Will Storr vs. the Supernatural: One Man's Search for the Truth about Ghosts. Paperback – January 1, 2007

This is a really honest look at one man's journey into the world of psychic phenomena, spirits and ghost hunting! Will's journey to find evidence of the afterlife is by turns, biting, funny and irreverent, in trying to come to turns with his own ambivalence about the subject and the sometimes puzzling commitment of other people. A subject covered with honesty and compassion. Well worth the read no matter where you stand on the issue.

I discovered Will Storr while reading one of his long form articles online. I quickly searched for anything else by him and stumbled across this intriguing volume. It is a comprehensive, sweeping exploration of the supernatural world today. Obviously, it can't cover every aspect, but it certainly makes an attempt to present as many angles as possible in a heated debate: is there life after death? do ghosts exist? is demonic activity real?Though the end is somewhat inconclusive (And I found that frustrating), it was a very interesting read that left me tucking the covers up around my chin tightly every night, just in case.

I am so glad I bought this book. The preface grabbed me nearly by the throat, author Will Storr's amazing experiences searching for the paranormal begin with a bang. Will is a vacillating skeptic, but his exposure to hauntings via paranormal research groups challenges him at every turn. Well written, hard to set down for long.Loaded with fascinating references to other researchers' findings, the book will not disappoint an open-minded reader. The info about EVPs alone is not to be missed. This one's a keeper.

A fun exploration into True Believers. I love how Will Storr doesn't take sides. Well, perhaps he does. But he always comes up to the "edge" of the other side. We only know so much about this world!I enjoy how this author's mind works.

Storr is a great writer who keeps his readers engaged and thoroughly investigates each story. Loved this one and highly recommended!

The book's one disappointment was that Storr avoided spelling out his own conclusions from his investigations, leaving the readers wondering just what influence his experiences had on his initial scepticism.Otherwise, Storr did a great job. He reported the fakery, self-deception, and general nonsense offered by many paranormal 'investigators,' the nonsense that has convinced some that all supernatural investigations are bunk. He also reported those real questions unbiased investigators have found. Like most of the honest investigators I've read, he found evidence of 'something' or inexplicable things, and found the evidence insufficient to support grand conclusions.I enjoyed his account of his foray into the inexplicable. I found myself liking the people he liked and thought sincere, and getting a bad taste in my mouth from the obvious fakes. Overall, a good piece of light reading.

This book is great fun on all levels. Will Storr knows how to tell a story and he injects a lot of humor too. He's a 'proper' journalist and following him as he investigates ghost stories is an education. He's fair and balanced which is why the stories that turn out to have no explanation or appear to be 'true' are all the spookier. Don't read this one on your own or late at night!

Starts out pretty captivating. Stalls out a bit here and there. Will's ability to assemble sentences and phrases is impressive and amusing. Some of the writing it is a bit convoluted. Chapters pick up momentum and quickly fizzle.The ending struck me as though Will was late for a lunch meeting. In the end I couldn't tell where Will stood on the subject of the supernatural. It almost seemed like he was bored with the whole thing.

Although this book is now quite old it remains highly relevant and I am glad Will got to meet so many of the important people in supernatural investigations who are no longer with us. Especially Lou Gentile who died very young and the Pope’s exorcist, Gabriele Amorth who was a bit of a phenomenon himself.Will travelled to USA, Vatican City and all over UK. Still it seems strange that the book is categorised as Travel!He is admirably open minded and takes matters seriously whilst at the same time not taking himself too seriously. This leads to a sort of Jon Ronson vibe. Not as faux gauche as Theroux but reminiscent.Will goes along on live investigations, seances, vigils etc and has some early success in experiencing paranormal phenomena and then some frustrating no shows and some dodgy people doing the supposed investigations. None so dodgy as Derek Acorah and Most Haunted. No surprise there.Will keeps up a kind of stream of consciousness narrative and we see how his mind is blown, doubts are sown and how he revisits his childhood Catholic beliefs which he subsequently junked wholesale.I like that he thinks critically about theories and experiences but he is respectful of people and their opinions even if they are wacky. Again that Ronson/Theroux vibe.Anyway I read it a sitting just before Christmas and thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it a festive and enriching experience.

