National paranormal group names 39 books to recommended reading list

A friend of mine shot me an e-mail earlier this week telling me about a cool recommended reading list that he ran across the other day called the National Society of Paranormal Investigation and Research’s Recommended Reading List.

“I read about your recent ghost-hunting trip,” he wrote. “And I know how much you enjoy a good reading list, so check this one out.”

His message directed me to the NSPIR’s Web site, www.nationalparanormal.org, where you’ll find a list of 39 recommended books.

“The following books may be consulted for more information about paranormal investigation, research and parapsychology,” the compilers of the list said. “This list is not all inclusive, but may provide a good starting point for your reading pleasure.”

The list is divided into two categories – Ghost Hunting and Parapsychology.

Books listed under Ghost Hunting include the following titles:

1. “Field Guide to Haunted Graveyards” by Troy Taylor (2003)

2. “Ghost Hunters Guidebook: The Haunted Field Guide” by Troy Taylor (2007)

3. “Ghost Hunting: How to Investigated the Paranormal” by Loyd Auerbach (2004)

4. “Hauntings and Poltergeists: A Ghost Hunter’s Guide” by Loyd Auerbach (2004)

5. “How to be a Ghost Hunter” by Richard Southall (2003)

6. “How to Hunt Ghosts: A Practical Guide” by Joshua P. Warren (2003)

7. “A Paranormal Casebook: Ghost Hunting in the New Millennium” by Loyd Auerbach (2005)

Books listed under Parapsychology include the following titles:

1. “The Case for Ghosts: An Objective Look at the Paranormal” by J. Allen Danelek (2006)

2. “The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena” by Dean Radin (1997)

3. “The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits” by Rosemary Ellen Guiley (2000)

4. “Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality” by Dean Radin (2006)

5. “Foundations of Parapsychology” by Hoyt L. Edge, Robert L. Morris, John Palmer and Joseph H. Rush (1986)

6. “Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death” by Deborah Blum (2006)

7. “Ghosts: True Encounters With the World Beyond” by Hans Holzer (1997)

8. “The Gift: ESP, the Extraordinary Experiences of Ordinary” by Sally Rhine Feather and Michael Schmicker (2005)

9. “The Gold Leaf Lady and Other Parapsychological Investigations” by Stephen E. Braude (2007)

10. “Handbook of Parapsychology,” edited by Benjamin Wolman, Montague Ullman, Laura Dale and Gertrude Schmeidler (1986)

11. “The Handbook of Parapsychology” by Hans Holzer (1972)

12. “In Search of the Dead: A Scientific Investigation of Evidence for Life After Death” by Jeffrey Iverson (1982)

13. “An Introduction to Parapsychology” by Harvey J. Irwin and Caroline A. Watt (2007)

14. “An Introduction to Parapsychology in the Context of Science” by R.A. McConnell (1983)

15. “Life After Death: The Case of Survival of Bodily Death” by D. Scott Rogo (1986)

16. “Life at Death: A Scientific Investigation of the Near-Death Experience” by Kenneth Ring (1980)

17. “The Limits of Influence: Psychokinesis and the Philosophy of Science” by Stephen E. Braude (1986)

18. “Manual for Introductory Experiments in Parapsychology” by Louisa E. Rhine (1977)

19. “Parapsychology and the Skeptics: A Scientific Argument for the Existence of ESP” by Chris Carter (2007)

20. “Parapsychology: Frontier Science of the Mind” by J.B. Rhine and J.G. Pratt (1957)

21. “Parapsychology: Research on Exceptional Experiences,” edited by Jane Henry (2005)

22. “The Parapsychology Revolution: A Concise Anthology of Paranormal and Psychical Research” by Robert Schoch and Logan Yonavjak (2008)

23. “Parapsychology: The Controversial Science” by Richard S. Broughton (1992)

24. “The Poltergeist” by William G. Roll (1972)

25. “Poltergeists: Examining Mysteries of the Paranormal” by Michael Clarkson (2005)

26. “The Poltergeist Experience” by D. Scott Rogo (1979)

27. “Progress in Parapsychology,” edited by J.B. Rhine (1973)

28. “Psychokinesis: A Study of Paranormal Forces Through the Ages” by John I. Randall (1982)

29. “Psychology’s Occult Doubles: Psychology and the Problem of Pseudoscience” by Thomas Hardy Leahey and Grace Evans Leahey (1983)

30. “The Reach of the Mind” by J.B. Rhine (1947)

31. “A Skeptic’s Handbook of Parapsychology” by Paul Kurtz (1985)

32. “Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife” by Mary Roach (2005)

In the end, how many of these books have you had a chance to read? Which did you like or dislike? Which would you recommend and why? Let us know in the comments section below.