Book picks similar to
Without a Trace by Charles Berlitz


non-fiction
paranormal
kesner-library
folklore-legends-myths-history

Greatest Mysteries of the Unexplained: A Compelling Collection of the World's Most Perplexing Phenomena


Lucy Doncaster - 2005
    Tales are recounted in vividdetail and incorporate all the latest scientific research and conclusions. Where possible, specially chosen images accompany the stories to help explain a particular riddle or provide a deeper insight into the nature of the unknown generally. Including investigations into prophecy and the paranormal and religious and medical marvels, this book attempts to discover the truth behind the greatest enigmas of the universe. It is sure to both bewilder and intrigue.

Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras & Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature


Loren L. Coleman - 1999
    Recently, tales of these "monsters" have been corroborated by an increase in sightings, and out of these legends a new science has been born: cryptozoology -- the study of hidden animals.Cryptozoology A to Z, the first encyclopedia of its kind, contains nearly two hundred entries, including cryptids (the name given to these unusual beasts), new animal finds, and the explorers and scientists who search for them. Loren Coleman, one of the world's leading cryptozoologists, teams up with Jerome Clark, editor and author of several encyclopedias, to provide these definitive descriptions and many never-before-published drawings and photographs from eyewitnesses' detailed accounts. Full of insights into the methods of these scientists, exciting tales of discovery, and the history and evolution of this field, Cryptozoology A to Z is the most complete reference ever of the newest zoological science.

The Lighthouse: The Mystery of the Eilean Mor Lighthouse Keepers


Keith McCloskey - 2014
    Staffed by three keepers, the lighthouse had been in operation for a year, but no light had been seen from Eilean Mor for 10 days. Upon arrival, the superintendent, Robert Muirhead, found the lighthouse to be completely deserted, and a subsequent search of the surrounding island failed to show any sign of what happened to the keepers. The last entry in the lighthouse logbook had been made on December 15, and contained a number of strange and distressing entries that offered clues as to the mental state of the men. One was reported to have been crying, while another had become "very quiet." When it was revealed that the men's oilskin coats were missing and the clock in the lighthouse had stopped, inevitable theories surrounding the keepers' fates were soon put forward. These included a giant wave washing them away, murder and suicide by the men themselves, and more esoteric explanations, as Eilean Mor was believed to have mystical properties. This book explores this mysterious and chilling story in depth for the first time and reveals a shocking conclusion.

Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation


Mitch Horowitz - 2009
    Americans all, they were among the famous figures whose paths intertwined with the mystical and esoteric movement broadly known as the occult. Brought over from the Old World and spread throughout the New by some of the most obscure but gifted men and women of early U.S. history, this “hidden wisdom” transformed the spiritual life of the still-young nation and, through it, much of the Western world.Yet the story of the American occult has remained largely untold. Now a leading writer on the subject of alternative spirituality brings it out of the shadows. Here is a rich, fascinating, and colorful history of a religious revolution and an epic of offbeat history. From the meaning of the symbols on the one-dollar bill to the origins of the Ouija board, Occult America briskly sweeps from the nation’s earliest days to the birth of the New Age era and traces many people and episodes, including:•The spirit medium who became America’s first female religious leader in 1776 •The supernatural passions that marked the career of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith •The rural Sunday-school teacher whose clairvoyant visions instigated the dawn of the New Age •The prominence of mind-power mysticism in the black-nationalist politics of Marcus Garvey•The Idaho druggist whose mail-order mystical religion ranked as the eighth-largest faith in the world during the Great Depression Here, too, are America’s homegrown religious movements, from transcendentalism to spiritualism to Christian Science to the positive-thinking philosophy that continues to exert such a powerful pull on the public today. A feast for believers in alternative spirituality, an eye-opener for anyone curious about the unknown byroads of American history, Occult America is an engaging, long-overdue portrait of one nation, under many gods, whose revolutionary influence is still being felt in every corner of the globe.

