The author is a long-time paranormal researcher and ghost-whisperer who offers lots of advice in this book. Her previous book Is Your House Haunted? tackles the initial question of what could be causing odd things to go bump in the night.
The first three chapters are a review of that material. Ms. Chestnut describes the many potential entities that can inhabit a house, from benign to malevolent. There’s also a discussion about why a particular entity is haunting a place. A ghost’s motivations for inhabiting a place steer the decisions about how it can be banished. The author sensibly suggests a list of white-bread mechanical reasons for noises and effects that may resemble hauntings but really just call for some home repairs. It’s important to distinguish between malfunctioning normal and paranormal.
Chapter 5 offers several means of protection. These are time-tested and effective methods for creating layers of protection around individuals, and for protecting and spiritually cleansing a dwelling place. Chapter 6 explains some methods for evacuating ghosts and outlines sensible criteria for discovering what kind of entity is at work. In Chapter 7, the author describes cases where professional ghost hunters of mediums should be employed.
Ghosts and spirits are not equal. Each incident of presence, haunting, or otherworldly harassment has unique characteristics, causes, and effects on the residents. Perhaps the most important tip is that a house may require multiple cleansings to get an unwelcome ghost to go away! There’s also a possibility that residents can coexist with a quiet and harmless ghost.
This book is a good guide to figuring out what you’re dealing with if your house is haunted. It’s recommended for those who are inexperienced in encountering and dealing with ghosts and want sensible guidance on do-it-yourself clearings. This is a good basic guide on the topic of ghosts.
~review by Elizabeth Hazel
Author: Debi Chestnut
Llewellyn, 2014
209 p, $15.99 pb
