Upon suspending my initial rejection, or at least adopting a conditional belief, of anything to do with the "supernatural", I found this mini-saga of a Canadian family who resided for several years in an apparently haunted house to be somewhat intriguing in its lack of sensationalism and straightforward narration, notwithstanding the author's adamant stand of its genuineness. The numerous paranormal incidents, whether visual, tactile or auditory, are recited matter-of-factly and are supported with logical conjecture that would refute any theories of delusional psychosis, whether on an individual or collective basis.
It is unfortunate, however, for the sake of credibility, that the only person who actually testifies to the events having taken place is the author (and mother of the family in question) alone. The inference is nevertheless there that every member of the family was a witness to the phenomena. It is also unfortunate that neither the author nor her husband thought to involve the media at any time during that period, as the occurrences would definitely qualify as being somewhat "miraculous".
This is probably what makes it so persuasive, though, as, instead of wanting to publicize the possibility or probability of their house being haunted for the doubtless ensuing fame or financial gain, they seemed determined to keep it as their very own secret, at least while they attempted to solve the mysteries themselves. Perhaps it was because they just couldn't believe their own eyes or ears and so rationalized that no one else would either, although they certainly became rather blas� about it eventually. I would have thought that the children would have mentioned the strange goings-on to their friends, schoolmates or teachers at some point.
In any case, whether you choose, as Ripley is famous for saying, to "believe it or not", it's a fairly easy read that is not burdened by unnecessary details. However, I found it bothersome that the actual location of the house was not disclosed, although I suspected at one point that it may have been in or near Ottawa, as a family named Billings was mentioned. It was also not disclosed in which years this took place or whether the author's family is still resident in that house at the present time, although the presumption is likely, due to the secrecy of its location.
Ms. Williams has also downloaded photographs (www.dorahlwilliams.com) of the various "apports" (items that manifest from the spirit world and materialize right out of thin air) they encountered in and around the house, although there are no photographs of the apparitions themselves. A photograph of the child-spirit's handprints that appeared on a mirror one day would have gone a long way towards converting me!
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