Peter Underwood

A leading psychical researcher takes an in-depth look at ghost hunters, both past and present. Who are these intrepid explorers of the unknown? How do they probe and examine the realms of the seemingly inexplicable? What are their conclusions? In fascinating detail, Peter Underwood profiles the lives and adventures of some of the most famous names in psychical investigation.There is Harry Price - his examination of Borley Rectory 'the most haunted house in England' extended over a period of twenty years.Elliot O'Donnell's inherited faculty of psychic awareness enabled him to encounter scores of ghosts throughout his prodigious career.James Wentworth Day witnessed a group of phantom cavalrymen in broad daylight - the sight so impressed him that he spent the rest of his life in search of similar ghostly visions in many of the most haunted houses in Britain, including Glamis Castle.Thurston Hopkins, the old man os Sussex, met ghosts on and off all his life and firmly believed that one of them once saved him from premature death.For many years Dennis Wheatley pursued his interest in ghost hunting following his psychic experience as a boy.While Tom Lethbridge made an important contribution to ghost studies with his natural explanations and theory of psychic fields.Of today's eminent ghost hunters there is Hans Holzer who, together with psychic photographer and medium John Meyers, has made a particular study of 'psychic photography' with some surprising and exciting results.Tom Perrot, Chairman of the Ghost Club, has been associated with a wealth of curious cases and John Cutten is the innovator of an elaborate and ingenious ghost trap.Professer Hans Bender of Freiburg University and the redoubtable Mrs K. M. Goldney MBE, whose remarkable experiences and revelations span half a century, are also included.With authority and enthusiasm Peter Underwood discusses the varying techniques and approaches to ghost hunting, uncovers some notorious fakes and reveals many remarkable mysteries for which no material explanations can be found.

The first expert exploration of the haunted houses and authentic ghosts of Kent, this volume is filled with fascinating true ghost stories from times past. Read about the curious case of Anne West of Old Bayhall Manor, who 'was always worried that she might be buried while yet alive', or the 'ghostly old gentleman' of Cleve Court in Minster, who, when he turns up, is treated 'more as a guest than a ghost' - because 'the dear old thing means no harm'. And there is Lympne Castle, where Underwood once took a party of Ghost Club members: 'I had just obtained a description of the room, when one of the Club members rushed into the kitchen begging me to accompany her to one of the towers where "something horrible had once taken place"...'.

Peter Underwood, an acknowledged expert and experienced investigator of haunted houses, presents a selection of hauntings throughout Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. This guide contains an evocative collection of material concerning inexplicable supernatural experiences in these regions stretching across vast swathes of time. Delve into Bramshott near Liphook, where, 'in the lush and quiet meadow beside the slow-flowing stream, Mistress Elizabeth Butler is said to have been so unhappy that she drowned herself in 1745 and her ghost walks beside the water'. Discover Ashey Down near Brading, where two local residents once 'found themselves in the middle of the biggest mystery of their lives...'. Or find out about Arreton Manor, an early Jacobean Manor steeped in history and dates back to as early as 1872, which is said to be haunted by the ghost of Annabel...

This is the autobiography of a man who has spent thirty-five years of his life covering scientific psychical research, with detailed investigations into all kinds of manifestation that might be supernatural or paranormal in origin, including spiritualism, ESP, telepathy, hauntings and other occult phenomena. Many of the true experiences from the author's casebook are published here for the first time.President for over twenty years of the most respected and influential organization in its field - The Ghost Club, founded over a century ago - Peter Underwood has been described by objective observers as 'a veteran psychical researcher ... representing the middle-ground between scepticism and uncritical belief.' In his preface, the author states that 'I have long been of the opinion that 98 percent of reported hauntings have a natural and mundane explanation, but it is the other 2 percent that have interested me for more than forty years.'Mr Underwood is already widely known through his lecturing, writing and broadcasting, and his autobiography will appeal to a yet greater public.

It's all here - all that you need to know to become a professional ghost hunter: how to find a ghost, what to do when you are face to face with a ghost, how to unmask a fraud and even how to make a ghost trap For the first time Peter Underwood lets you into all the secrets that have made him the world's top ghost hunter.Now follow in his footsteps if you dare...

