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The Dead Roam the Earth: True Stories of the Paranormal from Around the World
Captivating true accounts of the paranormal from all over the world Do you believe in ghosts? From incubi in Sumatra to exorcism in Sudan to spirits in our own backyard, The Dead Roam the Earth explores the fascinating variety—and uncanny similarity—of supernatural encounters in every corner of the planet, providing chilling accounts of real-life ghost sightings, haunted places, poltergeists, possessions, Mothmen, demons, witchcraft, ritualistic killings, and much more. Could so many people in so many places just be imagining things? In addition to its wealth of testimonials from ordinary people witnessing extraordinary things, this engrossing book presents the latest scientific attempts to make sense of the supernatural—including how electronic equipment has revolutionized spiritual communication—and finds the devil in the details.
296 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 4, 2018
It's refreshing to read a book about the supernatural written by someone who 100% believes in what he is writing. Myself I'm not such a believer, but the material does get quite catchy as Wickham enthusiastically writes about ghost and demons and liminal creatures lurking in the dark. The book also contains, for the most part actually, stories from real-life hautings and troubles with the supernatural. Including inserts with stories from all over the world. Whether you believe that what he is writing is true or not doesn't matter, it's still a very good book.
May 15, 2023
With a name like ‘Alasdair Wickham’ I definitely assumed that this person had to be a paranormal/spooky stuff expert.
I went in expecting just sort of general paranormal ‘stories’ that are supposedly true reports. Meaning ghosts, vampires, demons/possession – that kinda stuff.
What I didn’t expect but got in this book was also: ritualistic killings/murders, occult in the military, cursed movies/media, cryptids, how the paranormal mixes with modern day technology, and people that you probably didn’t know were involved with the occult in general.
I was definitely surprised that this book did a serious deep-dive into a ton of aspects of what would be considered ‘paranormal,’ it was also disappointing of how boring the book was for a lot of the subjects.
This book is literally chock-full of tons of stuff that I love, but there were multiple chapters that almost seemed like a serious chore to get through. For a book less than 300 pages I can usually get done in a few days, but this took a few weeks, even with reading every day. That, and there were quite a few areas where I had to roll my eyes or quirk an eyebrow at the content I was reading [more than usual for, you know, content about the paranormal] because there were a lot of claims to stories being absolute truth, but also no siting to the source despite that the author references that it came from a book, website, etc – but doesn’t actually list it anywhere, not even in an index at the end of the book.
There’s also the whole issue of that there’s a lot of opinions going on this book made by the author. Sure, that’s fine in some degree, but they try to make a lot of connections for things that aren’t proven, and try to serve it as fact. Which sort of makes the lack of sourcing even worse. [And for some of the things that I went and looked up, all pointed in the opposite direction of what the author tried to opinionate]
I also have a really picky dislike, which is/was that everywhere in the book, are random text boxes that have facts somewhat relating to the chapter in most cases. However, these boxes are randomly placed, sometimes in the middle of paragraphs. It’s really jarring and distracting to have them in that placement in most of the cases because the content the boxes are separating can also stretch on for multiple pages without break and so if you wanted to wait for the end to get to the boxes, there’s a lot of backtracking. Or, it’s annoying to sort of break and read something random in the middle of what you were focused on.
Ultimately, I guess this book wasn’t terrible as I found it in the super discounted bargain bin, but it still seemed more effort to get through than I’d like for something that usually greatly piques my interest.
I give The Dead Roam the Earth 2/5 EVPs
“The fact that books, films, and TV interpret ghosts as restless creatures wanting the help of the living to achieve closure says more about our need for a satisfying story than it does about the real nature of ghosts."
I went in expecting just sort of general paranormal ‘stories’ that are supposedly true reports. Meaning ghosts, vampires, demons/possession – that kinda stuff.
What I didn’t expect but got in this book was also: ritualistic killings/murders, occult in the military, cursed movies/media, cryptids, how the paranormal mixes with modern day technology, and people that you probably didn’t know were involved with the occult in general.
I was definitely surprised that this book did a serious deep-dive into a ton of aspects of what would be considered ‘paranormal,’ it was also disappointing of how boring the book was for a lot of the subjects.
This book is literally chock-full of tons of stuff that I love, but there were multiple chapters that almost seemed like a serious chore to get through. For a book less than 300 pages I can usually get done in a few days, but this took a few weeks, even with reading every day. That, and there were quite a few areas where I had to roll my eyes or quirk an eyebrow at the content I was reading [more than usual for, you know, content about the paranormal] because there were a lot of claims to stories being absolute truth, but also no siting to the source despite that the author references that it came from a book, website, etc – but doesn’t actually list it anywhere, not even in an index at the end of the book.
