July 17, 2012

A GALLERY OF GHOSTLY POSSESSIONS

New Book Brings Together Tales of Haunted, Cursed and Possessed Items

Can an object be haunted?

With so much media attention given to haunted houses and possessed people these days, ghosts are no longer a taboo topic. Authors Christopher Balzano and Tim Weisberg have compiled a collection of true ghost stories with one catch. All of them revolve around the unexplained happening to regular, every-day items that are probably collecting dust on your shelf. More than a ghost-hunting book or a compilation of regional spooky stories, Haunted Objects: Stories of Ghosts on Your Shelf (Krause, July 2012, $15.99) asks readers to explore people's real experiences with haunted, cursed or possessed items while attempting to forget they have one just like it somewhere in their top drawer or attic. Ghost stories don't just happen on Halloween, and these stories prove you don't need a drafty old house or a stormy night to experience spirits.

Balzano and Weisberg try to answer the question from all angles, calling upon urban legend and classic curses while retelling the stories of everyday people who opened their home to something that refused to leave. Tales include those of haunted toys, such as the famous Robert the Doll and the murderous Annabelle; a mysterious birth certificate that enrages its dead owner; and a cursed belt that may be the reason for more than 300 years of death and crime in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Do the spirits of two little girls still play with dresses in the room where they died? Did James Dean and Franz Ferdinand both leave behind cursed cars? Is there more behind a set of Haitian masks than meets the eye? Does a dead grandfather share his favorite metal with his recently deceased grandson? The answers are simple if you can boil it all down to one question: can an object be haunted?

Once you read this book, you'll know the answer and never look at a yard sale, flea market or antique store the same way again.



ABOUT CHRISTOPHER BALZANO
Christopher is the author of several books about regional hauntings as well as the collection of true ghosts stories Ghostly Adventures and the how-to paranormal books Picture Yourself Ghost Hunting and Picture Yourself Capturing Ghosts on Film. He has been a contributor to Jeff Belanger's Encyclopedia of Haunted Places and Weird Massachusetts and was one of the writers behind Weird Hauntings. He has appeared in more than a dozen other books, often called in to offer insight into the paranormal or perspective on a certain case.

Balzano has appeared on radio stations across the country and throughout the Internet, as well as being called upon by television shows to comment on ghosts and urban legends, including the British television series Conversations with a Serial Killer. He has been a guest on Coast to Coast AM and been asked in as a consultant on televisions shows like Paranormal State and Ghost Adventures. He runs the paranormal news on Ghostvillage, one of the oldest and largest websites dedicated to the paranormal and is the content director for the popular paranormal radio show Spooky Southcoast



ABOUT TIM WEISBERG
Tim is the host, creator and executive producer of Spooky Southcoast, one of the world's most popular paranormal radio programs. He is also the author of Ghosts of the SouthCoast, and has contributed to books such as Picture Yourself Ghost Hunting and publications such as FATE Magazine. A frequent contributor to paranormal television series and specials, Tim has been featured on programs such as Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures and Most Terrifying Places in America, History Channel's MonsterQuest, BIO Channel's My Ghost Story and LIVING TV's Conversations with a Serial Killer. In addition, Tim also runs the paranormal events company Legend Trips along with Jeff Belanger. He is a frequent guest on other radio shows as well, most notably for his research into the hauntings of the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast in Fall River, Massachusetts.

When not working in the realm of the paranormal, Tim is employed as a sports writer for The Standard-Times in New Bedford, Massachusetts, covering the Boston Celtics and the New England Patriots.



For more information or to schedule an interview with one of both of the authors, please contact Christopher Balzano at (781) 799-2883 or balzano@spookysouthcoast.com, or Tim Weisberg at (508) 863-3763 or tim@spookysouthcoast.com.