A Life with Ghosts: True, Terrifying, and Insightful Tales from My Favorite Haunts

by Steve Gonsalves

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

The debut book from paranormal investigator and Ghost Hunters TV star Steve Gonsalves!

Steve Gonsalves—already considered to be one of the top paranormal investigators in the world and a pioneer in the industry—now presents his debut book, A Life with Ghosts! Widely known as a lead investigator of the smash hit TV series Ghost Hunters as well as Ghost Hunters Academy and Travel Channel’s ratings king, Ghost Nation, Steve presents a collection of his most meaningful paranormal experiences from some of his favorite haunted locations.

Along with the compelling history of each location, Steve recounts his terrifying experiences with disembodied voices, haunting EVPS, mysterious dark masses, and other unexplained phenomena—in addition to what he learned about living through a life with ghosts. His beliefs and theories on the craft are told through heartwarming, hilarious, and profound stories, reflecting the fun-loving personality that has garnered him millions of fans. Filled with facts and anecdotes to add an extra level of insight—all intricately woven together to create the perfect balance of spooky fun and unique information—this is the ultimate book for paranormal enthusiasts, history buffs, and horror fans.

Genres: Nonfiction, Paranormal, Biography, Audiobook, Memoir, Horror, Supernatural

332 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 22, 2023

Reviews

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Gonsalves is one of the most well known names in the paranormal field. He has been on Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters Academy, and Ghost Nation. This book discusses how he became interested and involved in the paranormal, and some of his favorite and most memorable experiences from his time in the field.

Steve Gonsalves has always been my favorite member of the TAPS team. I have enjoyed seeing him on all the projects he has worked on. I love the relationships he has with everyone on the team. I really enjoyed this book and learning more about Steve and his experiences. I bought the Audible version of this book, which was narrated by Steve. I loved that he narrated his own book.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in a very, very haunted house. As a teenager Supernatural began to air then, I found shows like The Ghost Files. I joined a local ghost hunting team as an adult and went on some amazing, weird and downright scary adventures through that team, before a big move ripped me away. I did some of my own investigations from that day on. My most memorable was at a Dennies. In the middle of the night, I was sitting alone at my corner booth trying to quietly talk to the recently passed waitress and cook. My Spirit box was hooked to headphones, as I did not want to spook the staff. My waitress figured out what I was doing and asked to try herself. I handed her the spirit box and headphones. She began to cry almost immediately. She left for a more secluded area. I would later find out that the cook had been her fiancé, he talked to her that night, and she finally got to say goodbye. I have so many stories, so seeing a book from one of the groups that started my own adventures, I knew I had to read it. I wanted an autographed book, but when I went to the site, there was only book plates left. Those are not the same in my mind. I like the idea of the author having held the book in their hands. So, I came here and just grabbed the audio version. Getting to see behind the scenes and how he got to where is now was great. Read this if you like: Biographies, ghosts, The Ghost Files

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omgosh, this book!!!! I won this as a Goodreads giveaway, and I thought it would be ok, but I was so wrong!! I learned so many historical facts in this book! I was honestly scared a few times, but I had so much fun reading it! In the introduction, it talks about his childhood and how he got into paranormal investigation. And each time he talks about a new place in this book, he gives a detailed history of the building and grounds, including reports of what people saw and heard there. He talks about things he and his team heard and saw in each place, and whether or not things could be rationally or scientifically explained. This was so good!!

[Syn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who loves all things paranormal, I enjoyed my time reading Steve Gonsalves book. As one of the OG's on Ghost Hunters it was cool to learn more about him as a person and also to hear about his experiences over the years. If you are a fan of the paranormal and are curious about spooky haunted places this book might just be for you.

[Wayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the author's voice well enough, and the backdrop for each haunted location was pretty good, but I didnt need 300+ pages talking about investigations that generally ended with some odd undocumented stuff happening but nothing of real significance.

[Katie Followell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve's my favorite paranormal investigator, so of course-- I was gonna like this book.

What I loved about Steve's book is that it was honest, offered some behind the scenes to my favorite episodes-- and he talks a lot about different theories and methods-- so it's not JUST a book of ghost stories. It's still a learning opportunity. That's why I've always wanted him to write a book!

Also, this is silly-- but I loved that he got into ghost hunting in a similar way to me. I started because of his show, and he loved horror movies like Poltergeist and loved Ed and Lorraine Warren. So often investigators have a large tale of a spiritual encounter that left them scratching their head, and this was just super relatable to me.

Highly recommend this book.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't watched the show as its bit tricky for me too see shows or other media with ghosts but really enjoyed his memoir.

[Ariane · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5/5

Thank you libro.fm for this audiobook.

I found some chapters to be less interesting than others, but I like the way he tells his story and those of the places discussed in the book. I enjoyed when he discusses how he feels connected to each of these places. Some stories are quite moving.

I realized while reading that I already knew him from the TAPS show when I was basically a kid (sorry dude!).

