American Hauntings: The Rise of the Spirit World and Birth of the Modern Ghost Hunter

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Do you believe in ghosts? You're not alone. For nearly two centuries, American popular culture has been influenced by the supernatural. Since the Fox sisters first reported the "mysterious rappings" in their New York home, mediums, magicians, and ghost hunters have played a huge part in the shaping of American history. In this compelling book by Troy Taylor, he reveals the roots of our fascination with ghosts, haunted houses, and the supernatural, and offers a rich, entertaining, and colorful look at the people, places, and eerie events that have captured the imagination of the country. From the mediums of Spiritualism's golden age to the ghost hunters of the modern era, Taylor shines a light on the phantasms and frauds of the past, the inexplicable and violent events that kept Spiritualism alive in a new century, the first researchers who dared to investigate the unknown, and the stories and events that galvanized the pubic and created the paranormal field that we know today. This is a thrilling exploration of the creation of paranormal popular culture in America, filled with heroes, villains, skeptics, believers, horrors, and hoaxes. This is a must-have book for anyone with an interest in how ghost research truly began! --Amazon.com