Paranormal Book Review – True Haunting
A REAL GHOST STORY! THIS WILL HAUNT YOU!
This is the story of a true haunting. It was the first ever filmed and televised by NBC in 1971. A young couple purchases a building that was built and occupied by a single family that refused to relinquish their hold, even after death. Investigated and verified by experts, this residence brought chaos to the lives of those who chose to reside there. Unlike a horror novel, this chronicles what a real ghostly experience would resemble. Long before the laws of disclosure, a young couple winds up in the midst of strange occurrences prior to the term ‘paranormal’ becoming a common description. Searching for help at a time when supernatural events were a taboo subject and being ignored by the Church, sent them into a desperate search for any assistance. Only a little-known organization came to their aid. Author Tom Valentine brought in a nationally known psychic, Joseph DeLouise, who then asked for the assistance of an exorcist from England, Reverend William Derl-Davis. Together, they gave their best effort at exorcising the multiple spirits inhabiting the building and disrupting the lives of the living. Events were filmed by NBC, who sent their most prominent Chicago journalist, Carole Simpson, to cover the event. Follow a young couple with a newborn as they attempt to cope with inexplicable events, experience denial, plead for help from their Church, and step into the world of the paranormal. Understand why ghosts cannot be exorcised and a true example of their strong sense of domain, even after death. Learn what experts and gifted people did in a failed attempt to assist this desperate couple. There is no happy ending, as the young couple suffers emotionally, are physically threatened, have their pets terrorized, and eventually suffer financially by actually “giving” their building away. What was intended as a financial answer to their prayers became, instead, a curse to be abolished. Learn many of the various manifestations that can be common in haunting. Ghosts can be seen and heard. They can propel objects and interrupt utilities. They can affect your moods and feed off of your emotions. They can appear as solid as you and me. They can react and become hostile if threatened or violated. Most importantly, as this young couple learned, they can harm you and cannot be removed. This is a firsthand account of what a true haunting is like. There are certain subtle occurrences you may find the most frightening because you just might relate and recognize them. If so, guess what? You may have a ghost!
True Haunting Paranormal Book Review
Oftentimes, I would find myself reading books that are purported to be based on true stories. Being billed as such would mean, in my opinion, that I may be able to reference many of said book’s allegations in the real world, whether it be in a local library or on the internet. Unfortunately, despite the claims of alleged photos, video, and other sorts of evidence spoken of in these types of books, rarely is any of it made available for any of its readers to scrutinize for themselves making the story itself less plausible. This is not the case in Edwin F. Becker’s book simply titled, True Haunting, touted as ” the first ever filmed and televised by NBC in 1971.” Making such a bold statement piqued my interest immediately and I was intent on reading the book and then hunting down this footage. I was not disappointed.
In what seems to be the case in many of these haunted house stories, a series of unfortunate events leads a family to their haunted dwellings. What makes True Haunting stand out above the rest is that this story is devoid of any over-the-top scares and situations that would oftentimes have me roll my eyes. No, True Haunting presented a tale that many who are experiencing a haunting may be able to relate to; foul odors, unexplained noises, footsteps, and the classic misplacing of the keys.
Because the story is devoid of such scare tactics I must be honest and say that there were very few scares in this book and rarely did the hairs on the back of the neck rise. Still, this was a highly entertaining book by author Edwin Becker as he and his wife coped with the unexplained events that were occurring in his building as well as having to be a landlord. One of the challenges he faced was trying his best to keep tenants living there, save for Myra who came with the building (for a short time anyway) and who is described as “the perfect image of an evil, old witch.“
As Edwin would soon learn, the building holds its own secrets of the past where many of the former owners, a family with bad blood and a seedy history (one of which is Myra) have all passed away within the building’s confines at some point or another. It is this family who is believed to still reside there and torment the Beckers and their tenants. This, and many other tidbits about the family and their past, is revealed by Edwin’s neighbor, who is no stranger to the neighborhood, throughout the book. This aspect kept me intrigued as the story unfolded like a “who-done-it” or an old-time radio mystery drama.
There were a few things, however, that perturbed me if ever so slightly. Throughout the book, there are small snippets, or tangents as I like to call them, where Edwin stops telling the story to give the audience some background information. While some of these tangents served the purpose of explaining the difference of the times (the 1970s), sometimes they would go on to explain his personal beliefs such as his thoughts on the church. I found that these tangents took me out of the story at times albeit for a very brief moment.
True Haunting brings to us a good ghost story despite the lack of scares, not to say that there were none, but here you will find an interesting story by an author who did not give in to the pressures of a publishing house to “spice” the story up a bit for the sake of sales. Because of this, I am more adept at believing the story behind True Haunting. Add to that footage of the 1971 exposé and interview and you just may have yourself the closest thing to the “real McCoy”.