Holy Ghosts

Book excerpt: Do you believe in ghosts? When doors and windows open on their own, when footsteps echo down an empty hall, when shadows move in the darkness and voices whisper when no one is around...what is going on? These are the experiences that stick with us, frighten us, incite our imaginations, and, ultimately, connect us to the past. Skeptics and believers alike are sure to be captivated by author David J. Schmidt's case study of Point Loma Nazarene University, a private Christian college in California that is filled with tales of poltergeists and apparitions. Originally built by a mysterious group of enigmatic Occultists known as the "Theosophists," the college is said to be haunted by the group's leader, Madame Tingley. Schmidt's retelling of these chilling stories both terrifies and lifts the shroud of mystery behind the hauntings as he compares them to other spectral stories from around the world. In coming to understand the ghosts of one college, the author hopes to broaden our understanding of hauntings as a worldwide phenomenon. You are invited to join him in his search...if you dare.