Whether you are a beginning ghost hunter, you have personally experienced paranormal activity or you’re just interested in the topic, you should definitely check out Is Your House Haunted?

In this book, author Debi Chestnut puts her 25-plus years of paranormal research to good use, offering help to anyone who’s interested. It also helps that she’s a medium, having the unique ability to communicate with spirits since she was very young. She enjoys helping ghosts and humans alike and this book definitely helps with that cause.

Ms. Chestnut declares that 75 percent of hauntings can be debunked, but it’s the 25 percent of actual hauntings that paranormal researchers seek throughout their entire lives. Should you determine you’re experiencing an actual haunting, her biggest truths to impart are these: Most spirits are friendly and knowledge is power.

This book will help you make a logical explanation of what’s going on. In order to do that, there are several steps to take: keep a journal of all the incidents, research your house and lastly, contact ghost hunters if necessary (legitimate ones WILL NOT charge a fee).

In order to debunk possible incidents, it’s important to identify activity and to make logical explanations for them. In my head, I constantly hear the skeptical Agent Scully of The X-Files spouting logic that not even she believes, in order to explain the unexplainable and it makes me laugh.

Some symptoms of a haunted house include unexplained smells or voices, animals acting strangely, shadow people and physical attacks. Overall, don’t be scared if you’re not being harmed, which is repeated many times. Although if you are being harmed, seek help immediately.

Ghosts usually want one of three things: acknowledgement of their presence, to share a message or they’re simply curious about something (usually a person). You must determine if you’re experiencing paranormal activity or actually having a true haunting by an intelligent spirit.

Is Your House Haunted? is a quick read. No topic gets in-depth exploration, just stating the facts for paranormal newbies to wrap their head around. Ms. Chestnut attempts to describe and classify every possible type of ghost, which is expansive. Another large portion of the book details different theories on ridding spirits from your house.

While the author doesn’t describe many incidents she’s experienced in her 25 years of being a paranormal researcher, she does offer some great advice in the book’s FAQ chapter. One of the best concerns Ouija boards, “If you don’t know what it is, don’t mess with it.” Amen.

Summing up the book, Is Your House Haunted offers a simplistic overview of topics and is definitely something to pick up if you think you’ve experienced paranormal activity or if you’re a ghost hunter, looking for various debunking tips.

Growing up in a haunted house, I recognize many of these elements. After reading the book, I’m very interested in learning more about Ms. Chestnut’s paranormal adventures throughout the years. Maybe there’s even a based-on-true-events feature film in her future…

Strength: Lots of helpful paranormal information.
Weakness: Sometimes the info is a little too basic.
WTF Moment: Because of their past emotional bonds, your pets might return as ghosts (she has proof).

Notable Quotes:
– “When it comes to spirits, fear is your real enemy.”
– “It is not unusual for the previous owners of a property to haunt their old home.”
– “Just because you are experiencing activity does not mean your home is haunted.”
– “While many children have imaginary friends, in a home with paranormal activity that friend may not be so imaginary.”

Review: 3/5