Part history, part family legend, A History of Ghosts starts in 1848 in upstate New York, where the spiritualist craze first began. Here, for the first time, Aykroyd tells the strange and delightful story that inspired his son, Dan, to make the mega-hit, Ghostbusters. Peter Aykroyd spent his childhood watching his family's parlor séances through the crack of a basement door. Millions of Americans believe in the paranormal-and even skeptics have heard a bump in the night and suspected it might be something supernatural.', Successful TV shows such as Medium and Ghost Hunters are proof that our national obsession with ghosts is here to stay. Such legendary figures as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini appear and vanish.

Aykroyd introduces the reader to notable mediums while telling the story of the development of spiritualism, interweaving a personal history marked by a fascination with ghosts and spirits with the larger narrative about the role the paranormal has played in our culture. 'item_description' : 'Peter Aykroyd spent his childhood watching his family's parlor séances through the crack of a basement door.

A History of Ghosts by Peter H. Aykroyd