In the introduction to this new revised edition of
a book that is almost twenty years old and was last seen propping up a computer
monitor, paranormal investigators (and leaders of the new Ghostbusters squad)
Erin Gilbert and Abby L. Yates admit “When we wrote the first edition we were
young and green and full of Chinese takeout”. They also concede that the book
might contain “one too many mentions of The X-Files – but, hey, it was the nineties.”
But if you’re expecting a completely
tongue-in-cheek spoof of some po-faced paranormal textbook, you’ll be in for
something of a surprise. In words that former Ghostbuster Egon Spengler might
have used, ‘Ghosts From Our Past’ “is something of an anomaly.”
To start, the ladies describe how they met and
where their obsession for all things spooky began: Erin, dubbed ‘Ghost Girl’ by
her unforgiving classmates, tells the stomach-churning but oddly funny story of
how she was haunted by the ghost of a crabby neighbour, an old lady who
resembled Cruella de Vil and vomited blood like she was coughing up a hairball.
Meanwhile, Abby was in search of leprechauns with her imaginary dog Zorp. When
they eventually met each other in the school cafeteria and bonded over a
discussion about astral projection, it was a force as powerful as crossing
proton streams. Within moments they had founded the Metaphysical Examination
Society, a club which was only ever destined to have two members.
But this is where ‘Ghosts From Our Past’ takes an
interesting and unexpected turn, because instead of continuing the crazy story
of Erin and Abby’s burgeoning career as ghostbusters, the book actually
delivers a fairly accurate (albeit with comic asides) breakdown of the history
of ‘real life’ paranormal investigation. The Fox Sisters – whose attempts to
communicate with an entity called ‘Mr. Splitfoot’ ushered in the modern
spiritualist era – get a pretty big mention, as do other well-known paranormal
heavyweights like William James, Harry Price, Harry Houdini and The Ghost Club,
which adopted a rigorous ‘men only’ policy that is beautifully punctured by
Abby’s cute drawing of a Jane Austen-type trapped behind the familiar
Ghostbusters ‘no entry’ logo.
The science stuff comes next, including an
explanation of Abby and Erin’s Spectral Field Theory (“So new it’s still got
that new theory smell”) and entries about psychokinetic energy, ectoplasm and
ley lines that are worthy of a genuine paranormal primer. But there are gags
concealed along the way, and by the time we reach the chapters on
paratechnology and the classification of spooks, we’re back into more familiar
Ghostbusters territory, even though the chapter on ‘Preparing for the
Metaphysical Examination’ (ie. going on your first ghost hunt) does contain a
lot of genuinely useful advice.
It’s actually Abby and Erin’s ghostbusting
colleague Jillian Holtzmann who provides the too-brief chapter most fans will
love – a look into the ghostbusting arsenal, with miniature blueprints of the
new proton pack and ghost trap. But things get too cheesy when their
receptionist Kevin writes a couple of pages, and confuses the Patrick Swayze
movies ‘Ghost’ and ‘Road House’ in the question, “Why would a bar hire a ghost
as a bouncer?” Please bring back Janine Melnitz, so she can slap this vacuous
imposter-to-her-throne upside the head.
The whole volume is rounded off by a handy appendix
containing a ‘Paranormal Quickstart Guide’, an ‘Is It a Ghost’ quiz and various
other bits of indispensable documentation, including a waiver of liability if
an investigation goes wrong.
It’s actually this last section that typifies what
is both right and wrong about ‘Ghosts From Our Past’: it’s kind of a
schizophrenic book that wants to be funny but also wants to take the subject of
ghosts and paranormal science seriously, so that readers who are new to the
field actually come away with some genuine knowledge. In many ways, that’s very
true to the ‘Ghostbusters’ universe because part of the appeal of the movies is
that they do treat paranormal science with a certain reverence. But, in this
case, it means that the book doesn’t quite know what it wants to be and any
fans who are expecting to laugh out loud or learn anything fun about the new
movie will probably be left disappointed. More illustrations would also have
been nice, especially pictures of the ghosts from the movies (which are
conspicuously absent even in the Malevolent Case Studies chapter.)
On the other hand, as a serious paranormal study
aid with a little bit of spoofing on the side, ‘Ghosts From Our Past’ works
very well indeed. From that POV, it deserves a very strong recommend and a
Slimer-friendly…
GHOSTS FROM OUR PAST: BOTH FIGURATIVELY AND
LITERALLY / AUTHORS: ANDREW SHAFFER, ERIN GILBERT, ABBY L. YATES / PUBLISHER:
THREE RIVERS PRESS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