I loved to get to know about him, how he got into paranormal investigating, and his philosophy of investigating.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! Great location haunt stories! My favorite chapters were the Tombstone chapter, "A Week With The Lawless Spirits of Tombstone" and "Blinded By The Light". Both locations I've visited.

[SheLove2Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever watched an episode of Ghost Hunters or Ghost Nation, you're familiar with Steve. He's the amiable young man who hunts the paranormal yet is afraid of spiders! He writes just like he speaks, in a thoughtful and easygoing manner. I knew the history of most of the locales he talks about in this book, but it was still fun to read it from his perspective. I enjoyed it.

[Zandt McCue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will have to write a longer response another time, but to sum it up:

I haven't watched Ghost Hunters since roughly 2007. I have seen, more recently, the more outrageous Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel. The shows couldn't be further apart in style. I read this out of nostalgia for the former. I like the fact that Steve took us into his childhood and gave us a reason that led to him becoming a paranormal investigator. However, the biographic interludes sprinkled within each chapter start to feel like a side rail. Where each chapter, according to my Kindle, is roughly fourteen to twenty pages then, suddenly the haunts become secondhand. You have a brief intro for each property, then Steve's first take on it or why they were investigating, and then a lot of these pages are little side stories. It's hard in a way to transpose these investigations because they take a week or so of footage and turn it into, if I'm not mistaken, an hour-long episode. So then to take a case and turn it into a book chapter, without all the waiting around with nothing happening, it's kind of hard. You can probably sum up the paranormal occurrences in each chapter in a single paragraph if you wanted. That's not what this book is about. It's about one man's experience and the progress paranormal research has made.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

ghost hunters was such a comfort show for me growing up (i know, i know), and steve was always a favorite of mine. i enjoyed this book way more than i anticipated, thought i figured id like it regardless.

the sheer amount of history that is entwined in this was such a pleasure to read. i distinctly remember so many of the locations highlighted (though i did just binge the entirety of the shows in the last few weeks). it was so surprising to see how much they work to DISPROVE their experiences instead of just taking everything at face value, which is so unlike most shows/books on the subject. it was like a a breath of fresh air knowing that my favorite paranormal show works so hard to bring true clarity and as many answers as possible to their clients, and that that is the true forefront of their investigations.

if you have a love for all things paranormal, i could not recommend this enough!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting!!! Written and narrated by one of the members from the TV show Ghost Hunters, Steve Gonsalves highlights some of his favorite haunted investigations that the group has done. It was interesting to not only hear the historical background of each place, but also the kinds of things they discovered during their investigations.

Being an avid fan of Ghost Adventures, I surprisingly have never watched Ghost Hunters. Many of these stories made me want to turn on the TV and follow along, or visit these haunted places myself!

This book was released last year, in 2023. Steve said that choosing which stories to tell from the thousands of places they've investigated, and strange things they've experienced was really tough. So I'm really hoping that another book will be released in the near future!!

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn’t for people who want ghost stories, and nothing else. If you want that, there are millions of other books out there that do that exact thing. This book does have that, but also more. It is for people who are fans (old or new) of Ghost Hunters, or are interested in ghost hunting.
Steve Gonsalves was one of my favorite members of the TAPS team. He always came off as having a gentle nature to him, and came off as really genuine. It was really neat to read a lot about his experience, not only with ghosts, but with the production of a reality tv show as well, and to hear the story of how he got into ghost hunting. Honestly, I hope he decides to write another at some point.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a teen I had a huge crush on Steve Gonsalves, and I loved watching Ghost Hunters. How fun to read this account of his career and experiences! Makes me want to start doing this kind of thing myself, but I don't think that is my calling, haha.

[Susan Allegrini · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could I would rated this book 20 stars it was that good!! I enjoy all things paranormal and was so excited to learn how Steve Gonsalves started his journey of the paranomal and ghost hunting!! He was one of my favorites on Ghosthunters ! I even got to meet him and he also signed my book!!!!!

[Doug Bivens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real

It doesn't get more honest and real then this. He isn't out to scare, just share his passion for the paranormal. Well done steve!

[Marissa Marlborough · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a 12 books recommended by 12 friends challenge, rec by pal Michelle! I was unfamiliar with Gonsalves documentary television shows (Ghost Hunters, Ghost Nation etc) but still found these stories very compelling.

Gonsalves is a paranormal investigator, visiting some of the most haunted places in the country and seeing what happens while documenting it for his television shows. This book is comprised of his favorite experiences and stories, coupled with the history of these places. Gonsalves also shares his personal thoughts and memories about ghosts and paranormal entities.

I personally have not experienced a ghost but I believe in it. I found Gonsalves tone of this book very charming. He would own when nothing paranormal happened or other theories, while relishing in the truly scary moments. I found the history very fascinating as well! Recommend for fans of ghost stories and hauntings.

