A HISTORY OF GHOSTS The True Story of Seances, Mediums, Ghosts, and Ghostbusters By Peter Aykroyd The author is the father of actor Dan Aykroyd, whose experiences inspired him to make the famed Ghostbusters movie. As a small child, Peter was permitted to quietly attend seances held regularly in his grandfather’s home. As an adult he was given charge of over 80 journals of Dr. A’s on the subject. The discovery of the journals led Peter to 6 years of research, which culminated in this book. It is a detailed collection of the terminology, researchers, mediums and their acts at the turn of the last century. The movement of the time that delved into the question of whether human personality survives the death experience was called Spiritualism. It was likely inspired by the number of deaths from the two world wars. The book continues into the current New Age movement, in which there appears to be an upsurge of channelers (those who do not go into a trance) and a disappearance of mediums. The movement incorporates the beliefs and practices of numerous major world religions, as opposed to the religious solidarities and conflicts of the past. Throughout are theories as to how and what is actually occurring in these séances, alongside the skepticism as to whether anything paranormal is actually happening at all, or could simply be relegated to magician-type fraud. For what reason are these events occurring at all? It is noted that a number of religions were founded through such means. It is also implied that everyday personal healing that appears is too mundane and there is little to no purpose to phenomena such as apportations. Where are the startling and futuristic revelations? However, what future does one have without the healing of their past, and how can one succeed without knowing what is possible? Though significant human personalities are repeatedly recorded to have returned to communicate while in spirit, little is mentioned of testing the spirits themselves. The diversity in the dimensions of the spirit world may exceed that of earth – from beings of dark to the purest light, and those outside the bounds of human, such as Extra Terrestrials and elementals. Also noted was the obscuring or absence of some of the most noteworthy mediums and their communication with Higher Minds beyond spirits bound to earth – the Ascended Masters, who also exist physically. Madame Blavatsky was mentioned in the back of the book under Comments. The brief portrayal was not positive and mentioned nothing of her tremendous works the Key to Theosophy and Isis Unveiled. The Secret Doctrine, it has been said, would require a lifetime of study to comprehend. Her principle communicators were the Mahatmas Koot Humi and Morya, as well as Djwhal Khul out of Tibet. The latter communicated extensively through Alice Bailey, who produced over 20 volumes through automatic writing and telepathic inspiration. The former, K.H. and Morya precipitated responses to letters from A.P. Sinnett compiled in the book The Mahatma Letters. Also of significance is Nettie Maynard, a trance medium that held séances for President Abraham Lincoln and was instrumental in policies such as the Emancipation Proclamation. This is documented in the book Was Abraham Lincoln a Spiritualist? Two clairvoyants who produced massive amounts of writings deserving attention were Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater. Their volumes went far beyond communication with earthbounds and automatic writing. A History of Ghosts is a brave and objective perspective on the scientific evidence of mediumship that is lacking is much of the current literature. There appears to be a distinction between believers who assume they don’t need science and skeptics who will believe nothing beyond their experience. To embark upon a serious investigation of metaphysics and parapsychology – the scientific study of all things beyond the physical, and ways and means by which to effect communication, may lead to the most significant realizations and expansions of a lifetime, in this era of unprecedented access to the written word. After all, is that not the next step for all?