This comprehensive volume on dowsing and divining - from the twig and the pendulum to motorscopes and bare hands - traces the story of these fascinating and enigmatic phenomena from its origins in the world of fairy tales and mythology to recent theories that the enigma can be explained in terms of present-day psychology.The force present in the act of dowsing and divining can be compared to the sensitivity of men and women suffering from rheumatism who feel, in advance, changes of weather. Theories that have been brought forward to explain its presence include suggestion, radiation, colour, the existence of a sixth sense, and changes in the earth's magnetic field. As there are many possible explanations there are also many types and applications of dowsing and divining: map dowsing; being eggs; radiesthesia; the diagnosis and cure of disease; locating missing persons; forces, fields and rays; and detecting thieves.The author tells of dowsers past and present: Robert Leftwich who located abandoned tunnels and other underground hazards; Major Harold Spary who dowsed for the Royal Aircraft Establishment and the Royal Engineers during World War II; William Young who charged 200 a day in 1971 for dowsing; Tom Lethbridge who investigated Viking graves on Lundy Island; Henry Gross who discovered Bermuda's first natural wells. Even today large building and contracting firms employ resident site engineers who use sophisticated sets of divining rods.The book introduces us, in lucid and readable style, to the fascinating world of dowsing and divining, and gives the reader full instructions on how to attempt to become one of this international community.

'A dwarfish figure that resembled a monk with a gnarled and twisted face, holding out a bleeding arm from which the hand had been cut off at the wrist...''He saw in the clear moonlight a massive male figure standing under a tree, dressed entirely in black...'The ghostly little monk of Foulridge and the giant apparition from Heaton Norris are just two of the denizens of the North-West you might not care to meet on a dark, stormy evening. You would also be advised to avoid the Old Miser of Altrincham, the Timberbottom Farm Skulls, the Clayton Hall Boggart, and the Man in the Brown Pin-stripe Suit. It's certainly not a good idea to drive along the Hyde-Mottram road when the phantom lorry is about, and you should think twice before taking a taxi in Stockport - you never know who might be in the back seat with you. But for those intrepid sounds whose hearts quicken at the thought of eerie footsteps and muffled groans Peter Underwood - the President of the Ghost Club - has assembled an impressive collection of traditional legends and first-hand sightings of the white ladies, highwaymen, cavaliers, priests and nuns who form the spectral population of haunted Lancashire and Cheshire.

It is claimed that the trauma of birth leaves an unconscious memory and it is likely that any previous lives would leave similar memories which too can be recalled under hypnosis.This book is a fascinating and true story of apparent regression (a return to the reactions that belong to an earlier state of development). Under hypnosis Peggy Bailey, an ordinary housewife, relives three completely different lives. From the very human story that led to the first regression experiment (fortuitously recorded on tape) and the first meeting with eighteenth century 'Sally Fraser' in Devon, through 'Liza Bloggs' in the nineteenth century and 'Lady Alice Browning' in the early part of the present century, the account leaps forward sixteen years when further regressions to these former lives are attempted - with exciting results.The dual authorship of the book has resulted in an original and unique 'case book': the trained hypnotist describing verbatim each hypnotic session followed by separate assessment and discussion by the established psychical researcher. Investigation is undertaken on the basis of material obtained and such problems as self-delusion, hypnotic influence, psychic memories and multiple role-taking are carefully considered.The book is a valuable contribution to the growing literature on the subject of reincarnation and is likely to become a classic of its kind. Psychical researchers, reincarnationists, hypnotists, psychologists and the general reader will find Lives to Remember a book to read and read again; a book that is different, a book that is true and a book that breaks new ground and opens new doors.For the first time one book we are presented with a full and factual story of a person 'regressed' by a competent hypnotist and the results assessed by an acknowledged psychical researcher. It is the first example of 'regression' to previous lives with an interval of sixteen years between each repeated experiment.Leonard Wilder is a Bachelor of Dental Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of London; Chairman of he British Dental Implant Society; a Council Member of the British Dental Health Foundation; a Member of the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis; a Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society and a popular lecturer, broadcaster and writer on dentistry and hypnotism.

