A great book for the paranormal lover. Good writing and scary stories will give you goosebumps. It is a great book and I highly recommend it.

I requested this book because of an interest in the Old Southwest and my own interest in ghost hunting. I keep dipping into this interesting book, which has a lot of "how-to" in this book, not necessarily a bad thing. I appreciate the comments about treating spirits with civility and the concept that there is a difference between a residual haunting, where spirits replay the same old story, to spirits that are trapped and want something to happen or want to relay a message or are simply angry. I am enjoying it! Much thanks to #Llewellyn Publications!

I love ghost books and this one is not only about ghosts but is about real ghosts. Dan Baldwin takes us on a journey through Ghost Towns to contact and interact with real ghosts of miners, outlaws, and pioneers of the Southwest United States.

I love how he gives us a bit of history about each place visited in the book. I like how they communicate with the spirits. They mainly use a pendulum. I have a pendulum and have used it many times over the years with results. So I know you can communicate with one.

He does get a little long winded when it comes to telling us how they investigate and it does get a bit redundant when he says it over again at each place they visit. But other then that I really enjoyed the book and will be looking for more books by Dan Baldwin.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

Book received from NetGalley.

Usually, I love seeing a new "true ghost sighting" book and reading it from cover to cover fairly quickly. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to that expectation. I enjoyed reading about the ghosts that the investigators supposedly saw, especially since there were a few places mentioned that I hadn't heard of before. However, unless you're interested in ghost hunting or are new to these types of books, the long-winded explanations that the author gives on how his group goes about searching for the spirits get quite boring. Since that seems to take up most of the book, since it's explained again for each investigation I just couldn't give this a higher rating. I feel that most people who are going to pick up books like this have already been oversaturated in how to scientifically hunt for a spirit and don't need to be reminded of how things are done. I think if it's re-edited with that in mind it would be more entertaining.

Old stories from long ago...

I loved the history that this book brought out on some of the old territorial places in Arizona. Tombstone, old hospitals, Indian ruins, its all here...

While I enjoyed the stories, I felt like it was very miscombobulated, and you can tell there were a lot of places where they were talking over each other - and the soundbites at the end did nothing. There were some places, especially the story of the young man that was closer to the end, where his mother did not want them to do anything - but they went back and investigated anyway. I felt as though they should have really left that one alone, with the mothers wishes being given.

Interesting overall, but not quite there for me.

I lived in Arizona for more than 15 yrs and visited many of the places that the authors had. Tombstone is so filled with spirits that you can practically hear them. I found out a lot of things that I did not know about the places I had been to. The use of the pendulum was something that I had never heard of being used during spirit finding or ghost hunting. I plan to investigate this further as it is an interesting take on what a lot of people do. I noticed that they treated the spirits with dignity and respect as opposed to what some ghost hunters do as they demand and scream at the ghost or spirits. Tombstone is not the only place they went and that was interesting as well. For anyone who likes ghost adventures or communing with the spirits or that just want to know more about it, they should read this book. I really enjoyed it. I received this book from Llewellyn and net galley for an honest review.

I am usually a sucker for paranormal books. Love em, whether scary or not. This one just didn't do it. I haven't ever heard of any "ghost hunters" or paranormal researchers as some would prefer to be called, ever using a pendulum to communicate with spirits or ghosts.

This book mostly consisted of a very brief history of the site and a readout of a pendulum session followed by what, if any, EVP said. I did love the fact that they pushed the issue that you shouldn't antagonize or be scared of ghosts or spirits. I would compare it to just like living people, you wouldn't want someone coming to your house to antagonize you, or you would get really angry too, so be respectful.

For me, I would've preferred hearing more about the history and facts surrounding each location. But, if you love the southwest or have a connection to any abandoned town there you may be interested in this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

If you follow my reviews, then you know it's not a great leap that I would want to read this book, and thankfully I was approved on Netgalley for it. I've always loved stories of hauntings and spirits, and this takes on a theory that is not much put forward in most paranormal books that get published; that you can commune with spirits during the day, that they won't harm you, and that they travel to their own heaven whether it be an actual place or a heaven of their own making on Earth (such as their wedding day or other special event in which they were happy)

I did feel at times the conversations with the spirits repeated themselves, and some of the writing in the uncorrected proof needs to be polished. I highlighted a few spelling errors and even a sentence that repeated itself. I also felt like this was just such a small snippet of what these people do and I think I wanted to know more, and read more about them.

All in all I enjoyed my foray into American ghost towns; I think living in Orange NSW growing up has given me an appreciation for long abandoned mines and what happens when a small town loses the main employment (Lucknow, Ophir etc for us) Some can bounce back, like Lucknow did here, but many become overgrown and get reclaimed by nature. This book would interest anyone with a fondness for the Wild West, and of course for anyone interested in the paranormal. Three stars.

This was written wonderfully, it was easy to follow their conversations and who was talking. I loved that they gave some history about the place before they went into them. I've never heard of anyone uses a pendulum before and I really liked that touch.

I think I found the history part more interesting than the actual investigations but I'm a sucker for history and that's not saying the parts where they were making contact were boring because they weren't, at all.