The Rochdale Poltergeist: A True Story


Jenny Ashford - 2015
    Until I did. And then I was thinking, ‘Oh God, do I really want to continue with this?’” - Steve Mera BSc., Director of the Scientific Establishment of Parapsychology Steve Mera had been investigating paranormal phenomena for many years, and had never seen anything that shook him to his very foundations. All that changed in 1996, when he was called in with his team to look into the bizarre occurrences taking place at a small bungalow in Rochdale, Manchester, England. Flying objects, disembodied voices, phantom smells and sounds, and strangest of all, copious falls of water seemingly coming from nowhere plagued the Gardner family for nearly a year. What Steve experienced during the investigation was enough to make him question his entire career path, and remains one of only a handful of cases that he is completely unable to rationally explain. This account, written by horror author Jenny Ashford from interviews conducted with Steve about the case, is a bone-chilling foray into the paranormal that will make even the most ardent skeptic sleep with the lights on.

Inside Ballet Technique: Separating Anatomical Fact from Fiction in the Ballet Class


Valerie Grieg - 1994
    A Dance Book Club main selection, this guide offers a general explanation of anatomy, kinesiology, and technique for ballet dancers, students, and teachers.

Passing Strange: True Tales of New England Hauntings and Horrors


Joseph A. Citro - 1996
    But these authors' dark imaginings pale when compared to little-known but well-documented and true tales. In this delightfully spine-tingling tour of all six New England states, Citro chronicles the haunted history and folklore of a region steeped in hardship and horror, humor and pathos.

Mirage Men: An Adventure into Paranoia, Espionage, Psychological Warfare, and UFOs


Mark Pilkington - 2010
    This is not your average UFO book. Mirage Men explores the strange and symbiotic relationship between the U.S. military and intelligence agencies and the community who believes strongly that UFOs have visited earth. Just how has the U.S. government manipulated the public’s belief in UFOs to hide military aircraft experimentation? Among the UFO believers are the “mirage men”—a close-knit group of men and women whose careers span science medicine, the military, and the intelligence services. They believe they have received parts of a flying saucer–shaped puzzle, whose final pieces lie tantalizingly out of reach. Dive into this comprehensive and astonishing exposition of exactly what these Mirage Men believe, and why. Interviews, anecdotes, and cold hard facts make this a persuasive book that’s hard to ignore. Many are sure that official disclosure—government announcement of extraterrestrial presence—is just around the corner.

The Day After Roswell


Philip J. Corso - 1997
    Backed by documents newly declassified through the Freedom of Information Act, Colonel Philip J. Corso (Ret.), a member of President Eisenhower's National Security Council and former head of the Foreign Technology Desk at the U.S. Army's Research & Development department, has come forward to reveal his personal stewardship of alien artifacts from the Roswell crash. He tells us how he spearheaded the Army's reverse-engineering project that led to today's: Integrated circuit chips Fiber optics Lasers Super-tenacity fibers and "seeded" the Roswell alien technology to giants of American industry. Laying bare the U.S. government's shocking role in the Roswell incident -- what was found, the cover-up, and how they used alien artifacts to change the course of twentieth-century history -- The Day After Roswell is an extraordinary memoir that not only forces us to reconsider the past, but also our role in the universe.

The Book of the Damned


Charles Fort - 1919
    Through painstaking research and a witty, sarcastic style, Fort captures the imagination while exposing the flaws of popular scientific explanations. Virtually all of his material was compiled and documented from reports published in reputable journals, newspapers and periodicals because he was an avid collector. Charles Fort was somewhat of a recluse who spent most of his spare time researching these strange events and collected these reports from publications sent to him from around the globe. This was the first of a series of books he created on unusual and unexplained events and to this day it remains the most popular. If you agree that truth is often stranger than fiction, then this book is for you.

Ghosts of the Air: True Stories of Aerial Hauntings


Martin Caidin - 1991
    These are real accounts from pilots who have experienced strange phenomena. Landing at an airfield that wasn't there; planes guided by dead pilots; Bermuda Triangle accounts; sightings of aircraft from the past; airfields haunted by airmen killed in action; ghost warning prevents plane crash; more.

