Paranormal America: Ghosts, UFOs & Supernatural Mysteries in the US | True Stories & Investigations for Paranormal Enthusiasts" 使用场景：Perfect for fans of the supernatural, ghost hunters, UFO researchers, and those interested in unexplained mysteries across America. Great for late-night reading, paranormal discussions, and spooky storytelling.
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Product Description
A significant number of Americans spend their weekends at UFO conventions hearing whispers of government cover-ups, at New Age gatherings learning the keys to enlightenment, or ambling around historical downtowns learning about resident ghosts in tourist-targeted "ghost walks." They have been fed a steady diet of fictional shows with paranormal themes such as "The X-Files," "Supernatural," and "Medium," shows that may seek to simply entertain, but also serve to disseminate paranormal beliefs. The public hunger for the paranormal seems insatiable. Paranormal America provides the definitive portrait of Americans who believe in or have experienced such phenomena as ghosts, Bigfoot, UFOs, psychic phenomena, astrology, and the power of mediums. However, unlike many books on the paranormal, this volume does not focus on proving or disproving the paranormal, but rather on understanding the people who believe and how those beliefs shape their lives. Drawing on the Baylor Religion Survey--a multi-year national random sample of American religious values, practices, and behaviors--as well as extensive fieldwork including joining hunts for Bigfoot and spending the night in a haunted house, authors Christopher Bader, F. Carson Mencken, and Joseph Baker shed light on what the various types of paranormal experiences, beliefs, and activities claimed by Americans are; whether holding an unconventional belief, such as believing in Bigfoot, means that one is unconventional in other attitudes and behaviors; who has such experiences and beliefs and how they differ from other Americans; and if we can expect major religions to emerge from the paranormal. Brimming with engaging personal stories and provocative findings, Paranormal America is an entertaining yet authoritative look at a growing segment of American religious culture.
Customer Reviews
First I have to make something clear: This is not a book about the paranormal. It's a book about the people who believe in the paranormal. The authors go on ghost and bigfoot hunts, indulge in psychic readings, consult UFO trackers, and refer time and again to a couple of religious surveys. They do not expound on the paranormal itself, merely the people who make these things a part of their lives. Interestingly enough, most of us do just that in one way or another. That's what this book is about.Considering it's written by a group of sociologists, the book is well-written and easy to digest. These three authors, who had to stick out like sore thumbs everywhere they went, interview dozens of people who have made bigfoot, ghosts, UFO's, psychic phenomenon and extreme religious worship integral parts of their lives. It's a curious mix, and the make up of that mix is what interests the writers. They analyze and dissect (not literally) the people they meet and try to categorize them in different ways. It's an interesting journey, even if the end result is simply to say that almost all of us believe in some sort of paranormal activity, with more joining the movement all the time.If you are one of those that are deeply involved in the paranormal, you might not find this book very interesting. In fact, despite their best efforts to be politically correct, I think some might take offense at the conclusions derived from their data. But if you're interested in what type of people believe these things, then this is a good read.
