Ghosts, Too: The Supernatural in Ordinary Lives by Joanne Duke Gamblee

"Ghosts, Too: The Supernatural in Ordinary Lives" by Joanne Duke Gamblee is an eye-opening, spooky read that will make you think twice about those little "occurrences" in your own home. The author (a freelance writer who lives in Ohio) openly admits in the introduction that she is neither a psychic, nor someone who has had a supernatural experience herself. But due to circumstances, she was encouraged to write a compilation of the experiences of others (mainly of families living in Ohio).

The author passes along many stories, including:

-A lost treasure found by a realtor in a home on North Market Street in Troy. The same home featured the ghost of a man who audibly made his presence known right after his death.

-A group of shops in downtown Troy (including the Chamber of Commerce) on Main Street that have each experienced on-going minor havoc from what seems to be several ghosts.

-A young woman and dog who noticed a series off odd happenings in their former home on North Market Street.

-A woman who tells of seeing her deceased grandfather in a Friendly's Restaurant parking lot after work, and then later having supernatural experiences (along with her co-workers) at The Brewery in Troy.

-A family who has gone through several paranormal experiences for generations in their old home in Pleasant Hill. Even the Iraq Veteran Marine of the family refuses to sleep in the home!

-An old brick building on South Crawford Street that holds a business in which its owners have witnessed several occurrences.

-An old home in Tipp City on West Main Street whose series of former and current residents have tolerated many strange happenings attributed to the original lady of the house, Mattie.

-A newer home built on the grounds of an older homestead where the entire family-including the animals-senses a frightening presence.

-A home in Covington where a young woman has seen the ghost of a little girl on more than one occasion. The same young woman once saw her deceased grandmother and one time woke to the sense of an evil presence.

-A funeral home on West Main Street in Troy where the ghost of a dog and a gangster-style man has been spotted.

-A home on South Market Street that used to serve the Underground Railroad, where a single mother and her children have had encounters with a child's ghost. The mother also tells of other experiences she's had in a former Tipp City home.

-A woman who tells of her home in Tipp City where, among other things, she amazed her date by getting a ghost to comply to her commands of turning the lights on and off.

-A home between West Milton and Laura (Ohio) in which mysterious noises became frightening, due to the many ghosts (some from a settlement of former slaves) and possibly a woman who once practiced voodoo.

-The feeling of an evil presence in a home on Indianola Avenue in Dayton.

-A woman in Tipp City who saw her late grandmother when she was seven years old.

-The ghost of a woman named Sarah who likes to levitate and move objects in an old home on South Market Street in Troy.

-A home in Kettering where a presence has been felt and eerie breathing has been heard.

-A woman named Linda with significant psychic ability. Her and her children have experienced more than their share of supernatural events.

-Two psychics that worked at two separate times in a bookstore in Tipp City who independently sensed the shop's resident spirits.

-A medium named Lisa in Troy who gives readings, helps with hauntings, and guides a "ghost walk" tour.

Mrs. Gamblee also relays her findings of the forces of energy, the subconscious mind, and paranormal abilities; taking information from various works to inform the reader. She conveniently calculates up the percentages of the similarities experienced in ghost sightings. The author also lists many university-funded programs world-wide that do studies on consciousness and the paranormal.

The reviewer feels anyone with an interest in ghosts and the paranormal would truly enjoy this book (especially if the reader is from Ohio).

"Ghosts, Too: The Supernatural in Ordinary Lives" by Joanne Duke Gamblee (ISBN: 1-933197-18-8) is a paperback listed at $14.95. The book is 143 pages long (including a bibliography), is published by Orange Frazer Press, and can be ordered through any bookstore or book site.