Contact the Other Side: 7 Methods for Afterlife Communication

According to Konstantinos, practicing mystic and occult author, contacting the dead is easier than you might think. All that is required is some basic equipment, an open mind and a willingness to try any or preferably all of the seven methods he sets forth. Unfortunately, a number of the ""simple"" methods presented here are likely to appeal to only a small subset of technologically savvy amateur occultists. While Konstantinos's first method uses a simple tape recorder to capture ""electronic voice phenomena,"" he soon escalates to using radio static and white noise; by method four, the reader is expected to be experimenting with noise reduction software and positive video feedback loops. Konstantinos's own reports of spirit contact offer little incentive for such heroic efforts; the idea of listening to hours of feedback and white noise on the chance of hearing a barely discernible voice whisper something like ""Not solid... more thought, more reality"" will probably repel all but the most dedicated seekers. For those who can set aside the suspicion that methods one through four are merely 21st-century updates of the photographic techniques employed by fraudulent or credulous Victorians, the second section, dedicated to more traditional psychic means of contact, is ironically more persuasive. Here Konstantinos's strengths--his earnestness, clarity and reasonable manner of explaining technique--offset his somewhat scant presentation. Thanks to these qualities, the book should still find some fans among followers of the paranormal, technologically inclined or not. (Jan.)