Blood & Ghosts: Haunted Crime Scene Investigations

by Katherine Ramsland, Mark Nesbitt

Katherine Ramsland, a forensics expert, and Mark Nesbitt, a paranormal investigator, examine tales of ghosts and murder, police psychics, and scientific experiments. What if forensic and paranormal investigation deliberately crossed paths? Can forensics aid ghost hunters, and might ghost hunters who use these tools one day assist in the cause of justice? The answers to these questions are explored within the pages of "Blood Ghosts".


Forensics is an applied science and many of its sub-disciplines have a kinship with ghost hunting: its tools and technology were devised to record and analyze evidence or behavior. Given this shared approach to solving mysteries, it makes sense to see how these disciplines could be brought together. From missing persons to mass and serial murder, it’s time to use all of our best resources to solve crimes.

Genres: Paranormal, Nonfiction, Crime

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

I've loved books since I was 3, and the library was a highlight of my childhood. I've been fortunate to be able to find great joy in what others have written and sometimes to give this to readers. I follow my own muse, because it leads me on interesting adventures. I began my writing career with "Prism of the Night: A Biography of Anne Rice." I had a bestseller with "The Vampire Companion." Since then, I've published 69 books and over 2,500 articles, reviews and short stories. I have also been an executive producer for "Murder House Flip" and "BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer." From ghosts to vampires to serial killers, I have taken on a variety of dark subjects, mostly in crime and forensics. I hold graduate degrees in forensic psychology, clinical psychology, criminal justice, creative writing and philosophy. Currently, I teach forensic psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University. My books include "I Scream Man," "How to Catch a Killer", "Confession of a Serial Killer", "The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds", "The Mind of a Murderer", "The Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation", "Inside the Minds of Serial Killers", "Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators", and "Inside the Minds of Mass Murderers". My background in forensic studies positioned me to assist former FBI profiler John Douglas on his book, "The Cases that Haunt Us", and to co-write a book with former FBI profiler, Gregg McCrary, "The Unknown Darkness", as well as "Spree Killers" with Mark Safarik, "The Real Life of a Forensic Scientist" with Henry C. Lee, and "A Voice for the Dead" with James Starrs. I speak internationally about forensic psychology, forensic science, and serial murder, and has appeared on numerous documentaries, as well as such programs as The Today Show, 20/20, 48 Hours, NPR, Dr. Oz, Coast to Coast, Montel Williams, Larry King Live and E! True Hollywood. Currently, I'm working on a fiction series, The Nut Cracker Investigations, which features a female forensic psychologist who manages a PI agency. "I Scream Man" is the first one.

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well this book is going on the DNF shelf. What to say about this book......sigh.

Thoughts:

I thought it would be more interesting then it turned out to be. I kind of skipped around with it as they had chapters on different places and subjects about crime scenes and paranormal investigations. It is really hard to rate as some of it was okay and other parts of it just didn't have any type of stability to the subject matter. For instance they have a chapter about the Amityville Horror (don't worry this isn't a spoiler) and all they did in this book is rehash what everyone already knows about the house. The authors give the backstory of the murders and the supposed haunting but they don't stick with anything of the house after a few paragraphs they meander off into other places that are not connected to the house.

Some of the stories were interesting but some of the stories didn't make a whole lot of sense. The book is sort of boring in spots and I found myself falling asleep as it wasn't keeping my attention span moving at a fast pace. The book just tells a lot about the scientific aspects of the investigations and sometimes a lot of the stuff went over my head. The book might be geared more toward actual paranormal experts - it almost reads like a handbook of what to do and not to do for investigations.

I wanted more creepy stories that kept me up at night but I didn't find that in this book so I am laying it down. Giving it a one star rating for effort as normally I don't rate books that I don't finish.

[Megan Hex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting for the most part, but a lot of it felt like disjointed ghost stories (which I also love, but aren't what the book promised). I'd rather have had more paranormal investigations with forensic methods than hypotheticals.

[Tracey Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've known for a while that Forensic investigators sometimes get help from paranormal investigative teams. This tells how, why, and what equipment they use. How cool. A great resource for my next books!

[Sherry Wyeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

My life has been a little (a lot ) crazy so I just had the opportunity to read this today. I did in one sitting and was so happy I won this copy!

The authors do a good job of being realistic with science and understanding that you can't change results to fit your hypothesis. The book is filled with information about forensic science, followed up with ghost stories and the truth that is now known about crime scenes when available. The section on Lizzie Borden was interesting, because it was a first hand account from one of the authors. The end was a very neat wrap up of the material and the possibilities.

It would have been enjoyable to read more conclusive evidence, confirming that these technologies could be used for ghost hunting but I appreciated the honesty and possibilities it presented. For me that is a hallmark of a good read, making me think and this really does.

Last thing I want to state in this review is that it is not what I was expecting, there is no hocus pocus, because I said so I going on. Whether I agree or disagree with what is written I found it to be articulate and written in a way that makes it possible to research more if desired. I already have a couple friends interested in hearing about this title and I will have no problem saying to pick it up to any one of them.

[Marisol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not a favorite. The premise of this book is that methods used to investigate crime scenes can be applied to paranormal investigations and the result could mean that paranormal evidence could potentially lend to helping solve crimes. Then begins a somewhat disorganized explanation of various investigations and fairly painful explanation of many crime scene investigation techniques and methods. Then follows tons of information on mediums used by police during different crime investigation which concludes with the author stating how inaccurate they are and that they've never helped solve any crimes. Why spend so much time on them then? Next starts a segment that reverts back to ghost stories, then copious stories of violent crimes many which are famous and tedious to get through for people that already know about them. Never do the paranormal and forensic meet until the last few pages where the authors present a "this is how it could work" a la the movie Clue. There are also some serious editing issues which are distracting. In one case I found an entire paragraph duplicated several pages later.

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

The authors try to prove that forensics can now aid in providing physical evidence that paranormal events are real and could possibly help in solving crimes past and present. It is an interesting read with tantalizing possibilities, but in the end there is nothing concrete that can be utilized at this time. Some of it reads like the tales from Fate Magazine. It wasn't wasted time as I enjoyed it. A better job on editing some portions would have been helpful.