William J. Birnes - The Haunting of America

The Haunting of America

William J. Birnes

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The Haunting of America: From the Salem
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History of the U.S. Presidency

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THE HAUNTING OF AMERICA: FROM THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS TO HARRY HOUDINI

Copyright 2009 by William J. Birnes and Joel Martin

Foreword copyright 2009 by George Noory

All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from The Amplified Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

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Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Birnes, William J.

The haunting of America : from the Salem witch trials to Harry Houdini / William J. Birnes and Joel Martin ; foreword by George Noory.1st ed.

p. cm.

A Tom Doherty Associates Book.

ISBN 978-0-7653-1381-2 (hardcover)ISBN 978-0-7653-2618-8 (trade pbk.)

1. United StatesHistoryAnecdotes. 2. SpiritualismUnited States Anecdotes. 3. GhostsUnited StatesAnecdotes. 4. ParapsychologyUnited StatesAnecdotes. I. Martin, Joel, 1945 II. Title.

E178.B56 2009

973dc22

2009019362

First Edition: September 2009

Printed in the United States of America

0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To our parents and our childrens grandparents, who are now in heaven, Abraham Kaplan and Viola Katz, Laura Bruni, Dave Duthie, Mom Mom and Pop Pop, Chuck Jordan and Kay Tice; to our children Geoff and Carly, Holly and David, and to Casey, Reese, and Marcus, the grandchildren upon whom our parents are smiling and under their grandparents watchful eyes they will always remain.

To the memory of Marika Morgan, whose watchful eyes watched over UFO Magazine.

And to my wife, Nancy Birnes, the editor-in-chief of UFO Magazine and the creator of UFO Hunters, for her support, strength, and commitment to finding the truth.

W ILLIAM J. B IRNES

To the beloved memory of my wife, Chrismy inspiration, my guiding spirit, who passed from this life all too soon. I will miss you more than I ever realized I would.

J OEL M ARTIN

The authors also dedicate this book to the many generations of men and women whose courage and persistence, often in the face of unrelenting criticism and opposition, tell the true story of Americas paranormal past. These pioneers never lost faith in their frequently misunderstood and controversial struggle to enlightenand often mystify us.

In the brave new world of the twenty-first century, may their spirit be our guide.

We have made every effort to present historical facts as accurately as possible. However, in the course of researching and writing, we sometimes discovered variations in details such as dates, locations, events, dialogue, and even spellings of names and places. To the best of our ability, we have consulted several authoritative references to provide the greatest historical accuracy possible. However, some variations proved unavoidable and are a reflection of incomplete, inadequate, or contradictory historical recordkeeping.

In some instances, some names have been changed to protect privacy. However, while certain identifying characteristics have been altered, the incidents and experiences described are genuine. Where a name has been changed, we have indicated it with quotation marks.

by George Noory

Coast to Coast AM Host

Too many people take history for granted. What we read in our school textbooks is true, we are sure of that. But how many textbooks describe Washingtons vision of an angel at Valley Forge, or Lincolns premonition of his own death, or Woodrow Wilsons reliance on the psychic Edgar Cayce? Not many, Ill bet.

American history over the years has become almost formulaic. How many times do we hear people calling Abraham Lincoln our most psychic president, calling spiritual medium Nettie Colburn into the White House to try to communicate with Willie Lincoln, who died during Lincolns first term. In a puritanical America, communicating with the dead is taboo, witchcraft, something the Pilgrims burned people at the stake for practicing. Yet, America has had a psychic historyfilled with ghosts, prophets, spiritualists, and mediumsthat is as exciting and challenging as any war story.

As authors Bill Birnes and Joel Martin recount it, Americas psychic history informs many aspects of todays news. For example, during the Reagan administration, when stories leaked out about Nancy Reagans reliance on astrologer Joan Quigley, many people, including Vice President George H. W. Bush, were shocked. But how many people realized that Franklin Pierce, Barbara Bushs great-great-grandfathers fourth cousin, also sought the advice of two famous mediums of the day, the Fox sisters? American history is replete with such stories, some old, some modern.

Perhaps the new First Family, having just taken up residence in the White House, will see President Lincolns ghost walking the hallways or haunting his old bedroom. President Harry Truman wrote about that ghost in his famous diary. Maybe, because President Obama has spoken so much about Lincolns importance, he will see President Lincoln himself and maybe even get some advice about how to deal with a cabinet, who are not simply, in Doris Kearns Goodwins words, an echo chamber. Will President Obama ever reveal any ghostly visitations to the American people? Will he ever disclose the truth about UFOs to the American people? If he ever does, maybe he will be the first president to talk openly about a hidden America, Americas hidden psychic history.