20 Best Books About Ghosts (2023 Update)

A frightening collection of true ghost stories, which will turn skeptics and nonbelievers into people who sleep with one eye open! master ghost hunter and best-selling author brad steiger invites you to join him as he explores the many dark and nightmarish pathways leading to this shadowy world of spirits and hauntings. real ghosts, restless spirits, and haunted places is the defining work on spirit phenomena. it is a comprehensive classification of the spirit world touching on every possibility from time travel to parallel universes, presenting the full range of ghostly manifestations and haunted locations. a major work sure to be heralded by paranormal enthusiasts (whatever their corporeal state). do you know the difference between poltergeists and spirits of the dead? the differences between spirits residue, spirit parasites and spirit masqueraders? with its 30 topical chapters, real ghosts, covers those differences and many more: spirits seen at death beds and funerals haunted churches, cemeteries, and burial grounds phantoms on roads and highways battlefields where phantom armies eternally wage war speaking to spirits: the mystery of mediumship animal ghosts–domesticated and wild spirit parasites that possessed apparitions of religious figures haunted hotels, motels, and inns did you know that ghosts still haunt ohio's state reformatory, otherwise known as shawshank? or that the hollywood roosevelt hotel is home to some of the most famous ghosts in the world? with real ghosts, you'll discover that abe lincoln regularly consulted "spooks" and mediums, rudolph valentino haunts his old mansion, and the ghosts of anne boleyn, henry viii, katharine howard, jane seymour, elizabeth i, and king george iii all still haunt some of england's most famous castles. you'll also learn how to perform a cleansing ritual to rid your home of unwanted spectral visitors. more than a collection of true ghost stories, this book plunks you square into the middle of the eerie action with captivating stories that would be at home at any midnight campfire. the only difference is these stories aren't urban legends employing hooks, needles, or long, metal fingernails for their scare. these stories exist outside of the mind and live right next door to every one of us. real ghosts shouldn't be read when you are home alone and the lights begin to flicker!

From the new york times bestselling author of sepulchre and labyrinth-a compelling story of love, ghosts and remembrance. world war i robbed england and france of an entire generation of friends, lovers and futures. in freddie watson's case, the battlefields took his beloved brother and, at times, his peace of mind. in the winter of 1928, still seeking some kind of resolution, freddie is travelling through the beautiful but forbidding french pyrenees. during a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. freezing and dazed, he stumbles through the woods, emerging in a tiny village, where he finds an inn to wait out the blizzard. there he meets fabrissa, a lovely young woman also mourning a lost generation. over the course of one night, fabrissa and freddie share their stories. by the time dawn breaks, freddie will have unearthed a tragic mystery that goes back through the centuries, and discovered his own role in the life of this old remote town.by turns thrilling, poignant, and haunting, this is a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage.

New york times bestseller – the epic true crime story of the most successful bootlegger in american history and the murder that shocked the nation, from the new york times bestselling author of sin in the second city and liar, temptress, soldier, spy“gatsby-era noir at its best.”—erik larsonan id book club selection – named one of the ten best history books of the year by smithsonianin the early days of prohibition, long before al capone became a household name, a german immigrant named george remus quits practicing law and starts trafficking whiskey. within two years he's a multi-millionaire. the press calls him "king of the bootleggers," writing breathless stories about the gatsby-esque events he and his glamorous second wife, imogene, host at their cincinnati mansion, with party favors ranging from diamond jewelry for the men to brand-new cars for the women. by the summer of 1921, remus owns 35 percent of all the liquor in the united states. pioneering prosecutor mabel walker willebrandt is determined to bring him down. willebrandt's bosses at the justice department hired her right out of law school, assuming she'd pose no real threat to the cozy relationship they maintain with remus. eager to prove them wrong, she dispatches her best investigator, franklin dodge, to look into his empire. it's a decision with deadly consequences. with the fledgling fbi on the case, remus is quickly imprisoned for violating the volstead act. her husband behind bars, imogene begins an affair with dodge. together, they plot to ruin remus, sparking a bitter feud that soon reaches the highest levels of government–and that can only end in murder. combining deep historical research with novelistic flair, the ghosts of eden park is the unforgettable, stranger-than-fiction story of a rags-to-riches entrepreneur and a long-forgotten heroine, of the excesses and absurdities of the jazz age, and of the infinite human capacity to deceive.praise for the ghosts of eden park“an exhaustively researched, hugely entertaining work of popular history that . . . exhumes a colorful crew of once-celebrated characters and restores them to full-blooded life. . . . [abbott’s] métier is narrative nonfiction and—as this vibrant, enormously readable book makes clear—she is one of the masters of the art.”—the wall street journal“satisfyingly sensational and thoroughly researched.”—the columbus dispatch“absorbing . . . a prohibition-era page-turner.”—chicago tribune

