both ends, and gave each a fair shot at explaining the supernatural. However along the way, among the interviews, heart-stopping moments of fear and paranormal investigations, he injected humor many time into the predicaments he placed himself in. He didn't do what so many of the believers and non-believers did which appeared in his story, which is... take themselves so SERIOUSLY! Well written, this book is a keeper. (Hint... best page in the book is #242; scariest is chapter 15, the entire thing).