Le Ménage à Trois

I was the recent recipient of not just one title, but three. Katie Mullaly saw my humble, little blog here, and got so excited she sent me not just one of her books, but ALL of her books. At first, I wasn't sure how I wanted to handle it: Review each book independently or work them as a group? After reading all three books (yes, I really DO read them from cover to cover), I thought it best to critique them as a grouping.

The authors of the books, Katie Mullaly, J. Patrick Ohlde and photographer, Mikal Mullaly, have created a wonderful ménage à trois in the titles "Scare-Izona," "Tucson's Most Haunted," and "Finding Ghosts in Phoenix."  Not certain where to begin, I randomly chose "Scare-Izona" as the first book to read.

The thing I absolutely love about this book is that it's set up in such a way so that you, the reader, feel as if you are going on actual investigations with Katie and Patrick. And while it's definitely geared toward the novice "ghost hunter" (or paranormal investigator, if you prefer), it's a book that the rest of us "in the field" can enjoy as well. I constantly found myself having one-sided conversations with Katie and Patrick, debating the finer points of definitions and techniques. Hopefully, I kept these conversations in my head, as speaking them out loud would be cause for a visit to a very special doctor.

This book, like the two that follow, are full of sharp wit and dry humor. They are certainly anything but boring and I found myself "LOLing" and snorting a laugh on more than one occasion.

In this book, not only do you get to experience various investigations with them, in what feels like real time, but you learn the ins and outs, the dos and don'ts, and the reality and truth behind what it means to be a paranormal investigator. While I certainly don't agree with everything they believe and adhere to, that is irrelevant. As they point out in all three books, nothing is proven, and nothing, in all likelihood, ever will be proven. But their method for investigation is a solid one, and certainly cannot be faulted.

The one thing I do want to address about "Scare-Izona" in particular is more than likely an editorial decision, and not one that Katie or Patrick had a lot of say in. I would like to take this bit of screen to complain loudly about the use of this particular graphic*:

*note: This is NOT the graphic used in the book. I am awaiting that graphic from the publisher who, after reading this, probably won't send it to me. The above graphic is only a representation of the actual graphic used in "Scare-Izona."

Why? Mostly because, as a small child, my very first paranormal encounter involved THIS VERY GHOST staring in at me through my bedroom window. I kid you not. It was a classic paper cut-out, white-sheeted ghost. I woke up in the middle of the night and had the strongest sensation that I was being watched. As I turned my head to the left, there it was, staring at me through my bedroom window. I will never forget the terror I felt (I was probably five or six years old) as I backed slowly out of the room and into my parents' room directly across the hall. After convincing my mother to get out of bed because "THERE IS A GHOST IN MY ROOM!!!" and anything less than her seeing it for herself and delivering me from it would just not do, we walked the short distance to my room. I remember pointing and saying, "See, right TH...." as she flipped on the light. I was brought up short by the fact that the ghost was gone. I never slept with my shade up again, even as a teen.

So perhaps it's for that reason I found the image, which is on nearly EVERY FRICKIN PAGE to be a bit distracting. Or maybe it's simply because the image is.... well, distracting. But it seemed like a very unnecessary addition to the book. This, however in no way detracts from the actual worth of the content of the manuscript.

I have to also say, it's very refreshing to read a ghostie book and have an actual beginning, middle and end. You know, an actual summary at the end of the book. Something that rounds it all up for you and gives you closure. I will confess that with my first couple of reviews, I walked softly. I stand by those reviews, absolutely, but I was still getting a feel for how this all was going to flow. Not every book I've read has had that nice, rounded feel to it. I appreciate the fact that Katie and Patrick care enough about their writing and the reader to give them a sense of, "And this is The End!" Thank you.

The next book I chose is actually their third book written, but since I read them in this order, I will review in this order.

The first paragraph of the first chapter starts out, "Since paranormal investigating is more esoteric than anything, it's important to throw out credentials just to make sure that we are not trying to sell you a bill of goods including certification as a triple tarot master graduate of Jim and Skippy's School of Paranormal Mayhem and HVAC Repair." Anyone who begins their book this way has my heart. Though I was secretly hoping to get that triple Master's in Tarot. Damn.