There’s also the whole issue of that there’s a lot of opinions going on this book made by the author. Sure, that’s fine in some degree, but they try to make a lot of connections for things that aren’t proven, and try to serve it as fact. Which sort of makes the lack of sourcing even worse. [And for some of the things that I went and looked up, all pointed in the opposite direction of what the author tried to opinionate]
I also have a really picky dislike, which is/was that everywhere in the book, are random text boxes that have facts somewhat relating to the chapter in most cases. However, these boxes are randomly placed, sometimes in the middle of paragraphs. It’s really jarring and distracting to have them in that placement in most of the cases because the content the boxes are separating can also stretch on for multiple pages without break and so if you wanted to wait for the end to get to the boxes, there’s a lot of backtracking. Or, it’s annoying to sort of break and read something random in the middle of what you were focused on.
Ultimately, I guess this book wasn’t terrible as I found it in the super discounted bargain bin, but it still seemed more effort to get through than I’d like for something that usually greatly piques my interest.
I give The Dead Roam the Earth 2/5 EVPs
“The fact that books, films, and TV interpret ghosts as restless creatures wanting the help of the living to achieve closure says more about our need for a satisfying story than it does about the real nature of ghosts."
October 11, 2012
I have to admit I was surprised I liked this book. It's a good book encompassing many subjects but offering alternative perspectives on old subjects. It's a bit creepy but that adds to the effectiveness of this book. I recommend it for people new to this arena of subject.
November 8, 2021
There are far better books on this subject out there. I recommend skipping this one.
November 11, 2018
Oh, boy, this was stupid. I've no problem accepting the supernatural but all we have here is folklore, hearsay, and lots of 'me too' style anecdotes. Wickham, who the copyright page tells us is actually James Buxton (guess he thot the pseudonym sounded cooler), makes a pitiable attempt at showing supernaturally cursed movies, eg: Superman, but fails to make a case. He also tries to present a case for a 'world conscience' computer program that generates random number sequences and when an anomaly occurrs links it to a world event. My question there is how if the figures are randomly generated can an anomaly appear in the first place?
November 14, 2012
Did they show Rosemary's baby in the movie? I don't think so, but the author of this book says yes. If that is off then what else? Though, really, in a book about the paranormal what use are facts? I enjoyed the creepy ghost stories, if not believed them, but then what goes bump on the page doesn't necessarily go bump in the night.
January 15, 2019
This book is not really what it claims to be. From the title strapline it makes it sound as if it will be an overview of different paranormal accounts from all over the world, whereas it actually is a discussion of different types of what is referred to as paranormal with an occasional vague retelling of a paranormal experience from a country or continent spliced in. These extra boxes aren't even relevant to the topics of the chapters, and on looking at the colophon I can see that it was originally published as 'The Black Book of Modern Myths' so were probably inserted when the book was 'sexed up' for republishing. The only chapter that actually deals with a wider amount of cultures is the chapter on exorcism, and chapter 10 actually references the old title with it's heading, so I'm not sure why Penguin thought it was a good idea to do this. They could easily have named it 'The Dead Roam the Earth: Modern Myths and the Paranormal' or something similar. It's a shame because it creates false expectations on the content, which is basically trying to outline what theories there are regarding why these occurrences exist from the point of view of those who believe (something which several reviewers here have missed, but is discussed in the introduction). I found it refreshing to read something on these subjects that doesn't feel the need to reinforce that the writer isn't fully in agreement every five minutes, and it kept me engaged despite minimal typos and the odd factual error (you never see the child at the end of Rosemary's Baby, though she does pick him up).
May 1, 2018
I bought this book hoping for a good bunch of scary or at least ghost stories. Long story short is I've read creepypastas online that are 10x better than this entire book was and frankly I regret buying and reading this.
It was less a book of scary stories and more like having to sit through someone's grandpa run on with crackpot theories like how females are more susceptible to poltergeists and how you should be careful watching dvd's because you'll get possessed - both scenarios which presume a belief in poltergeists or demons. It seems like the book was written from a very narrow perspective which was neither impressive nor creative, and I only forced myself to finish it because I had purchased it.
So I mean hey if that's what you're into then go for it but otherwise I wouldn't recommend at all. If you're looking for original, interesting, or captivating ghost stories just look online - you'll likely either find the same few stories included in this book or far more interesting accounts.
It was less a book of scary stories and more like having to sit through someone's grandpa run on with crackpot theories like how females are more susceptible to poltergeists and how you should be careful watching dvd's because you'll get possessed - both scenarios which presume a belief in poltergeists or demons. It seems like the book was written from a very narrow perspective which was neither impressive nor creative, and I only forced myself to finish it because I had purchased it.
