Published by Schiffer Books, “Ghosts of Central Arizona” is a well packaged book. Printed out in non-standard 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 size makes the book easy to flip through and carry around, which is great since it is meant to be used as a guide through Arizona’s paranormal side.
Heather Woodward founded P.I.S.A. (Paranormal Investigators of Southern Arizona) so it is of no surprise that she is familiar with the history and local haunts throughout Central Arizona. Heather’s 192 page book is easy to read and well edited. The contents of the books is pretty standard of today’s “ghosts books”. Targeted to those who are new to “ghost hunting” and those who live in or are visiting Central Arizona this book does it’s job. Covering everything from the tools of the trade to personal stories and local hauntings. Ghosts of Central Arizona is written in such way that you, as the reader, feel like you are investigating most of Central Arizona’s haunted locations.
If you were to ask me, I don’t particularly buy these types of books since it is not the type of paranormal books that I read, nor am I interested in “ghost hunting”. Reading the book though I can say that it is one of those books that I would recommend to those who are interesting in ghost hunting and need a “novice’s guide” to investigating claims of ghosts. I do tend to get emails from time to time asking for tips on ghost hunting, or those people who think that GhostTheory is a ghost hunting team. To them, I should start telling them to read up on the paranormal and ghost hunting and should recommend this book. Ghosts of Central Arizona not only gives you an introduction to the tools that are used in the paranormal, but it also takes you along some of Arizona’s creepiest stories. Even though it was a small excerpt, reading on the “crying baby” of a Flagstaff hotel send chills down my spine. No matter how skeptical I am about these types of urban legends, ghostly wails/moans creep me out. What made me enjoy this book even more were the vast number of well taken and well placed photographs throughout the book. Photographs taken by Stacy Fortson.
Ghosts of Central Arizona has the distinct advantage of being written by a seasoned investigator. Which brings the element of skepticism onto Heather’s writing. I enjoyed reading the introduction into ghostly Orbs. Heather correctly introduces Orbs to her readers as a controversial topic and how most ghost hunters will make the mistake of confusing the reported three dimensional Orbs that are witnessed in some hauntings with the moisture and dust particles that most novice ghost hunters capture with their cameras.
If you are interested in becoming a ghost hunter, then this is a valuable book to read. A quick and easy introduction to the paranormal and its investigation methods, Ghosts of Central Arizona will guide you through your journey into the paranormal and leave you wanting more of Arizona’s ghost legends.
This book is available over at Schiffer Books or Amazon.com.
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