'In an age when voodoo dancers have appeared in London, when Robert Williams, chief psychologist at Kansas State Industrial Reformatory admits to being a practising war-lock; when moon-astronaut Edgar Mitchell conducts extra sensory experiments in space; when the course of a 1,000,000 road is altered to save a 'fairy tree'; when a ghost is officially registered on a census form; when Americans can 'dial-a-horoscope' for a twenty-four hour prophesy; and when the complete skeleton of a cyclops is unearthed by archaeologists - is it surprising that there is a growing interest in the occult, for research in many fields simply proves that things are not what they seem'So Peter Underwood introduces his authoritative investigation of aspects of the supernatural not discussed in his earlier Into the Occult. In the light of his long experience in psychical research, the author attempts to find an explanation for a variety of phenomena that have baffled scientists and contradicted the basic tenets of their calling. Using many case histories, he discusses haunted music, vampires, superstitions, and dowsing and divining. Do Egyptian or family curses have any effect? Is there any evidence to support the theory of reincarnation? Does psychic surgery work? What part have clairvoyants played in the solution of famous criminal cases? Could there really be fairies at the bottom of your garden?Through the investigation of these and other fascinating questions, and the inclusion of extensive lists for further reading, Mr Underwood leads the enquirer to an awareness of the possibilities of the occult so that he may pursue an open minded approach for himself, and, like the author, come to the realization that things are indeed not always what they seem.

Life's A Drag - an evocative title for a very contemporary and compelling book. While it is true that there have been forms of drag, both private and public, since earliest times, as a form of modern entertainment drag in recent years has developed into a phenomenon which is now a world-wide multi-million pound entertainment industry in itself.This penetrating study, giving an in-depth look into the world drag scene, focuses primarily upon one drag artist - the hugely-successful Danny La Rue, himself a veritable Industry of Drag and unquestionably the highest-paid performer of his type in the world. Strangely no one has previously written a book about Danny la Rue, probably because he is a very private person despite his huge public persona. To write this work, Peter Underwood, the well-established author of the highly-successful biography of Boris Karloff (and many other books on the occult and the paranormal), researched widely and interviewed nearly seventy people close to the drag star - people who have worked with Danny la Rue both on and off stage over many years. The result is this absorbing story of a unique star which intimately surveys the life and work of the Irish Danny la Rue.He started on the stage in a village hall, later joined the Navy at 17 and became in turn a window dresser, chorus boy and then left the stage to work in a shop, returning to the theatre and the chorus to become a dancer and drag artist in an all-male show (which he left because he couldn't stand it). He was eventually spotted in a small revue at London's Irving Theatre and offered his big chance in cabaret at Bond Street's Churchill Club.

Despite all the answers that conventional science can provide to the earth's mysteries, there remain certain phenomena for which no explanation can yet be found outside the occult. For this reason exploration of the occult and paranormal provides endless fascination.Here is a survey of all the different aspects of this complex and intriguing subject, including an entire chapter on the relationship between sex and psychic phenomena, a subject on which, until recently, there has been an unwillingness to talk.In the light of twenty-five years of practical experience in all aspects of psychical research and a deep and abiding interest in the occult, Mr Underwood seeks to answer a variety of questions dealing with astrology, graphology, palmistry, character-divination from the Tarot cards, phrenology, clairvoyance, and telepathy.He examines, among many other topics, the kind of people who act as mediums, what really happens at haunted houses and how such phenomena should be investigated, the meaning of dreams, and the history and present practice of Druids, Witches, and those who pursue Black Magic. Actual case histories of hauntings and experiments that the author himself has carried out are recorded in detail.The book includes comprehensive lists of suggested further reading and a number of explanatory illustrations. Throughout, Mr Underwood encourages people to explore and investigate with honesty and integrity, towards a greater understanding of the supernormal and of the tremendous untapped forces within us.

Lo studio dell'occulto ha un fascino senza fine: infatti, nonostante le spiegazioni che la scienza pu dare ai misteri della terra, restano alcuni fenomeni per i quali non si ancora trovata una risposta al di fuori dell'occulto. Questo libro offre per la prima volta una panoramica aggiornata di tutti i diversi aspetti di questo tema cos complesso e affascinante, incluso un intero capitolo sui rapporti tra il sesso e i fenomeni psichici, un tema finora accuratamente evitato da tutti. Alla luce di un'esperienza pratica di venticinque anni in tutti i campi della ricerca psichica e di un profondo e costante interesse per l'occulto, Underwood cerca di rispondere a una infinit di domande di astrologia, grafologia, previsione del futuro e telepatia. Tra i molti altri temi esamina quello dei medium, ci che avviene nelle case abitate da fantasmi e come questi fenomeni andrebbero studiati, il significato dei sogni, la storia e le pratiche moderne dei Druidi, delle streghe, e di coloro che praticano la magia nera: vere storie di fantasmi ed esperimenti che l'autore stesso ha vissuto di persona. Peter Underwood ci incoraggia ad esplorare e investigare onestamente e rettamente per una maggiore comprensione del supernaturale e delle tremende e sconosciute forze che sono dentro di noi.