Sam Baltrusis

Picked up from a mail order catalog, sight unseen, as part of the Salem Witch Hunt reading program. (See Wonders of the Invisible World, Salem Possessed, The Devil in Massachusetts, and The Witches). However, this isn’t another account of the trials, but rather a professional “ghost hunters” book on Salem in general. The author, Sam Baltrusis, is apparently a cable television personality featured in “ghost tour” programs (I’ve never seen any of these since I got rid of my show more television in 1985. Don’t miss it, either). It’s true that Baltrusis does encounter some of the trial personalities, as “negative energy” or feelings of unease or Electronic Voice Phenomena or dial twitching on various meters supposed to measure the paranormal. The various ghosts/spirits/whatever have sometimes been photographed; interestingly enough, none are reproduced here; instead there are photographs of various places around Salem somehow associated with paranormal phenomena, including The Bunghole, a haunted liquor store, and a pair of 5” guns on the museum ship Salem. Of some use is a map of Salem, with locations including the witch execution site and the place where Giles Corey was pressed to death. If you believe in ghosts, grist to your mill. show less