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Fisher, Joe. "The Siren Call of Hungry Ghosts. A Riveting Investigation into Channeling and Spirit Guides". Paraview Press, New York, 2001. Pbk, 314pp, illus, bibliog. $16.95 ISBN 1-931044-02-3.

This is the story of one man's pursuit of truth in the world(s) of (en)tranced mediums and self-styled spirit guides. And whatever else one might wish to say about the book it really is a gripping story, as Joe Fisher, who had already written on re-incarnation, decides he wants to further explore the subject, this time by attending sessions by mediums who were claiming to channel the messages of discarnate entities.

The story (and we'll assume that the book is based on factual experiences, even though it is acknowledged that some names of living people have been changed to protect their identities) is set in Canada in the 1980's, a time when the was a substantial increase in interest in, and apparent contacting of, the "world of spirit" as some liked to call it, much of it associated with that nebulous entity "The New Age Movement". Joe starts to regularly attend sessions held by Aviva, who in her everyday life sounds like a hard-boiled materialist , with the tomes of Marx and Lenin on her shelves. Aviva channels a variety of what are described as "spirit guides" which purport to be some sort of invisible helping hands who turn out to be somewhat economical with the truth.

As the sessions progress so Joe gets sucked into a "relationship" with his own personal "guide" who claims to have been a lover in a past life in Greece. Similarly other attendees of the sessions, assuming they are "entities" (produces of knowledge) and not mere "souls" (products of lust) - the latter sadly being denied the dubious benefits of having guide apparently, are also connected to their guides. Said guides, in the course of the sessions reveal what are claimed aspects of one or more of their previous existences on the material plane, and Joe, being an investigative journalist, decides to take down details of four of them, including that of his own guide with a view to checking out just how true their claims are.

Well I don't think I'm giving too much away by saying that the claims don't exactly check out. In fact each persona is an uneasy fit of good geographical and lousy genealogical research with some historical background thrown in for good measure. In short these are fictional characters inserted into believable contexts.

Now, many readers will conclude that the whole mediumistic enterprise is based on fraud at one level or another, i.e. the fraud is not necessarily conscious, as it is performed consistently whilst in a state of hypnotic trance. Rather I get the impression that most, if not all, the so-called "spirit guides" express aspects of the medium's personality, perhaps suppressed or denied. It seems more than co-incidental that the two main mediums are women whose "guides" try and manufacture some form of physical / emotional relationship with one or more of the session attendees.

Now, whilst Joe Fisher, notes this as a possibility, he is operating within a context which sees discarnate spirits as omnipresent, as indicated by many spiritual leaders and philosophies through the centuries. Instead he comes to believe that the mediums are actually being taken over by malevolent "earthbound spirits", the tormented souls of those who had lived desolate and degenerate lives, who cannot accept they are dead and refuse to "move on". These souls find the openings that mediums provide excellent opportunities for mischief and worse. As such Fisher concludes that it is potentially dangerous to get involved with mediums claiming to channel "spirit guides" as they cannot be believed and are arch manipulators.

Alongside Joe's personal quest, he includes a couple of chapters which give an outline of the history of spiritualism / mediumship which will be of help to those new to this subject. The book ends with an epilogue which was written after the book was first published in 1989 and includes some other first accounts of the dangers of dealing with the spirit world, not least to the mediums themselves.

This is quite a challenging text, both for those who are sceptical of the existence of disembodied spirits and those who are convinced of their reality, and one which could equally confirm one's ideas on the subject as turn them on their head, although it's quite likely that many readers will not necessarily agree with the author's conclusions. There's plenty of food for thought in this book, whatever your existing beliefs on the subject. It's well-written, not without humour and will certainly get you thinking.

Recommended

7/10

Richard Alexander