Ghost Hunters of the South

By Alan Brown

Book Overview

Southerners are accustomed to hearing stories of a residence, an old hotel, a mansion, or a battlefield being haunted. In Ghost Hunters of the South, Alan Brown shows that ghostlore is no longer enough for some. The forty-four ghost hunting groups he profiles in this book pack cameras, Geiger counters, thermal scanners, oscilloscopes, tape recorders, computers, and dowsing rods to find and record elusive proof of supernatural activity. With candor, the directors and team members reveal the passions and even obsessions that lead them to this expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes dangerous and chilling pursuit of evidence of the spirit realm.

Brown interviews enthusiasts from twelve states--Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Ghost Hunters of the South takes the reader along on exciting and fearful investigations of places such as the Myrtles, St. Francis Inn, Chickamauga Battlefield, Bob Mackey's Music World, Old Talbott Tavern, North Carolina State Capitol, Granberry Opera House, and 17Hundred90 Inn and Restaurant.

Brown participates in some of the investigations to gain a full and objective understanding of teachers, doctors, accountants, housewives, and law enforcement personnel, who devote much of their free time to a quest that many outsiders view with skepticism if not scorn. In fascinating, frightening, and sometimes humorous accounts, Brown highlights the determination of these individuals to answer the question: "What happens to the soul after death?"

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578068932
• ISBN13: 9781578068937
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Length: 422 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Busting the Ghosts

After hearing a variety of ghost stories, I became interested in some of the common details and themes in the narratives. Most ghost stories include motifs such as mysterious noises, eerie shadows and shapes, balls of light, changes in temperature, and disembodied voices. In reading this book, I found that these elements of the stories of hauntings are major components of what ghost hunters examine in paranormal investigations. They have also systematized and categorized these phenomena into descriptions about orbs, vortexs, full-body apparitions, and other elements of the paranormal. What especially interested in this book is how the ghost hunters, themselves, oftentimes are the biggest skeptics. Some of them readily admit that they believe that ghosts exist and that they're seeing actual supernatural occurences. In reading the interview materials and profiles of the ghost hunters, it really surprised me how so many of the researchers take a strongly critical stance in their interpretations of what they've had reported and especially in what they're documenting. I was especially impressed with how one team, Virginia Science Research, made a presentation at a convention of the National Capitol Area Skeptic Society. Members of the society received the ghost hunters favorably, and they were encouraged to ask the requisite challenging questions. This type of balancing between being open-minded while also critical is essential to any kind of research, but it is especially intriguing to see how can be a part of ghost hunting.

Different

This book was really good. It gives you the inside feel for the people who do the ghost hunting. I liked it alot worth reading. It made me buy 2 other books by Alan Brown.

Excellent Read

Alan Brown captures the reality of what it is like to be a ghosthunter. With the many groups out there, Ghost Hunters of the South is the book for anyone that is interested in the inner workings of paranormal research. His many interviews show the diversity of the people and equipment used and provides insight on what it is like when these groups are out doing their work. I highly recommend this book to any armchair ghosthunter or for anyone that may want to start their own group.