"Supernatural nonfiction" is not the world's best-known genre. Nor is it one of the best-respected. To put it bluntly, nobody knows about it, and those who do know about it don't like it.
Deep down, though, don't we all long to read a good book about ghosts and think--even if for only a second--that it's true? Well, at least I long for that. If you feel the same, check out this list of the best supernatural nonfiction, or, as the literati say, SNNF.
I haven't read any books on this list, though they all sound suitably spine-chilling. I do, however, have memories of two books, "How to Catch a Ghost" and "How to Spot a Flying Saucer," which I read incessantly as a kid. Every summer included at least one--probably more--readings of each book.
Did I learn anything from them? I learned the four kinds of close encounter: sighting, physical evidence, contact, and abduction. I learned that the appearance of a ghost is usually accompanied by a swift drop in temperature. The most important lesson, especially to my impressionable young brain, was to never, ever go walking at night by a lake outside an abandoned military installation. Do that, and you're asking to get abducted.
Each book mixed practical how-to advice with real-life stories of ghosts and UFOs. Guess which part I enjoyed more. Other kids grew up with Captain Underpants; I grew up imagining the Mothman and the Flatwoods Monster.
Geez...the Flatwoods Monster. Just writing about him gives me the creeps. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to go hide beneath my covers.
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