Chasing Ghosts: A Tour of Our Fascination with Spirits and the Supernatural (Quirk Books)
Take a spirited tour through the supernatural history of America, from its haunted sites to its famous ghosts to its ghost-obsessed pop culture.
Ghosts are everywhere—whether you believe in them or not. Every town has its local legends, and countless books, movies, and TV shows are haunted by their presence. But our obsession with ghosts runs deeper than we know—and is embedded in the very fabric of American history.
Writer and historian Marc Hartzman dons the mantle of tour guide, taking readers on a fascinating journey through supernatural history, including the Fox Sisters and the rise of Spiritualism, along with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beliefs in the afterlife.
The tour takes a turn for the terrifying as we explore famous haunted sites like the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia and the LaLaurie House in New Orleans, and learn about famous ghosts like the Bell Witch of Tennessee and the Greenbrier Ghost of West Virginia. Along the way, we hear the stories of ghost hunters like Ed and Lorraine Warren, learn the history of ghost photography, and see how people are using modern-day technology to prove the existence of ghosts.
Deeply researched and presented in an entertaining and accessible way, Marc Hartzman expertly blends popular history, pop culture, and a trove of archival material that will satisfy believers and skeptics alike.
September 28, 2021
What People Are Saying
"No one loves America's spooky nooks and crannies more than Marc Hartzman, and Chasing Ghosts is a beautifully-surveyed roadmap to the shadowy detours and haunted highways of our fascination with the supernatural. If you care about ghosts—and you should—this is the guide you've been waiting for."
- Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of Final Girl Support Group
“Mr. Hartzman’s book is a perfect guide that takes you through much of the unknown and fascinating world of Ghosts. As someone who has produced many hours of paranormal programming for many years, I highly recommend reading this entertaining and informational guide.”
— Michael Yudin, executive producer of Ghost Adventures and president of MY Entertainment
“A fantastic book!”
—Ben Kissel, co-host of Last Podcast on the Left
“Marc Hartzman perfectly balances his skepticism with boundless curiosity. His sincere desire to trace the origins of history's most famous ghost stories results in a spine-tingling survey of the supernatural. Read it with the lights on!”
- Lindsey Fitzharris, Bestselling Author of The Butchering Art
“Like a psychopomp on the river Styx, author Marc Hartzman transports us to the world of the spirits. Inside this delightful haunted history, dead celebrities write books, mediums levitate seventy feet above the ground, and a horse named ‘Lady Wonder’ predicts the future. Chasing Ghosts demonstrates just how deeply the supernatural is embedded in culture and makes a compelling case for those who don’t take ghosts literally to consider them seriously.”
- Shannon Taggart, author of Séance
“CHASING GHOSTS is a fun, readable, and most importantly informative look at ghosts, hauntings, poltergeists, séances, mediums, and spirit communication throughout history and culture. It provides an excellent understanding of our past fascination with spectral experiences that forms the foundation of both popular conceptions and the work of parapsychologists and psychical researchers when it comes to the paranormal.”
— Loyd Auerbach, parapsychologist, paranormal investigator and Instructor, Rhine Education Center
“A lively primer on all things paranormal. This book covers the gamut from ancient times to modern tech, and everything relevant in between. Chasing Ghosts should be required reading for any ghost tour guide!”
- Andrea Janes, Owner and Founder of Boroughs of the Dead: Macabre New York City Walking Tours
“Using humor, fun illustrations and interesting anecdotes that will appeal to readers of all ages, Hartzman makes the serious point that ghost stories say as much about the world of the living as they do about the dead.”
—BookPage
“A fascinating read for anyone who loves unique history or unsolved mysteries.”
—Business Insider
“An extraordinary, documented, inherently fascinating, and entertaining study.”
– Midwest Book Review