One of the best-known and widely shared books about the south, thirteen alabama ghosts and jeffrey has haunted the imaginations of generations of delighted young readers since it was first published in 1969. written by nationally acclaimed folklorists kathryn tucker windham and margaret gillis figh, the book recounts alabama’s thirteen most ghoulish and eerie ghost legends. curated with loving expertise, these thirteen tales showcase both windham and figh’s masterful selection of stories and their artful and suspenseful writing style. in crafting stories treasured by children and adults alike, the authors tell much more than ghost tales. embedded in each is a wealth of fact and folklore about alabama history and the old south. “i don’t care whether you believe in ghosts,” windham was fond of saying. “the good ghost stories do not require that you believe in ghosts.” millions of readers cherish memories of being chilled as teachers and parents read them unforgettable stories like “the unquiet ghost at gaineswood,” about the ghost of evelyn carter, who fills this demopolis antebellum mansion with midnight musical lamentations because her body wasn’t returned to her native virginia, and “the phantom steamboat of the tombigbee,” about the wreck of the steamboat eliza battle, which caught fire on the way to mobile and sank one february night in 1858. people who live along the river say the flaming steamboat wreck still rises on cold nights, its cotton cargo blazing across the waves while its terrified survivors cry for help from the icy water. the title’s “jeffrey” refers to a friendly ghost who resides in the windham home and who served as windham’s unofficial collaborator in this work and the subsequent books in this popular series, all of which are now available in high-quality reproductions of their spooky originals.

Ghosts, it seems, are everywhere, even in corners of the world where you'd least expect them. in this fascinating new collection, ghost story expert susan smitten leaves no stone unturned in her quest for proof of hauntings. smitten has interviewed eyewitnesses in such diverse places as ireland, japan, south africa and germany, discovering that while geography and history may vary greatly, ghostly motives for returning after death are remarkably consistent.

And then there were none meets the woman in black.

One of npr’s great reads of 2016“a lively assemblage and smart analysis of dozens of haunting stories…absorbing…[and] intellectually intriguing.” —the new york times book review – from the author of the unidentified, an intellectual feast for fans of offbeat history that takes readers on a road trip through some of the country’s most infamously haunted places—and deep into the dark side of our history. – colin dickey is on the trail of america’s ghosts. crammed into old houses and hotels, abandoned prisons and empty hospitals, the spirits that linger continue to capture our collective imagination, but why? his own fascination piqued by a house hunt in los angeles that revealed derelict foreclosures and “zombie homes,” dickey embarks on a journey across the continental united states to decode and unpack the american history repressed in our most famous haunted places. some have established reputations as “the most haunted mansion in america,” or “the most haunted prison”; others, like the haunted indian burial grounds in west virginia, evoke memories from the past our collective nation tries to forget. paying attention not only to the true facts behind a ghost story, but also to the ways in which changes to those facts are made—and why those changes are made—dickey paints a version of american history left out of the textbooks, one of things left undone, crimes left unsolved.

“an epic supernatural suspense that will forever reset your standards for summer thrillers. from secret realms and horrific homicides to hauntings and criminal empires, there isn’t a single dull sentence found in the pages of a game of ghosts—and you’ll love it.” —redbook: 10 books you have to read this summer books every dad will love this father’s day—popsugar internationally bestselling author john connolly returns with another “superb fusion of noir and the supernatural” (my bookish ways) in this latest thriller in his gripping charlie parker series.it is deep winter and the darkness is unending. a private detective named jaycob eklund has vanished and charlie parker is assigned to track him down. parker’s employer, edgar ross, an agent of the federal bureau of investigation, has his own reasons for wanting eklund found. eklund is no ordinary investigator—he is obsessively tracking a series of homicides and disappearances, each linked to reports of hauntings. now parker is drawn into eklund’s world: a realm in which the monstrous mother rules a crumbling criminal empire, in which men strike bargains with angels, and in which the innocent and guilty alike are pawns in a game of ghosts…

From best-selling author leslie rule comes a collection of stories about things that go bump in the night — true accounts collected from her years of research on ghostly encounters in the united states, including revised and updated content in rule's singular voice. whether you're a believer, a skeptic, or somewhere in between, you'll find a story that sticks with you in this compendium of the best of leslie rule's ghost explorations and interviews. with the most-spine tingling stories from the author's previous four books, coast to coast ghosts, when the ghost screams, ghosts among us, and ghost in the mirror, along with new and updated accounts and theories, rule brings her original voice to this omnibus of chilling, fascinating tales.

