Celebrity Ghosts and Notorious Hauntings

Jones (Demons, the Devil, and Fallen Angels) delivers an entertaining exploration of celebrity and other famous ghost sightings. She begins with an overview of the various types of ghosts, among them apparitions (they “take on a much more ethereal quality and can look like a mist or a fog”), residuals (they “do not interact with witnesses”), and poltergeists (which “move objects around, break things, open doors and cause actual physical trouble”), then briefly dives into theories about ghostly activity and answers such question as why ghosts prefer sad places (“because emotions such as pain, fear, and sadness are more powerful and likely to leave a spiritual imprint at locales such as cemeteries, hospitals, and orphanages”). Famous ghosts include Jean Harlow (“She and her second husband, producer Paul Bern, are often seen roaming the mansion they once owned together”) and John Lennon (rumored to haunt the Dakota apartment building in Manhattan, where he lived when he was murdered). Haunted places include those familiar (the Lizzie Borden house and the Winchester Mystery House, which is said to be haunted by those killed by Winchester guns) and obscure (the Farnam Mansion, believed to be haunted by the ghost of a cat). Lightly illustrated with photographs and art, Jones’s well-researched guide will be a treasure trove for amateur ghost hunters. (Sept.)