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Ghostly Encounters: Terrifyingly True Hauntings

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Your spine tingles and the hair rises on your neck. You look around and at first you see — nothing? But then you notice … !!!! Step into the world where the line between the living and the dead is paper-thin in this bone-chilling collection of ghost stories!



From cursed houses where restless spirits whisper in the dark to shadowy apparitions lurking in the corners of forgotten places, Ghostly Terrifyingly True Hauntings delves into eerie and unexplained tales that still baffle, intrigue, and terrify us to this day. Encounter malevolent poltergeists who wreak havoc on unsuspecting families, ghostly figures bound by tragic pasts, and haunted locations steeped in mystery and fear. Explore legends of cursed objects, spectral warnings, and the unrelenting presence of those who refuse to leave the mortal world behind.



Master storyteller and seasoned paranormal investigator Richard Estep presents more than 200 years of hauntings in this fright-filled read that spans the nerve-wracking realms of the spirit world. You will …




Visit the lonely farmhouse where an animal spirit haunted an innocent family
Walk the battlefield of Gettysburg where echoes of the Civil War battle still resonate today
Go behind the walls of Waverly Hills Sanatorium, the tuberculosis facility in Kentucky where thousands lost their lives to an insidious disease — some of whom still walk its empty hallways
Journey to Tombstone, Arizona, home of the famous 1881 O.K. Corral gunfight, where ghosts apparently still roam the entire town
Tour the Borley Rectory, which was said to be the most haunted house in England
Investigate “The Enfield Poltergeist” and “The Black Monk of Pontefract” (featured in the movies The Conjuring 2 and When the Lights Went Out, respectively)
Meet the Bell Witch, the malicious poltergeist that tormented a family in 19th-century Tennessee
Venture behind the walls of haunted prisons, hotels, inns, hospitals, mansions, and more
And meet a whole host of other supernatural manifestations, haunting this bone-chilling collection of true ghost stories!



Unsettling and enthralling, Ghostly Encounters will linger in your thoughts long after you’ve turned the last page! Can you face the darkness, or will the darkness find you first?

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 2025

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About the author

Richard Estep

80 books211 followers
I'm a 48-year-old child who has no plans to ever actually grow up.

I make my living as a paramedic, clinical educator, for a busy hospital system and work as a street medic in a 911 system.

In my free time, I serve as the director of the Boulder County Paranormal Research Society, and investigate claims of haunted properties, people, and objects on both sides of the Atlantic. I love to read, particularly SF/Fantasy, history and historical fiction, the paranormal, and basically anything that piques my interest. I appear on the TV shows Haunted Hospitals, Paranormal 911, Paranormal Night Shift, Haunted Case Files, and several others.

I am an avid video gamer, table-top gamer, and love to build Lego. My wife and I are the proud humans of five adopted rescue cats and one smelly but adorable dog.

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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Profile Image for Ashley McCloney.
110 reviews
March 1, 2026
Ghostly Encounters: Terrifyingly True Hauntings by Richard Estep is another wonderful book of Richard’s work to add to your collection. If you enjoy all things paranormal, hauntings, spending time investigating & exploring locations in the dark with friends living & those passed on; then Richard’s books are something you should read. I can never recommend his books enough.

In Ghostly Encounters: Terrifyingly True Hauntings, Richard gives you glimpses into some of the most haunted locations in the US and England. He gives you history and his own experiences he’s had with these locations. There’s nothing better than getting to experience and investigate a haunted location yourself but for locations you haven’t been able to go yet, reading Richard’s words transport you. It feels like you’ve been there. This book has some locations I’ve had the pleasure of investigating and several I still want the chance to. This collection of stories helps fill that void until I’m able to visit those locations. I enjoyed all of the chapters but have to say the two locations I hope to still visit & this book made me want to even more are: Shepton Mallet Prison, The Bell Witch Cave (we were supposed to visit here but then they had to shut down just weeks before we were to visit) and Gettysburg Battlefield. Those are just three of the locations that Richard writes about in this book.

I highly recommend this book & then once you’ve read it make sure to go check out his always growing collection of other books he’s written. You won’t be disappointed.
242 reviews4 followers
February 6, 2026
Ghostly Encounters: Terrifyingly True Hauntings by paranormal investigator Richard Estep is an excellent addition to the libraries of anyone interested in hauntings and ghost hunting. Estep provides an in-depth history of some of the most haunted locations in North America and England. These 18 investigations will not only raise the hairs on your neck but also shed light on why these areas are haunted in the first place. By giving the whole story, Estep goes beyond history into the creepy and eerie.

Ghost stories have been part of storytelling since the beginning of time but somehow seem creepier when there is truth behind the tales. As a paranormal investigator, Estep takes a journalistic approach to the hauntings. Some of his ghost stories are well documented, such as Eastern State Penitentiary, The Bell Witch, and the Stanley Hotel. Some are a little more obscure, like Gef the talking mongoose and the Borley Rectory. From haunted mansions and hotels to ghostly battles and brutal penitentiaries, wherever there is a haunting, chances are Estep has been there and now brings these ghostly encounters to you.

This review was originally published at https://seattlebookreview.com/product...
Profile Image for Robin.
1,688 reviews34 followers
October 11, 2025
I have always been obsessed with real-life hauntings, whether the spirits reside in manors, castles, hospitals, or mental asylums, so I veer towards any book about "true" ghosts and spooks. However, if I were ever to be confronted by a spirit, I would most likely be traumatized for life, but that doesn't stop me from loving books about them.

Richard Estep is a respected paranormal investigator who writes lots of books about real (and presumed) hauntings. His books are a fast and fun read for anyone wanting to get their spook on, and this is no exception. In this book, Estep covers many known and lesser-known hauntings, providing a bit of history and sometimes including his own discoveries with fact-based findings (sometimes the experiences of others don't always live up to being proven), with photos. This is a great book to have handy for reading spurts.

Other books I enjoyed by this author are "Asylum 49," which is based on an infamous haunted nursing home/hospital in Utah, and "Spirits of the Cage," which is based on a medieval prison.

Perfect for fans of TV "reality" shows such as Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters, and the podcast, "Spooked."
1,463 reviews14 followers
July 15, 2026
This was absolutely fascinating!

Every book I've read that was written by Richard Estep has been so fascinating, awesome, and interesting! I'm a devoted fan of his! His descriptions of places and events is so spot on that it makes you feel as though you are right there. I'd love to see him do more of this kind of ghostly book "Ghostly Encounters"!!! We have many many places in Florida for him to investigate. Especially St. Augustine!! There's a place in Georgia that no one has been to called Central State Hospital in Milledgeville that I believe is very haunted. This book was awesome!!! Keep them coming!!!!
Profile Image for Dave.
1,095 reviews
August 15, 2026
Much like with Bigfoot, when it comes to ghosts, I'm fascinated, and truly want to believe.
Estep tells us about several famous haunted places. In several cases, he has visited the sites themselves and experienced some paranormal activity himself.
My personal favorite chapter dealt with The Ghost Of Flight 401. I saw 9 when the tv movie came out and it stuck with me.
101 reviews
March 19, 2026
Cool stories, places I've been too and thankfully didn't experience haunting. Tombstone for example. Fun read
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews