Rating:  Summary: Interesting, easy read, but... Review: ... is missing a punch. Warning: may contain a few spoilers.The book itself tells a good story: it's interesting, flows easily, and you feel for the characters. But there're a few things that bothered me about the book. Included are a few photographs of items the family found, yet were not supernatural in any way. The author tells us of a photo she took that contains the face of a ghost, yet it's not presented in the book. Something I had a hard time believing was the almost immediate growth of a tree, from sapling to full size, as well as a rosebush that appeared almost overnight. This like these would have really attracted attention from neighbors, and would have most likely brought local news crews to the scene to see the miracles. Yet, other than the neighbor asking if they could prune the tree, it went basically unnoticed. Good story, but not completely believable, even if you believe in the supernatural.
Rating:  Summary: My "Incredible True" Review Review: A family is mystically compelled to move into an old house where they all subsequently experienced ghostly phenomena, yet weren't particularly frightened and still felt an inexplicable connection to the place. Not very scary (the cover image is misleadingly ominous) but quite interesting, especially re: unusual phenomena such as apports that couldn't have existed (e.g. a pristine newspaper from 1933, which suddenly appeared under the porch where it hadn't been before, and quickly aged in the days after being found) and a lamp that flashed morse code ("SOS," natch). A well-articulated and calmly documented account that provides new insights into ghostly phenomena.
Rating:  Summary: Addictive! Couldn't put it down! Review: Being an avid reader of ghost stories (as well as having had first hand experience in the matter), I found this book to be very intruiging. It was like reading a book that someone wrote about what my family and I went through. It is written in a first-person view (that being of the mother/wife), which I find refreshing. It keeps you interested in the story, as I found myself not wanting to put it down for even a minute. Mind you it isn't very long (only 189 pages compared to the many books I have read containing anywhere up to 400 pages), but it gets to the heart of the story without cluttering up, making it extremely easy to read. It tells of a family that purchases an old Victorian home "on the fly" (how many of us do that!) and soon discover that they got more than they bargained for, and I'm not talking about just the usual fixer-upper. I don't want to give too much of it away, but I do suggest that if you are a lover of a good ghost story, that you buy yourself a copy to find out what happens.
Rating:  Summary: Amusing story, but where's the beef? Review: First off, let me say that if some of the events in this book happened to me I'd most certainly flip out. I can't call myself a believer, and yet I want to believe. This book doesn't come within a mile of making me believe. I have to agree with a previous reviewer and mention the lack of any photo evidence, even though it supposedly exits. The photos of the artifacts found in the yard that were included in the book were not the least bit interesting. Yep, that's a rusty nail. And an inkwell, and a jar! So? Yet a photo taken at a birthday party supposedly showed two strange orbs - why was that photo left out of the book? Another photo taken in the little boy's room showed a face looking head-on at the camera - that's the photo I want to see! Again, where is it? Beyond the lack of interesting photos, while reading this book I couldn't help but think that if the woman's husband was living in the house at the time and didn't believe it was haunted, why should I? Another peeve: A neighbor has a sister who's a clairvoyant and she agrees to advise them regarding the house. She can't actually arrange a visit, so all of the information is passed through the neighbor. Are there no telephones in Canada? Could this woman not have phoned the neighbor's sister at her leisure? This really did not make sense to me at all.
Rating:  Summary: Well written but not convincing Review: First off, this is a good read no matter how you feel about this subject matter. Having owned a house similar to the one depicted in this book and having similar experiences as Ms. Williams describes, I fully believe the sounds and feelings that she and her family encountered in this book. However, on the more physical aspects of the story (walnut tree, rose bush, basement flood, etc.) I would like to have seen some more evidence, specifically pictoral. But, again having had some similar physical phenomenon happen to me I can understand that taking photographs isn't the first thing that comes to mind. Overall I feel the book well worth the read and would recommend it to anyone who is interested or curious about this subject.
Rating:  Summary: Glad I read this Review: I bought this book to read while on my vacation and I'm glad I did. I really liked it. I actually read it twice, and noticed things the second time I missed in the first reading. It's a very interesting story that makes me wonder about the history of other old houses now. I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to live in one like this but it was great reading about what happened to the people that lived there.
Rating:  Summary: Wonderful! Great additon to any collection! Review: I bought this book, to add to my collection of books, This was maybe one of the BEST books I have read on the subject. The author is wonderful. The book puts you in the shoes of the occupents!
A MUST read, very wonderful I hated to put it down, its one of thsoe books you read in a day or two!
Tru.
Rating:  Summary: Well written but not convincing Review: I don't believe the "true" part of this story to be very convincing. Ms.Williams describes in detail, accounts of ghostly activity she and her family encounter throughout the few years they live in their Victorian home. She gives a detailed historical timeline of the house--even locates 14 names of previous owners dating back to the 1800's.Yet with all of this research and information, nowhere did she find any information on whether a fire occurred at the house. And this is supposedly the 'important' incident she claims the ghosts and two psychics are trying to communicate actually happened. The author speaks of consulting a ghost investigator via email. The investigator offers to fly out to investigate the hauntings but Ms.Williams claims the costs associated with the investigators services are too expensive. PLEASE. This makes absolutely no sense. Through her writing, Ms. Williams has created an image that this family indeed has money-and definitely enough money to spare for something as completely important as retaining the services of a ghost investigator! This family could afford to redecorate and restore the entire house (I live in SF and I know how expensive it is to restore and redecorate a Victorian home), even adding on an additional room in the back--of which they hired an architect for. Ms. Williams also writes of how they own a summer cottage that they travel to for vacations. They also plan to add a swimming pool to their backyard because their summer home is too far away. And at one point in the book, she and her husband discuss moving out of the house so they begin to look into building another home--a brand new home! I don't buy it for one second that they couldn't afford this investigators services. This is why I find this story difficult to believe. If my children were witnessing ghosts in their bedrooms I would make it top priority to fly an expert out to investigate. There is no ending to this story. Ms. Williams leaves the reader hanging--You don't find out whether or not they still live in the house or what has actually become of the ghosts.
Rating:  Summary: A book well worth reading Review: I don't usually read ghost related stories, but I have to admit I had a good time reading this book and enjoyed it more than I actually expected to. The cover caught my eye and intrigued me, and once I started reading the story I couldn't stop. I'd be lying if I said it didn't scare me in some parts, but overall it's more thought provoking than a horror movie type of plot. Maybe that is why I liked it so much. This is a great book to read on a dark and stormy Autumn night, or any time for that matter.
Rating:  Summary: Couldn't put it down Review: I got this book as a Christmas present and couldn't put it down until it was finished. I enjoyed it so much I bought a copy for my mother who also really liked it. I think if you like real life ghost stories you'll enjoy this book too.
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