BOOK REVIEW: The Ghost Studies by Brandon Massullo

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This review may be a little short and sweet because ultimately this book was a long walk off a very short pier. I feel that the author spent a lot of time engaging his audience with various unrelated topics in order to introduce his own theory, Spontaneous Apparitional Trace Theory (SATT).

The book begins with popular ghost theories; which includes pop culture, spiritualist, mediums, paranormal investigators, physics, and parapsychology. He posits that certain ingredients or processes are involved in ghostly experiences and that his equation for this, while oversimplified, is Psychological Aspects + Changes in Internal Energy or Bioenergetics + External Information Acquisition = Ghostly Experience. 

The middle chapters share popular theories of energy, electricity, The God Helmet, magnetic field research, psychology, internal energy, bioenergetics, life fields, L-fields, collective unconscious, morphogenetic fields, and entanglement with case examples and research studies of each interwoven in the discussion. I do not fault any of these "cherry picked" topics because I honestly wasn't aware of a few of them in relation to the paranormal, but I do think they didn't ultimately support his conclusion the way he wanted. 

In the later chapters he begins to share certain case studies that align with his SATT theory, each story followed up with validating hypothesis. Early in the book you do understand that he focuses on "spontaneous apparitional phenomena," however he revisits his equation Psychological Aspects + Changes in Internal Energy or Bioenergetics + External Information Acquisition = Ghostly Experience repeatedly until he finally gets to the point... Extreme psychological events trigger changes in internal energy or bioenergetics in a specific "agent" which allows them to use their "internal antenna" like a radio to extend out these electrical fields. These electrical fields hold telepathic messages that are often sent to closely linked individuals like family or friends. (Think of the many cases of people dreaming of or feeling the sensations of someone being injured or dying.) He also posits that many of the ghostly phenomena experienced, like residual haunting, could be the imprint of this telepathic message on the environment. 

I do appreciate the highlighting of the many topics that are loosely related to his hypothesis, but I immediately questioned... What about entities that clearly are spirits of the dead that are aware of their surroundings and can communicate validating information? His theory does not include this and he states that in a later chapter, stating that he thinks it would be a whole other book to write! I do think that it is shortsighted to not include these conscious and interactive spirits in his theories because as many in the paranormal community see it, they are all connected. So ultimately would I recommend this book? Yes, for individuals that have done extensive research and would like to branch out on certain related topics. I do not recommend someone newly into the paranormal to read this book, it could be detrimental to their own growth and they may not branch out in their theories. It was tough to read but ultimately a good book for my bookshelf.

Rebecca Boyer
Co-Founder/ Case Manager
Antietam Paranormal Society

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