So I mean hey if that's what you're into then go for it but otherwise I wouldn't recommend at all. If you're looking for original, interesting, or captivating ghost stories just look online - you'll likely either find the same few stories included in this book or far more interesting accounts.
May 4, 2016
Wow. Just, wow. I admit, I didn't actually finish the book. It was FAR too bizarre.
Admittedly, I chose the book because I believed it would be an academic study of different folklore from around the world, with maybe a few ghost stories thrown in. I suppose I thought it would illustrate how many cultures worldwide believe in similar things- like the Yeti of the Himalaya being so similar to the Sasquatch of the Pacific Northwest. Maybe some "true" ghost stories would be included for fun. But overall, I guess I didn't think this book would be so SERIOUS.
And it IS serious. Dead serious, if you'll excuse the pun. This author believes very strongly in the occult and takes for granted that the reader would as well. I tend to be fairly rational, though I love reading about hauntings because I think they can be fun. I'm agnostic about things like ghosts, demons, magic, whatever- mostly leaning towards nope but occasionally conceding that some things cannot be explained by science, at least not yet. So I suppose I live in the halfway zone, one that sort of believes in these things, kind of WANTS to believe in these things, but ultimately… mostly I don't. And most books about ghosts and monsters, even those claiming to be "true," still have a sense of the tongue in cheek to them, a bit of a wink and a nudge, a feeling of "ooh, isn't this spooky?" This book is totally the opposite.
I stuck through the chapter on monsters and hauntings, because at first it seemed like many of the other books I had read. Then it got into demonic possession, including very graphic stories of people supposedly being raped by ghosts and demons- keep in mind that the author doesn't offer alternative explanations, but rather has no doubt in his mind that these events truly occurred without mentioning things like sleep paralysis. He even gives tips on what to do if you do enter a sexual relationship with a ghost!
Moving on, I sat through the poltergeist activity, where the author stated plainly that the obvious cause of these events were teenagers opening up portals of energy with their crazy hormones or whatever. With a straight face he gives the wildest explanations of events that can be easily explained through rational thought.
What really sent me reeling was the chapter on ritual killings. I thought that this was his chance to turn around, come back to earth, but he definitely did not. For example- a man who was on the fringes of several Wiccan groups was found brutally murdered and dumped in the ocean. Police find an angry soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend with plenty of motive, means, and opportunity. They arrest her and it seems to be case closed. Not to Wickham. He believes that it was somehow a ritual killing- without giving much reason for why. His evidence includes: the murder took place near one of the solstices (not ON the solstice, but just near one, which could mean days out of the year), the man was killed viciously (not necessarily a ritual, more likely overkill from an angry ex who knew she was about to be dumped), the fact that the body was found in water (never mind that the English Channel probably seemed like a safe dumping ground to any murderer) and that the boat that found the body was called the Clairvoyance (and this is the "evidence" that most got me- Wickam's account of the murder victim and the murderer had NOTHING to do with clairvoyance. As far as even Wickham is concerned, no one in this story was trying to tell the future or increase psychic ability. The only thing the boat's name has in common with this case is that it's vaguely spooky).
Wickham sees witches and cults in every corner. Though the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980's has been largely discredited, Wickham seems to think there really was a growing occult movement. He also points to the famous series of murders in Florence spanning from the 1960's into the 1980's. Several couples were murdered and the woman's bodies were often cut up. Wickham claims this is ritualistic because they happened when the moon was partly obscured by clouds. Taken from a logical perspective, this is also the perfect time for a serial killer to operate- enough moonlight to navigate, not enough to be seen. He explains every hallmark of an actual serial killer as if it is of COURSE ritual murder, without taking into account how serial killers actually kill and operate.
What really ended it for me was this line: "And of course Winston Churchill, prime minister and inspired wartime leader, was a Druid…" I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't respond with "Oh yes, of COURSE."
Look, I still gave this book a couple stars because if you're into the occult on the level that Wickham is, this book is definitely for you. If you sincerely believe in all sorts of occult phenomena, completely devoid of any doubt, then you should definitely read this. And it's not a badly written book! It's engaging and I think the way he told the stories are why I stayed with it for so long. Plus throughout the book he has several little asides on legends from around the world and THOSE were totally fascinating! I suppose even if he was dead serious about the occult but wrote more on the international aspects of the paranormal (this book mostly focused on the UK, which makes sense as that is where the author is from) I would've really, really liked it. But as it is, this book simply wasn't for me.