Looking for a scare? then read these 13 spine-chilling stories for people who believe in the paranormal-ghosts, spirits, and other unexplainable encounters-most will agree that old hospitals and asylums are the most haunted places you can visit. with thirteen chilling chapters, haunted hospitals delves into the history of the most infamous asylums, sanitariums and hospitals on earth, unlocking their dark histories and detailing their paranormal activities. take waverly hills sanatorium, home to mary, the apparition of a little girl who "wasn't normal." left behind after a disease cut her young life short, mary went from innocent in life to something more horrific in death. then there's old changi military hospital, where a history of wartime bloodbaths still stains the old abandoned halls-leaving behind chilling images in the minds of trespassers. or what about any of the other haunted hospitals contained within, where apparitions, disembodied voices, and strange occurences are commonplace. with overcrowding and barbaric medical procedures being practiced, these buildings were the torture houses of the 20th century, and the eeriest haunts of the 21st. haunted hospitals unlocks the dark histories of the most chilling abandoned hospitals from around the world. every chapter describes the eerie and often frightening details of the best ghostly encounters. are these sightings based on myth or true horrors? only you can decide. ready to scare yourself senseless? scroll to the top of the page and hit buy!

First published in 1977, this cult classic has been reissued for a new generation of ghost-hunters. this book is for anyone who has shivered at shadowy figures in the dark, heard strange sounds in the night or felt the presence of a mysterious 'something' from the unknown.

From that cheerful puff of smoke known as casper to the hunkiest potter living or dead, sam wheat, there is probably no more iconic entity in supernatural history than the ghost. and these are just recent examples. from the earliest writings such as the epic of gilgamesh to today’s ghost-hunting reality tv shows, ghosts have chilled the air of nearly every era and every culture in human history. in this book, lisa morton uses her scholarly prowess—more powerful than any proton pack—to wrangle together history’s most enduring ghosts into an entertaining and comprehensive look at what otherwise seems to always evade our eyes. tracing the ghost’s constantly shifting contours, morton asks the most direct question—what exactly is a ghost?—and examines related entities such as poltergeists, wraiths, and revenants. she asks how a ghost is related to a soul, and she outlines all the different kinds of ghosts there are. to do so, she visits the spirits of the classical world, including the five-part egyptian soul and the first haunted-house, conceived in the roman playwright plautus’s comedy, mostellaria. she confronts us with the frightening phantoms of the middle ages—who could incinerate priests and devour children—and reminds us of the nineteenth-century rise of spiritualism, a religion essentially devoted to ghosts. she visits with the indian bhuta and goes to the hungry ghost festival in china, and of course she spends time in mexico, where ghosts have a particularly strong grip on belief and culture. along the way she gathers the ectoplasmic residues seeping from books and film reels, from the gothic novel the castle of otranto to the 2007 blockbuster paranormal activity, from the stories of ann radcliffe to those of stephen king. wide-ranging, informative, and slicked with over fifty unearthly images, ghosts is an entertaining read of a cultural phenomenon that will delight anyone, whether they believe in ghosts or not.

Discover the first four tales of the desmond cole ghost patrol series, now available in one spooky bind-up! meet desmond cole, a fearless eight-year-old who runs his own ghost patrol, looking for ghosts, monsters, and mischief-makers everywhere! his unlikely partner in crime, andres miedoso, is scared of everything, but the best friends know sticking together is the best way to face down the creepy things in their town. in these four books, join desmond and andres as they explore a haunted house, chase after a ghost on wheels, encounter scaly mersurfers at the beach, and even find a zombie zookeeper! with easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, desmond cole ghost patrol chapter books are perfect for beginning readers.

Hey there, demons! buzzfeed unsolved supernatural has entertained viewers over the course of seven spooky seasons, covering the supernatural and otherworldly spirits, to ghosts, ghouls, unexplained paranormal activity, and everything in between. in their thrilling debut book, cohosts shane madej and ryan bergara (lovingly known as the "ghoul boys" to fans) deep-dive into dozens of haunted locations around the usa and a few abroad, including subjects from some of their most favorite and talked about episodes, as well as brand-new locations not previously seen before on their show. as they explore the history behind haunted houses, creepy graveyards, former insane asylums, abandoned buildings, and horrifying hotels, shane and ryan use their trademark wit and humor to dissect each terrifying tale with their most hilarious highlights and biting commentary. so hold on to your hell-bound soul, boys and ghouls–it's about to get demonic up in here.

