Holy Ghosts: Or How a (Not-so) Good Catholic Boy Became a Believer in Things that Go Bump in the Night

Written by Gary Jansen

Narrated by Gary Jansen

IN THIS EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORY, the haunting of a Long Island household forces a respected writer and editor to reevaluate the mysteries of life and death as he struggles with the frightening truths of his childhood home and his town's past.

Growing up in Rockville Centre, Long Island, Gary Jansen never believed in ghosts. His mother-a devoutly Catholic woman with a keen sense for the uncanny-claimed that their family house was haunted. But Jansen never found anything inexplicable in how their doorbell would sometimes ring of its own accord; or in the mysterious sounds of footsteps or breaking glass that occasionally would fill their home; or even in his mother's sometimes unnervingly accurate visions of future events and tragedies. Though he once experienced a supernatural encounter in a Prague church as a young man, Jansen grew up into a rationalist, as well as a noted writer and editor.

In 2001, Jansen moved back into the very same house where he had once grown up, to raise a family with his wife. In 2007, he encountered a frightening, full blown haunting in his home. This became the first step of a phenomenon that lasted a full year and eventually included unveiling the identities of the spirits who occupied his house, reliving a tragic murder in his hometown, encountering mind-boggling coincidences between local history and episodes in his household; and finally-with the help of Mary Ann Winkowski, the real-life inspiration for TV's Ghost Whisperer-ridding his house of these uninvited visitors.

Holy Ghosts is not only a gripping true-life ghost story, but a wry and touching memoir, as well as a meditation on the relationship between religion and the paranormal, which are often considered at odds, but which the author shows are intimately linked.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascent Audio
• Release date: Nov 8, 2010
• ISBN: 9781596597006

Reviews for Holy Ghosts

[carol420 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I really love a good ghost story and this one had a catchy title that caught my attention...so it got to go home with me. Gary Jansen tells the story of his childhood home, and the strange things which happened there. Coincidence piles on coincidence, until the prospect of the supernatural can no longer be ignored...not even by the skeptical Jansen. At the heart of this story is the story of a human being coming to terms with the fact that the world may not be as black and white as he once thought. I don't know if it's true or not...it's entertaining and it's true as far as the Jansen family is concerned.

[saramllr · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting, sometimes creepy account of Jansen's struggle to understand the paranormal phenomena in his home. It was not too over-the-top (don't expect the Amityville Horror), and there was a little too much theology for my taste. A decent read if you're into the paranormal.

[kraaivrouw · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have a fondness for ghost stories of all kinds - fictional or non-fictional. I think we all love the idea of haunted houses, of being scared by something not quite seen, but felt. If nothing else, the notion of the paranormal tantalizes our imaginations and gives us stories to tell about lots of things we may experience, but can't explain.Holy Ghosts is less a book about a haunted house, and more a memoir about the author's experiences while living in a haunted house and his struggle to integrate those experiences within his deeply held Catholic faith. Jansen, a successful writer and editor, encounters spirits when he moves his family back into his childhood house on Long Island. There are footsteps and wall tappings, the feeling of being watched, an electrical buzz, toys that move and turn on and off with no explanation until events are too apparent to ignore.A deeply felt and honest exploration of what it means to be Catholic, of childhood events and prophetic memories, of all the strange and wonderful things that can happen in old houses, Holy Ghosts explores a haunting from a unique perspective that is grounded in theology and religious practice. Mr. Jansen's paranormal experiences serve as a gateway towards a deeper exploration of his faith and the reader benefits from the scares, the education, and the author's insight. Not your typical haunted house story. Definitely worth the read.

[mckait · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

25. [Holy Ghosts]: Or How a (Not-So) Good Catholic Boy Became a Believer in Things That Go Bump In The Night]… by Gary JansenSomewhat interesting non-fiction story of the Jansen families house and its hauntings. Jansen is a fairly religious and prayerful man who works in publishing. He and his family live in the home where he grew up. The book tells the tales of the bumps in the night and the fears faced by Jansen himself. The explanations that his father came up with did not really satisfy him then, and the more recent occurrences have him ready to stand up and face the problem head on. This is a fairly interesting read, characteristic of many books of this type. What interested me the most was the intervention and assistance of [Mary Ann Winkowski]] , author of [When Ghosts Speak: Understanding the World of Earthbound Spirits], [The Book of Illumination]: A Novel from the Ghost Files and [The Ice Cradle: A Novel from the Ghost Files] . The last two of these books I have read and enjoyed. I would give this one three stars..but barely. Note for those who do not care to have religion discussed in any form in a book.. there is plenty of it here.

[izzysbks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I blew through this book over the weekend. I picked it up just by searching the library catalog. I enjoy a good ghost story but not a ghost story disguised as a book of religious discovery. I've had paranormal experiences and believe me those experiences are a lot more interesting than someone trying to convince themselves ghosts are real. The kicker is that the ghosts in the story aren't any big deal. The author tries to spice up this story with his internal struggles, but his spooks are so lame the super medium from the Ghost Whisper tv show only does her stuff over the phone. Even then the author goes on for thirty pages about how he struggles to even make the call in the first place. I never knew anyone that had to do as much research to make a single phone call. When it was all said and done I'm glad I didn't have to exert too much energy to get through this one. Production value increased the overall book.

[khager_9 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my rare forays into nonfiction.Gary, his wife and their three-year-old son (and, by the end of the book, their baby) live in a nice Long Island town, in the house where Gary grew up.Their house also has two ghosts. One's a sweet lady who doesn't do anything to harm the house or its occupants. The other? Not so nice.This is a memoir about the year their house was actively haunted.It's relatively creepy throughout (although there's part where I seriously almost shrieked with terror) but it's also about the Catholic faith and the paranormal in general.I think what makes this book so creepy is that Gary Jansen doesn't come across as someone who's trying to get attention or as someone who's insane. He sounds like a million other guys, someone we all know and are friends with. And so as I was reading this, it was like it was one of my friends telling me about what was going on in the house, so I wasn't like, "Yeah, okay, idiot." It seemed very, very plausible.I believe in ghosts--I've seen one--and I'm not sure where I stand on demons. I don't believe in them, but if I believe in angels (and I do), then there has to be the flip side, right?This book will get you thinking and will make you wonder if, the next time you're by yourself in your home, you're really alone.