✨Content Warnings: Death, Gore, Secual Assault, Slavery, Medical Traum, Forced Institutionalization, Murder, Child Death, Mental Illness, Pandemic

✨Themes: Paranormal, Reflection

✨You May Like This If You Enjoyed:
I’ve never read a nonfiction book about ghost stories before! Let me know if you have any secs

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I have personally never watched any episodes of Ghost Hunters. Still, as someone who loves the spooky season and has had some of her own paranormal experiences, I was immediately interested in this book when I saw it. I truly appreciated how he and the rest of his ghost-hunting team followed specific protocols and procedures and did not focus solely on finding the ghosts. These procedures included deep-diving into the history of the location to understand what had occurred there and what type of spirits they could come across, having at least two people searching the area so that there is one other source that can validate when something paranormal occurs, and when something possibly paranormal occurs, going around and double checking to make sure there is no other way it could be explained, such as a gust of wind making the banging noise or guaranteeing no other members of the team were around at the time that could have produced the noise. This read was enjoyable, and I am so glad I picked it up!

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars~

I grew up watching Ghost Hunters with my mom, so when I saw this book I knew I had to read it. I’m trying to read more nonfiction and thought this would be perfect for that. I really liked the more conversational tone of this book, and really wish I had the chance to listen to the audiobook because I feel like that would have been a great experience. I enjoyed seeing the different pictures that were included of each location. Some pictures were too small to see on the kindle I was reading on, which was unfortunate. I really liked the backgrounds that were included on the locations at the beginning of the chapters, I thought they were a great way to remind people that have watched the show about what the actual history was. It was also really nice seeing kind of more behind the scenes information on how the show is filmed and stuff that wasn’t included. My main issues with the book were that sometimes things that were brought up felt very tangentially connected to the location, so it kind of felt a bit jumpy at times- and that some pictures didn’t show up great on the kindle (but that’s not really the fault of the book).

[Pat-z · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a big fan of Ghost Hunters and with Steve being my favorite of the group, of course I enjoyed this one! That being said, the book was good on its own as well- I've been disappointed by other ghost hunter books in the past.
I like how the book was put together, with having his childhood and on told in the beginning and along with each case, tidbits of himself were added to each.
The humor and heart in this book were great!
I wanted to read the book to learn a little more about Steve as well as the cases so it had exactly what I was looking for.
It was also really great to see his personal point of view for each of the cases that he chose. Getting his thoughts on them really gave more to the cases than what we get in the episodes.

[Stephanie Gonter · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who enjoys Ghost Hunters and has watched from the beginning, I appreciate the description and first person experience that Steve has to offer. I also love the nostalgia that comes from his childhood that developed his interest in the paranormal. As a skeptic, I have always enjoyed the scientific approach Ghost Hunters has taken and Steve explains the reasons behind their approach brilliantly. This was not some brilliant piece of literature but it was fun and I felt like I was sitting in on interview or maybe on a long road trip with him as he tells his stories.

I definitely didn’t expect to be a little creeped out by this book, but his ride home from Tombstone had me turning my table lamp on so I wouldn’t read in the dark.

Loved it.

[Nancy Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed watching Steve and all the folks on the Ghost Hunters show since the very first episode. The book was an entertaining read, filling in lots of details about how his interest in the paranormal has grown over the years to the point where he is now a recognized celebrity in the field, along with many of his associates, and also how the investigation field itself has developed. It was also fun to learn more details about some of the places that have been featured on the show, given how difficult it is to condense days and sometimes weeks of work into a less than one-hour show. If you're interested in paranormal investigations, you'll enjoy this book for sure.

[Bookewyfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always loved the paranormal, and hearing personal ghost stories. I like the shows that tell personal experiences, but I’m not really into the ‘hunting’ shows—they feel more theatrical. Books like this are an inside look at what you don’t see on tv. Steve takes us on his most memorable investigations and shares his vulnerable moments. Whether you believe it or not, everyone loves a ghost story. Most people secretly want to experience something. I have had so many experiences. Read this book, turn off the lights, and turn on your favorite ghost show!

[J.J. Lair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I looked up the movie “The Entity” from the start of the book. This book is about Gonsalve’s travels as a paranormal investigator. He writes about how he started and places he’s gone.
He name drops a little in the beginning but it’s mostly his views and recollections. He is skeptical at times of the things that he’s seen and believing other events. The book ends with wild experience.
I read this for research when I write the sequel to “Murder in the Mirror”. He told me about some research and tools used, but he didn’t get into that as much.

[Penny Goetjen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating peek behind the scenes. Steve allows the readers to get to know him and shares his vulnerabilities as a ghost hunter and human being. Clearly he only scratched the surface with the stories in this book. I look forward to his next one!

[Liza Nahas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was actually much better than I anticipated. Although I’m a huge fan of paranormal shows and the paranormal, in general, most of the books I’ve read by the reality stars have been sub par. This one is entertaining and informative.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy Steve's stories. Some places have been to, others I want to go to

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book especially if you like Gonslaves. It’s a bit more about his life and background and more personal experiences with Ghost Hunters.

[Stoyka Serafini · Rating 5 out of 5]

A captivating ghost haunting journey that will make you shake with each page turned.