September 29, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

World’s Leading Ghost Hunters Unite to Produce Encyclopedia of Haunted Places: Ghostly Locales From Around the World

New directory is the first book written by dozens of paranormal investigators from around the globe and features over 250 haunted locations.

BELLINGHAM, MA, September 29, 2005 -- There are haunted homes, restaurants, battlefields, cemeteries, inns, castles, and ghost towns in every corner of the globe. Though spirits and specters are often the fodder for frightening local legends, there are people who actually go looking for ghosts -- they’re the paranormal investigators. The Encyclopedia of Haunted Places: Ghostly Locales From Around the World is the first book to be written by scores of these investigators. The Encyclopedia includes ghost hunters’ investigation notes from some of the world’s most notable haunts like the Tower of London, Gettysburg, and the North Head Quarantine Station in Australia, to more obscure locales that only regional investigators would know about.

“To truly understand a haunted location, you need to get local,” said Jeff Belanger, editor and compiler for the Encyclopedia of Haunted Places. “What makes this book unique is that the entries are written by people who have done the haunted field work to back up each ghostly claim -- hearsay and urban legends weren’t enough. Each entry combines the history, the tragedies, and the eyewitness accounts of each haunted locale.”

Ghost hunting techniques can differ among investigators. Some ghost hunters utilize psychics as part of their investigation methods, while others stick with traditional science -- trying to measure temperature and electromagnetic field fluctuations, but all are looking for tangible evidence of the existence of life after death.

“Ghost hunting” is one of the fastest growing fields of study in the world today. Families are taking haunted and historic ghost tours in cities around the world, and individuals who are interested in the paranormal are coming together to investigate reported ghostly activity using both scientific and esoteric means. People are talking about ghosts and many want to learn more and see the phenomenon for themselves. 

About Jeff Belanger
Jeff Belanger leads a very haunted life. He’s been fascinated with the supernatural since age ten when he investigated his first haunted house during a sleepover. In 1999 he launched Ghostvillage.com as a repository for his writings on the subject of the supernatural. The site has since grown to become the largest paranormal community on the Web receiving more than five million hits per month. Belanger is also the author of: The World’s Most Haunted Places: From the Secret Files of Ghostvillage.com (New Page Books, August 2004) and Communicating With the Dead: Reach Beyond the Grave (New Page Books, April 2005). He’s been a guest on more than 50 radio programs across North America and has also been featured on televisions programs covering the paranormal. 

About the Encyclopedia of Haunted Places
The Encyclopedia of Haunted Places: Ghostly Locales From Around the World (ISBN: 1-56414-799-1, pages: 360, price: $19.99) is published by New Page Books (www.newpagebooks.com). The book features over 250 haunted locations from the United States, Canada, Europe, Oceania, Asia, and the Middle East. The book also includes a region-by-region directory of contact information for the various paranormal investigators whose work was featured in the book. The Encyclopedia is a haunted travel guide, a ghost hunter directory, and a repository of ghostly legends. The book is available at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon.com, and many other booksellers.

Contact:
Jeff Belanger
Ghostvillage.com
Email: info@ghostvillage.com