Hey there, demons! buzzfeed unsolved supernatural has entertained viewers over the course of seven spooky seasons, covering the supernatural and otherworldly spirits, to ghosts, ghouls, unexplained paranormal activity, and everything in between. in their thrilling debut book, cohosts shane madej and ryan bergara (lovingly known as the "ghoul boys" to fans) deep-dive into dozens of haunted locations around the usa and a few abroad, including subjects from some of their most favorite and talked about episodes, as well as brand-new locations not previously seen before on their show. as they explore the history behind haunted houses, creepy graveyards, former insane asylums, abandoned buildings, and horrifying hotels, shane and ryan use their trademark wit and humor to dissect each terrifying tale with their most hilarious highlights and biting commentary. so hold on to your hell-bound soul, boys and ghouls–it's about to get demonic up in here.

Ghosts . . . are they real spirits or just the stuff of scary stories? scientists have yet to find any evidence spirits of the dead exist in our world, yet many people believe they do. whatever our opinions, legends of ghosts, poltergeists, and hauntings exist in every culture around the world. at times helpful, at times terrifying, ghosts have a fearful grip on our imaginations.

Sorrowful widows, vengeful jezebels, innocent maidens, wronged lovers, former slaves, even the occasional axe-murderess-america's female ghosts differ widely in background, class, and circumstance. yet one thing unites them: their ability to instill fascination and fear, long after their deaths. here are the full stories behind some of the best-known among them, as well as the lesser-known-though no less powerful. tales whispered in darkness often divulge more about the teller than the subject. america's most famous female ghosts, from "mrs. spencer" who haunted joan rivers's new york apartment to bridget bishop, the first person executed during the salem witchcraft trials, mirror each era's fears and prejudices. yet through urban legends and campfire stories, even ghosts like the nameless hard-working women lost in the infamous triangle shirtwaist factory fire-achieve a measure of power and agency in death, in ways unavailable to them as living women. riveting for skeptics and believers alike, with humor, curiosity, and expertise, a haunted history of invisible women offers a unique lens on the significant role these ghostly legends play both within the spook-seeking corners of our minds and in the consciousness of a nation.

To discover what happened to his long-lost mother, unassuming teenager nilay rao must step into a new world, the massively multiplayer world of ghosts. coasting through life without ever spending much effort or committing to anything has made many people think less of nilay rao. the teenager is relatively unassuming, as he’s not the most popular student, nor the hardest working. the kids call him “nil,” suggesting that he’s a loser. but he has another name, the “biggest cheat,” which he’s earned from using cheat codes and hacks in everything from games to grades. but that all will change when nilay receives a mysterious device from his long-lost mother, dia. curious about the device, nilay unwittingly creates his own “video game” avatar that he names vyper neo, which causes him more stress than he could imagine. the little orange character has his own personality and gets nilay and his father into all sorts of trouble. that’s not all—the device itself belongs to a super-secret group of people who can summon similar video game avatars called ghosts to battle over money, territory, and power. now that nilay has it, he has officially become a “player” like them who can summon his own ghost in vyper neo—and that’s made other players very angry. can this lackluster teenager survive long enough to learn where his mother is and why she sent this device? vyper neo and his only human buddy, chess, have his back, but taking on this massive new world won’t be easy. like it or not, nilay is going to have to play this game to win! the massively multiplayer world of ghosts is rated t for teen, recommended for ages 13 and up. saturday am, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! these handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular bipoc, lgbtq, and/or culturally diverse characters. join in even more adventures with the other action-packed saturday am tanks series:apple black, clock striker, gunhild, hammer, henshin!, oblivion rouge, saigami, soul beat, titan king, underground, and yellow stringer.

Discover the playful antics of lingering souls and antiques with spirited personalities unlike a typical collection of ghost stories, gently haunted recounts uplifting and inspiring spiritual encounters. whether they are attracted to the century-old bungalow or the collectables sold within it, these specters interact with the living to show us life's joys.

This book is the combined collection of the six previously published "true stories of the paranormal" series. the true tales featured in this tome range from the experiences some people have had with loved ones who have passed on, to the terrifying encounters others have had with demonic forces not of this world. also included are stories of ghost animals, haunted houses, vengeful spirits, guardian angels and much, much more. many of the stories will warm you heart while others will make your blood run cold. so, without further ado, let the nightmares begin.