Spooks ranges into the oddest nooks and crannies of both science and belief (and scientists who believe), regaling the reader with tales of Duncan Macdougall, a respected surgeon who weighed consumptives at their moment of death to see if the escaping soul could be measured in ounces, and of female mediums like Margery who, during séances, extruded a substance called ectoplasm from their private parts (she even examines a piece of alleged ectoplasm archived at Cambridge University). The author goes to school to learn to be a medium, subjects her brain to electromagnetic waves to see if they induce the experience of seeing ghosts and joins a group trying to record sounds made by the spirits of the Donner party.

In this history of parapsychology, Dr. Richard S. Broughton, Director of Research at the Institute of Parapsycyhology, documents the beginnings of J. B. Rhine's experiments in psychic phenomena. .. "On July 1, the Rhines had a sitting with Margery Crandon that proved to be a bitter disappointment. To J. B. and Louisa, complete newcomers to psychical research, it seemed that this famous medium's physical phenomena were phoney..."

Mysticism can be practical: good magic gets your house cleaned, creates abundance, and helps conjure your own brand of bewitching sexuality. So says Francesca De Grandis in this down-to-earth and entertaining guide to the goddess magic of Celtic shamanism--and she should know. De Grandis has led countless students to profound personal transformation and inner wisdom through her step-by-step program of spells, rituals, and meditations. This is serious shamanic training at its playful best!