Admittedly, I chose the book because I believed it would be an academic study of different folklore from around the world, with maybe a few ghost stories thrown in. I suppose I thought it would illustrate how many cultures worldwide believe in similar things- like the Yeti of the Himalaya being so similar to the Sasquatch of the Pacific Northwest. Maybe some "true" ghost stories would be included for fun. But overall, I guess I didn't think this book would be so SERIOUS.
And it IS serious. Dead serious, if you'll excuse the pun. This author believes very strongly in the occult and takes for granted that the reader would as well. I tend to be fairly rational, though I love reading about hauntings because I think they can be fun. I'm agnostic about things like ghosts, demons, magic, whatever- mostly leaning towards nope but occasionally conceding that some things cannot be explained by science, at least not yet. So I suppose I live in the halfway zone, one that sort of believes in these things, kind of WANTS to believe in these things, but ultimately… mostly I don't. And most books about ghosts and monsters, even those claiming to be "true," still have a sense of the tongue in cheek to them, a bit of a wink and a nudge, a feeling of "ooh, isn't this spooky?" This book is totally the opposite.
I stuck through the chapter on monsters and hauntings, because at first it seemed like many of the other books I had read. Then it got into demonic possession, including very graphic stories of people supposedly being raped by ghosts and demons- keep in mind that the author doesn't offer alternative explanations, but rather has no doubt in his mind that these events truly occurred without mentioning things like sleep paralysis. He even gives tips on what to do if you do enter a sexual relationship with a ghost!
Moving on, I sat through the poltergeist activity, where the author stated plainly that the obvious cause of these events were teenagers opening up portals of energy with their crazy hormones or whatever. With a straight face he gives the wildest explanations of events that can be easily explained through rational thought.
What really sent me reeling was the chapter on ritual killings. I thought that this was his chance to turn around, come back to earth, but he definitely did not. For example- a man who was on the fringes of several Wiccan groups was found brutally murdered and dumped in the ocean. Police find an angry soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend with plenty of motive, means, and opportunity. They arrest her and it seems to be case closed. Not to Wickham. He believes that it was somehow a ritual killing- without giving much reason for why. His evidence includes: the murder took place near one of the solstices (not ON the solstice, but just near one, which could mean days out of the year), the man was killed viciously (not necessarily a ritual, more likely overkill from an angry ex who knew she was about to be dumped), the fact that the body was found in water (never mind that the English Channel probably seemed like a safe dumping ground to any murderer) and that the boat that found the body was called the Clairvoyance (and this is the "evidence" that most got me- Wickam's account of the murder victim and the murderer had NOTHING to do with clairvoyance. As far as even Wickham is concerned, no one in this story was trying to tell the future or increase psychic ability. The only thing the boat's name has in common with this case is that it's vaguely spooky).
Wickham sees witches and cults in every corner. Though the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980's has been largely discredited, Wickham seems to think there really was a growing occult movement. He also points to the famous series of murders in Florence spanning from the 1960's into the 1980's. Several couples were murdered and the woman's bodies were often cut up. Wickham claims this is ritualistic because they happened when the moon was partly obscured by clouds. Taken from a logical perspective, this is also the perfect time for a serial killer to operate- enough moonlight to navigate, not enough to be seen. He explains every hallmark of an actual serial killer as if it is of COURSE ritual murder, without taking into account how serial killers actually kill and operate.
What really ended it for me was this line: "And of course Winston Churchill, prime minister and inspired wartime leader, was a Druid…" I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't respond with "Oh yes, of COURSE."
Look, I still gave this book a couple stars because if you're into the occult on the level that Wickham is, this book is definitely for you. If you sincerely believe in all sorts of occult phenomena, completely devoid of any doubt, then you should definitely read this. And it's not a badly written book! It's engaging and I think the way he told the stories are why I stayed with it for so long. Plus throughout the book he has several little asides on legends from around the world and THOSE were totally fascinating! I suppose even if he was dead serious about the occult but wrote more on the international aspects of the paranormal (this book mostly focused on the UK, which makes sense as that is where the author is from) I would've really, really liked it. But as it is, this book simply wasn't for me.
November 21, 2023
This thing reads like there were two authors; one with a passion for storytelling, and the other a lackluster high school student who can barely string a coherent essay together to save his life. Full of misinformation with a heaping side of missed opportunity to tell more interesting stories, I see now why I dug this thing out of the bargin bin.
September 27, 2022
Rather verbose and not all that engaging.
October 22, 2024
DNF @ page 82.
Was hoping for a spooky read and some ghost stories to set the tone for Halloween. Was met by bizarre stories of a half pig, half woman demon violently raping a man.
Was hoping for a spooky read and some ghost stories to set the tone for Halloween. Was met by bizarre stories of a half pig, half woman demon violently raping a man.