Again, this book has excellent advice for the "newbs" while the "old pros" in this field will find themselves shouting, "Hear! Hear!" with the random "Amen!" thrown in for good measure. I couldn't help but notice a line here and there that seemed to be a sideways jab and certain and particular "trouble makers" in the paranormal world, and I appreciated the smile it brought to my face. For those of you not embroiled knee-deep in the know, thank your lucky stars and enjoy this book for what it is: A great learning tool woven in with more great investigations and ghost stories. You definitely feel like you get to know both Katie and Patrick as you work your way through their books. Katie has the dry wit, while Patrick appears to have a touch of ADD (and I mean that in the best way possible..if such a thing is possible). "Finding Ghosts in Phoenix" is rich in history and good story-telling. I know it's one you'll enjoy.

And rounding out our ménage à trois, "Tuscon's Most Haunted."

By this point in my reading, I had gotten quite comfortable with who Katie and Patrick are as authors and investigators. I'm only now realizing I didn't take a single note as I read this book. What I did do is settle in comfortably and simply enjoy it. Here you can find more amazing ghost stories and fascinating history on a bit of the Old West. They give many examples of various types of ghosts and hauntings, and made me wish, just a little, that I lived on the other side of the Sierras again.

As with the other two books, this one is well-written, credible and fun.

Overall, the three books together belong on your bookshelf. I don't care if you are an investigator or simply someone who likes to live vicariously through the myriad of ghost shows on T.V., these books make for an enjoyable read.

Overall, I give the trio a rating of four out of five stars.

Authors: Katie Mullaly & J. Patrick Ohlde
Photographer: Mikal Mullaly
Publisher: Schiffer (www.schifferbooks.com)
ISBN:  978-0-7643-2844-2 (Scare-Izona) 978-0-7643-3583-9 (Finding Ghosts in Phoenix) and 978-0-7643-3153-4 (Tucson's Most Haunted)

Haunted Closets

Many children, indeed, many of us as children, slept with the light on. Real or imagined, we often feared the monster in our closets or the invisible hand reaching out from under our beds (and who hasn't made the leap from the light-switch to the bed, a la Superman style?). For Katie Boyd, her fears were more than just fears. Her fears were actual experiences she endured as a child. 

"Haunted Closets" takes the reader on a journey, neatly segmented into three legs. The first leg discusses the history of various "boogeyman" personae. We learn why parents of different cultures often scare their children into submission with threats of "The Bag Man" or "Tommy Rawhead" coming to take them away if they don't behave. I found this to be quite informative as well as entertaining. Ms. Boyd has obviously done her homework, and she truly makes the history come alive. She also does a wonderful job of balancing the supernatural with the natural, an effort which is not lost on this reader.

The second section of the book deals with personal experiences, and is by far, my favorite section. Katie delves into her past, her fear, and how she finally escaped the torment. She also discusses various paranormal cases she has been a part of in the past and again, who doesn't like a good ghost story? Each of these are, indeed, good ghost stories.

The final section of the book covers "Flesh and Bone Boogeymen." This is where the book becomes a bit disjointed for me. We learn about real-life serial killers as well as various movie "monsters" (such as Freddie Kruger and Michael Myers). While the stories, in and of themselves, are interesting, it was a bit of an emotional lurch and leap for me to go from personal experiences to movie characters. That said, I did especially enjoy the "history" of Sweeney Todd, and could only picture Johnny Depp as I read that segment. As twisted and messed up as the story is, I caught myself swooning a bit on the inside.

All in all, I do recommend this book. It is well-worth your time and energy. Just make certain that if you are at all timid, you read it with the lights on.

I give the first two-thirds of the book four stars; the final third, three stars.

Author: Katie Boyd
Publisher: Schiffer (schifferbooks.com)
ISBN: 978-0-7643-3474-0