Dan Baldwin is a good writer and he makes me want to go out there and try some of this with my pendulum! How cool it must be to connect with these spirits. I hope to read more from this group in the future! They work well together.

*Thanks to NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This review will go live on my blog: 2/21/2018
http://sweetcherry69.blogspot.com/

Speaking With Spirit of The Old Southwest was not only a fun read, but interesting and full of history. I appreciated the respect that the authors have for the subject matter and their interest is infectious through their telling of the experiences they've had. If my Dad were still here I would be so excited to give him this book as a gift. I hope I get to go out to Arizona someday and meet these folks. I think it would be a fascinating conversation!
I read and reviewed this book voluntarily and give it a strong 3.5-4 stars. The only reason it isn't rated higher is because the writing style was a bit choppy between dialogue, session transcripts and narrative.

One of my favorite things about NetGalley is that I have been auto-approved by Llewellyn so I can immediately read any book they've posted. This tends to make for some spooky reads, because they of course publish a lot of material related to all things paranormal. I believe in ghosts, I have had experiences of my own, and I love reading about the experiences of others. When I saw this book available, it was doubly exciting because there is something so tragic and romantic and, well, haunting, about the Old West. Despite its historical inaccuracies, Tombstone is one of my fave movies and I was hoping that some investigations would be made into the lives of the real men and women the movie represented. I was NOT disappointed in that respect at all.

One author, Dan Baldwin, has several years of experience using a dowsing pendulum to communicate with spirits who have not yet crossed over. I am kind of glad that I did not know ahead of time about this tool that he uses, as it might have made me hesitate. Prior to reading this one, I had no idea what a dowsing pendulum even was. I have to admit much skepticism to start with and I am not entirely convinced of its work yet, but it certainly gives one much to think about.

He was joined with a husband-wife team, Rhonda and Dwight Hull, who are both psychic mediums and can communicate with the dead. Something I really liked from the start is the team's goal of helping these spirits cross over. I also liked the fact that they did not attempt to force a spirit to cross over - though of course forcing a spirit to do anything would be impossible. More than once the author mentioned that the team did not feel right attempting to suggest the spirit move on if the spirit seemed content and happy to stay where they were. They came across a few spirits like this, who knew there was something beyond our plane of existence, but were happy to be where they were and wished to remain so. There were others who were afraid to cross, such as a young girl they encountered who was afraid she would not find her family. Perhaps the story that stuck with me the longest is the one of the supposed encounter with Mattie Blaylock, Wyatt Earp's common-law wife who he abandoned in Tombstone when he met Josephine Marcus. Mattie's story is a sad one and she died of a laudanum overdose, though whether it was an accident or suicide is still debated. The team here falls on the side of believing she committed suicide and in their communication with what they believe is her spirit, they conclude she has remained behind because she is ashamed of the way she died and is afraid she can't leave the place where she is in self-imposed exile. The team encourages the spirit to move on, that she is forgiven and she is allowed to leave, then end the session.

Each chapter is set up the same way: background information of the place or subject the team is investigating, then the transcripts of the sessions. I feel like those are important, as well as the commentary within the transcripts to help the reader know what is going on. with books like this, I feel like one of the most crucial things an author can do is give as much background information as possible in order to place their subjects in the proper context. Perhaps this is even more true in regards to those who are famous or infamous. Everyone knows stories of the Old West but it is important to go beyond the legends and discover who these people actually were. It also shows me that investigators have done their homework so to speak, prior to beginning. This could also partially have to do with the fact that I love non-fiction and history in particular, but I think we can agree research is an important aspect in this line of work. Not only do they give the background information, but at the end of the chapter, when available, they list follow-up/further reading information

Despite my caution still in regards to the pendulum use (I have to learn more about it, possibly see one in action for myself in this kind of situation before rendering a verdict), another point where this team and I agree on is that we all believe spirits can return to a place where they were happy. I have been incredibly lucky in being able to spend a couple nights at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado and I can say 100% that there are spirits there. Between the audio and visual confirmations, you can just FEEL the energy. I never felt anything negative, it was happy and peaceful - though, I could have done without whoever was in the room above us stomping around all night on hardwood floors, dragging furniture about. Also, none of the floors have been hardwood for decades, it's all carpeted. And yet both nights I was woken up by very loud, heavy shoes on hard floors. But that aside, yes I believe the spirits of the little boy and girl are happy to be at the Stanley, a place they must have loved very much in life. On the reverse side, I also believe that it is possible for the doer of evil deeds to return to the scene of his or her crime. I've been to the Villisca Ax Murder House in Iowa and there is definitely some negative/bad mojo coming from that attic. I think it is possible that whoever murdered the Moore family and Stillinger girls is still in the house, along with at least a couple of the children.

All in all I definitely recommend this one to those who have an interest in the paranormal. The multiple locations they visit have made me want to set up a vacation in the southwest, ASAP. The transcripts of their sessions at various locations in these ghost towns are truly interesting. I admire their commitment to the field and will you leave you with this quote that I feel like really sums up their mission (at 27%):

"You will notice in reading the transcript of the session we were not collecting EVPs like someone would collect stamps, coins, or arrowheads. Rather, these efforts are aimed at building a relationship with those who have crossed over and in gaining a better understanding of their individual situation."