Chris Gudgeon - Ghost Trackers: The Unreal World of Ghosts, Ghost-Hunting, and the Paranormal

Text copyright 2010 by Chris Gudgeon

Published in Canada by Tundra Books,
75 Sherbourne Street, Toronto, Ontario M5A 2P9

Published in the United States by Tundra Books of Northern New York,
P.O. Box 1030, Plattsburgh, New York 12901

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009938451

All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency is an infringement of the copyright law.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Gudgeon, Chris, 1959
Ghost trackers : the unreal world of ghosts, ghost-hunting, and the paranormal / Chris Gudgeon.

eISBN: 978-1-77049-181-6

1. Ghosts--Juvenile literature.
2. Parapsychology--Juvenile literature. I. Title.
BF1461.G83 2010 j133.1 C2009-906019-1

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) and that of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporations Ontario Book Initiative. We further acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program.

Published in cooperation with CCI Entertainment Ltd.

Design: Paul Dotey

v3.1

To Charlie, Tavish, Keating, Hannah, Nathanial, Madison,
Carson, Duncan, Griffin, and all the Ghost Trackers fans
around the world.

Foreword
Ghost Trackers Wanted, No Experience Required By Joe Macleod

Introduction
Do You Believe in Ghosts?

1. A History of Ghostly Mysteries
Ghosts Throughout the Ages

2. Science Versus Fiction
Scientists and Paranormal Researchers Take a Closer Look at Ghosts

3. Whos That Ghoul?
A Guide to Spirits, Ghosts, and Other Apparitions

4. Happy Haunting Grounds
Exploring the World of Haunted Houses

5. Get Tracking!
Everything You Need to Begin Your Own Ghost Tracking Adventure

If from antiquity to the present, and since the beginning of man, there are men who have seen the bodies of ghosts and spirits and heard their voices, how can we say that they do not exist?

Chinese philosopher Mo Tzu,
who lived from 470 to 391 BCE.

Ghosts.

Haunted houses.

Spirit voices.

Poltergeists.

Are they evidence of life after death? Portals to an alternate universe? Or are they a natural occurrence weve yet to understand? Somewhere between science and fantasy is the realm of the paranormal.

Welcome to the world of Ghost Trackers, where kids just like you are interested in ghosts and the paranormal. Are ghosts real? Can a house be haunted? Are those strange sounds at night just your imagination playing tricks? These are questions that every kid asks and Ghost Trackers try to answer.

How do you become a Ghost Tracker? All you need is an open mind, an interest in ghosts, and a desire to investigate the unexplained.

Some people say that ghosts dont exist. Some just arent sure. But lots and lots of people have seen and heard things they cant explain. Its likely that even you or someone in your family has had an encounter with the paranormal.

This book is for fans of the TV show and for anybody who has ever wondered about the truth behind all those ghost stories. Its a book for true believers and skeptics alike, and its a book for kids like you, who are brave enough to explore the world of the unknown.

Happy haunting!

Joe Macleod

www.ghosttrackers.tv

E VERY H ALLOWEEN IN MY HOMETOWN, people head down to an old graveyard near the outskirts of town. Its one of the most historic and creepiest places around. Some of the graves date back over one hundred and fifty years. There are ancient, cracked headstones covered in moss, the names and dates faded. There are old stone crosses and a large marble angel, her wings chipped and worn on the edges.

On any given night, you might find a handful of people skulking quietly through the spooky graveyard. But on October 31, things get busy, with kids, parents, teenagers, and even grandmas wearing heavy winter coats to ward off the cold night air every age and kind of person you can imagine. And they are all there for one reason: ghosts.

You see, this cemetery is rumored to be the most haunted place in the area. There are at least five resident spirits, including a gold miner murdered for his secret hoard, a widow in a black shroud who is still searching for her husband lost at sea a century ago, and a lonely little boy who is forever looking for someone to play with in his ghost world.

Why the fuss on Halloween? Thats the night the ghosts seem to be the most active. And everyone has the same goal. They want to see a ghost. They want to find out if ghosts are real.

Ghosts, it seems, are on everyones mind. A recent poll by CBS News found that almost half of all American adults believe in ghosts. And the same study concluded that almost a quarter of adults have actually seen one.

For me, I have always been a little doubtful. I had seen and heard some strange things when I was a kid phantom footsteps in the middle of the night, odd lights and faces in the dark. But once I became an adult, I decided those weird things were all just my imagination playing tricks.

But then one night something happened to me that changed my mind. I was staying over at my friends house. They lived in a very old home in the country that had once served as an inn for weary travelers. My wife and I had heard the stories of the ghosts that supposedly haunted the place, but we thought nothing of them. On this particular night, my wife and I were sound asleep in the guest bedroom when we both suddenly woke up. I had a strange feeling, like something weird was going on, but I didnt know what.