Haunted Encounters: Real-Life Stories of Supernatural Experiences (Book)

Dread Central Staff |

Sep 22, 2005

In the middle of the night, under the cover of darkness, shadows run deep and the dead whisper. Thousands have experienced first-hand a brush with the ethereal, often converting non-believers in the process. Still there are many more who, from fear of ridicule or that they might be going mad, do not report their encounters. It seems for these people that this, the first volume of Haunted Encounters, was made – as a reminder that they are not alone.

Included in this book are forty-six stories by average people with one thing in common: They’ve all had a brush with the paranormal. The stories come from across America and Europe including tales from India and England. Each story has its own style, adding to the feeling that, rather than reading words from a page, the reader is listening to a person relating a chapter of their lives.

There are stories that cover all aspects of hauntings from shadows to apparitions, from disappearing objects to flying curios. Haunted houses are the main fare, but also included are tales of departed relatives, haunted cemeteries, and unexplainable precognitions that are enough to give even hardened ghost hunters a chill. The stories also range in tone, providing a wide expanse of the different types of hauntings. Included are tales in which the ghosts are comforting, even protective, as well as demonic and truly horrifying.

Among the best stories in this volume are “The Thin One” by Jean S. Munro; “When Souls Go Thirsty” by Swapna Goel; and Docia Williams’ encounter with “The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall.” However, none of the stories should be overlooked as they all are unique and bring with them their own points of view.

The authors of these tales are just as varied as the stories they tell. Writing styles range from the conversational to the eloquent. Each story is a reflection of the authors’ lives, giving insight to their beliefs and how those beliefs were either changed or reinforced with their experiences.

Haunted Encounters: Real-Life Stories of Supernatural Experiences is the first in the Haunted Encounters series from Atriad Press. With stories so vividly told by people from so many walks of life, readers, whether believers in the supernatural or not, will get caught up in the tales, and many will begin to believe. If nothing else, the tales contained herein are enough to raise the hairs on the back of the reader’s neck and make him jump at a few shadows, should he be foolhardy enough to read it alone and at night.

Perhaps the most important points of this book are the simple messages the stories convey. Though there are many ghosts that are malevolent and frightening, not all ghosts are scary. And, possibly the most important message, no one is ever really alone.

Haunted Encounters: Real-Life Stories of Supernatural Experiences
Edited by Ginnie Siena Bivona, Dorothy McConachie, and Mitchel Whitington
Atriad Press, 2003
253 Pages

4 out of 5

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