Unexplained: An Encyclopedia of Curious Phenomena, Strange Superstitions, and Ancient Mysteries


Judy Allen - 2006
    Even with today's high-tech science, many events and ancient mysteries remain unexplained and surrounded by theories that stir the imagination and challenge scientific fact. This book systematically explores all aspects of the human fascination with the unknowable, from hauntings and the power of the mind to physical mysteries such as lost civilizations, ancient superstitions and symbols, and the persistent ideas about life from other planets. Evocative illustrations and intriguing photographs, combined with spine-tingling text by an award-winning author, shed light on the world's greatest mysteries.

Inside the Real Area 51: The Secret History of Wright Patterson


Thomas J. Carey - 2013
    Only a select few have ever had access to the truth about what became known as Area 51.But what happened to the remnants of that crash is shrouded in even greater mystery. What began in the high desert of New Mexico ended at Wright-Patterson, an ultra top-secret Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio. The physical evidence of extraterrestrial visitation was buried deep within this nuclear stronghold.How tragic that such seismic news should be kept from the people of the world...pieces of history, now quickly dwindling into oblivion as the last of the secret-keepers passes on.In spite of its rich history of military service to our nation, Wright-Patterson also stands as the secret tomb of one of the greatest occurrences in recorded history. But be prepared...the real Area 51--Wright-Patterson's vault--is about to be opened.

Bigfoot, Yeti, and the Last Neanderthal: A Geneticist's Search for Modern Apemen


Bryan Sykes - 2014
    Is the yeti just a phantasm of our imagination, or is it a real creature? A survivor from our own savage ancestry? This is the mystery that Bryan Sykes set out to unlock.Three hair samples from the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan are the cause of the investigation. The hair samples were from the miogi, the Bhutanese yeti, that legendary creature of the high snows that has haunted the imagination of travellers for centuries. Professor Sykes was asked to identify the hairs using DNA analysis. The miogi hairs did not surrender their secrets easily, but eventually two were identified as known species of bear. The third remained a mystery. Ten years later two scientific developments caused the migoi to enter Professor Sykes' thoughts again. The first, a purely technical improvement, meant that it was now possible to get a very good DNA signal from a single hair. The second development came from the surprising conclusion of an article published in 2010. This paper contained the details of the DNA sequence from another human species, Homo neanderthalensis, the Neanderthals, widely thought to be extinct. One of the many theories to account for the yeti legend is that there were small groups of Neanderthals that had managed to survive until recent times, or maybe even until the present day. If so, would it be possible to detect recent interbreeding between our own species and Neanderthals in the genomes of indigenous people living in remote regions. Locations where the yeti legends are strongest and the sightings most numerous?Professor Sykes set a goal to locate and analyse as many hair samples as possible, with links the yeti. In doing so Professor Sykes found himself entering a strange world of mystery and sensationalism, fraud and obsession and even the supernatural. Protected by the ruthless vigour of genetic analysis he was able to listen to the stories of the yeti without having to form an opinion. The only opinion that mattered was the DNA.Two years on the project is almost complete, and there have been some surprising and significant discoveries. The yeti remains an enigma. There is something out there. But what?

Chasing Ghosts: A Tour of Our Fascination with Spirits and the Supernatural


Marc Hartzman - 2021
    Every town has its local legends, and countless books, movies, and TV shows are haunted by their presence. But our obsession with ghosts runs deeper than we know—and is embedded in the very fabric of American history. Writer and historian Marc Hartzman dons the mantle of tour guide, taking readers on a fascinating journey through supernatural history, including: • The Fox Sisters and the rise of Spiritualism • The supernatural obsessions of famous figures like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle • Famous haunted sites like the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia and the LaLaurie House in New Orleans • Famous ghosts like the Bell Witch of Tennessee and the Greenbrier Ghost of West Virginia • Paranormal investigators like Ed and Lorraine Warren Deeply researched and highly entertaining, with archival images and black and white illustrations, Chasing Ghosts will satisfy believers and skeptics alike.