Les aventures d'un journaliste à la rencontre du surnaturel : très amusant, avec un excellent premier chapitre et quelques grands moments (mention spéciale au folkloriste paranoïaque persuadé que tous les gens d'un petit village perdu au milieu des bois appartiennent en fait à une secte sataniste maléfique, et qui interprète leurs moindres commentaires comme des menaces déguisées à son encontre - parce qu'évidemment, ils savent qu'il "sait").Dans le cadre de son enquête, Will Storr visite des maisons hantées, assiste au tournage (plus ou moins trafiqué) d'une émission de chasse aux fantômes, rencontre des passionnés du paranormal, un exorciste amateur, et finit même par vivre ses propres "expériences", obtenant le privilège de devenir le recordman de la personne ayant pu rester le plus longtemps isolé dans le noir dans la pièce la plus hantée d'un manoir non nommé (15 minutes).Un bouquin sans prétentions qui se lit d'une traite avec plaisir (sauf évidemment pour ceux que les histoires de fantômes rebutent).

Great book, great condition.

This is a brilliantly written book that takes an objective and thoughtful approach to a fascinating subject. Probably not one for the sinicle skeptic but definitely one for those with an open mind and a desire to understand the realm of the unknown.

Die Idee zu dem Buch klingt für Leser, die an esoterischen Phänomenen und an TV-Serien wie "Supernatural" interessiert sind, sehr ansprechend: Will Storr entschied sich, Geisterjäger, Exorzisten, Wahrsager, Geisterstimmenhörer und Leute, die sagen, dass es bei ihnen spuke, aufzusuchen und sich selbst ein Bild von ihren Erlebnissen zu machen. Zudem sprach er aber auch mit Skeptikern und Psychologen.Die Erlebnisberichte sind dabei manchmal zu ausführlich geraten, zumindest wartete ich als Leser, wann es denn endlich mal "zur Sache" geht. Es ist nicht so spannend für mich, wie alle Leute aus einem Team aussahen oder wie die Küche von jemanden eingerichtet ist usw. Hier hätte man ruhig einiges kürzen können.Am Ende verstrickt sich Storr dann in eine in sich widersprüchliche Stellungnahme zum Thema Geister.Wen es interessiert:S*P*O*I*L*E*RStorr hört bei einem Aufenthalt in einem Spukzimmer, wie er meint, im Dunkeln ein Atmen, das aufhört, als er laut fragt, ob da jemand sei. Daraufhin rennt er in Panik aus dem Raum und glaubt nun, dass es Geister gäbe, die - und hier wird es unlogisch - die Seelen Toter sind.Warum unlogisch? Was atmet, das lebt. Was nicht mehr atmet, ist tot. Ergo: Tote atmen nicht. Freie Seelen ebenfalls nicht, da sie keinen Körper im Sauerstoff versorgen müssen. Vermutlich hat sich Storr vor Angst in dem Raum etwas eingebildet oder hat - nicht lachen, so etwas habe ich selbst schon mit Leuten erlebt - sein eigenes ängstliches Schnaufen, das im sonst stillen Raum laut wirkte, für fremdes Atmen gehalten.Jedenfalls sei damit für ihn geklärt, dass es ein Jenseits gibt, in dem Tote Geister sind.Wäre das so, dann wären wir von Geistern völlig umringt. Allein in unserer Nachbarschaft müssten hunderte herumspuken, vielleicht sogar tausende.Früher im Buch hatte Storr dagegen noch plausibel argumentiert, dass Geister nicht pauschal die Seelen Toter sein können, denn woher kamen die Seelen? Es gab nicht immer Menschen auf der Erde (und es wird irgendwann die ganze Erde nicht mehr geben).