March 16, 2024
This book was a rambling mess! Could not get interested as it was written ‘all over the place’ and seems to have no rhyme or reason. I did not finish this book.
April 14, 2016
The first couple of chapters were interesting, but it devolved in the latter sections. (His evidence for global consciousness was the mass interest in events such as Princess Diana's funeral and O. J. Simpson's trial - of course there was mass interest; it was splashed all over the television and Internet. And the chapter on ritual killing? Was highlighting serial killers suppose to convince me of the existence of ritual killings?)
I'm neither a believer nor a non-believer - I simply like to keep an open mind and I think that not everything can be discovered or quantified by scientific means. That being said, there is a large rational part of my brain that distrusts religion based on the fact that it has caused so much misery over the centuries (the second chapter on possession being a case in point).
Overall, The Dead Roam the Earth: True Stories of the Paranormal from Around the World was an interesting read and the author has a way with words. ("...in the Middle Ages...theologians...went to work [organizing demons] with the zeal of an Edwardian butterfly hunter" I found particularly amusing - but then I have an odd sense of humour!) However, it read more as fiction disguised as non-fiction, rather than a true (footnoted!) exploration of the paranormal world around us.
I'm neither a believer nor a non-believer - I simply like to keep an open mind and I think that not everything can be discovered or quantified by scientific means. That being said, there is a large rational part of my brain that distrusts religion based on the fact that it has caused so much misery over the centuries (the second chapter on possession being a case in point).
Overall, The Dead Roam the Earth: True Stories of the Paranormal from Around the World was an interesting read and the author has a way with words. ("...in the Middle Ages...theologians...went to work [organizing demons] with the zeal of an Edwardian butterfly hunter" I found particularly amusing - but then I have an odd sense of humour!) However, it read more as fiction disguised as non-fiction, rather than a true (footnoted!) exploration of the paranormal world around us.
December 31, 2014
I'm someone who finds the paranormal interesting more than frightening. The darker aspects of the occult I just find scary and prefer to stay the hell away from. The folk lore and tales from different countries are what I love to read. This book has plenty of that.
Wickham presents the tales and offers them in a straightforward manner. At first I was put off by how he seemed to present it all as fact. Then I realized that the point of this book was to gather them all and let the readers sift through it all themselves.
The scarier part of the book to me was the connection nasty occultist Aleister Crowley had with top brass U.S and British military leaders. And fraudster founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, studied mind control in the U.S Navy. Who knew ?!
From a strictly anthropological angle, I would find this a worthwhile read. While I like scary stories I just cannot believe many of these stories as being fact.
Wickham presents the tales and offers them in a straightforward manner. At first I was put off by how he seemed to present it all as fact. Then I realized that the point of this book was to gather them all and let the readers sift through it all themselves.
The scarier part of the book to me was the connection nasty occultist Aleister Crowley had with top brass U.S and British military leaders. And fraudster founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, studied mind control in the U.S Navy. Who knew ?!
From a strictly anthropological angle, I would find this a worthwhile read. While I like scary stories I just cannot believe many of these stories as being fact.
November 19, 2012
Good gravy that was one of the most painfully dull books I have ever read. you would think a book about the occult would be somewhat interesting and whimsical, that was not the case.I think it's very clear that while the author has done his research he is clearly not a writer at all.The prose was so hard to follow and filled with anecdotes and examples that somehow are supposed to help with the picture he's trying to paint but honestly just left me feeling like I had to listen to the ramblings of someone who is in desperate need of Ritalin.I had to power through this and honestly can't wait to forget it.
September 24, 2014
This book is pretty interesting. The ghost and demon sections are particularly strong and fun. The so-called "science" parts not so much. The author delves far too deeply into cuckoo-conspiracy land in the chapter on ESP and the Soviet Union. But take it in the spirit it's most likely intended, which is an enjoyable read from which to extract story ideas to use in fiction, and you'll go away satisfied.
March 1, 2013
This book wasn't what I expected (a collection of stories). Much seems to be taken at face value, which is frustrating - just saying something occurred doesn't make it so. There are some interesting stories of the paranormal, but the book just doesn't come together.
January 19, 2013
There is an entire chapter on GHOST RAPE. Which ends with the guy being "mildly perturbed." SERIOUSLY.
April 20, 2013
Very interesting stories with a great deal of history thrown in. Los of fun to read with an occasional slow spot, but it is still worth the read.
July 15, 2014
This has some good stories of the supernatural. And not just ghost stories.
September 2, 2016
I loved it, all but the last two or three chapters, where it started to broach on the verge of ridiculous.
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