Book Recommendations: Ghosts, Witches and Mediums (oh, my!)

Peeps, I have a super awesome friend who works in a library and has asked me to be a special guest on her library’s book recommendation program today (virtually, of course). This means I get to recommend some of my favorite books on the topics of ghosts, witches and mediums!!

If you have been here any length of time you likely know how much I LOVE books. According to my Goodreads account I read 120 books last year…so that is a lot of books! 

I also get asked fairly often for book recommendations, and generally, my first response is to see what your local library has in stock. I say this because that is exactly what I do. You get to try out different authors and it doesn’t matter if you don’t finish a book or don’t like it because you can just return it. 

Living in different cities around the country, I have found that different libraries have various books, some offering a wider selection on metaphysical topics than others. But, even if a library doesn’t have the book you want, sometimes they will get it if you ask or put in a request.

So, with that is mind, I thought I would share some of my favorite books (and tv shows, your library likely has those too) in a variety of different genres:

*** Pssst, the links to the books and shows are amazon affiliate links. That basically means that if you click on the link and buy off amazon I get a percentage of the sale. Don’t worry, it doesn’t increase the price of anything. And, of course, check your library first for books! ***

Non-Fiction

One Last Time: A Psychic Medium Speaks to Those we have Loved and Lost by John Edward – In general, I am a fan of John Edward and anything he writes. Yes, he is the guy that had several different tv shows including Crossing Over with John Edward. Some people get turned off by TV psychics, but this guy is the real deal. He knows what he is talking about and he has great advice in his books. Really, any of his books is great, so if you stumble upon one of them, pick it up and try them out. 

When Ghosts Speak: Understanding the World of Earthbound Spirits by Mary Ann Winkowski – This is a book that really helped me get over my irrational fear of ghosts (hint, they aren’t really scary, our culture just tells us they are). This is written by a woman who inspired the TV show The Ghost Whisper because she can actually, legit see spirits. I remember speeding through this book because I wanted to see what she would talk about next.

Ghosts Among Us by James Van Praagh – speaking of the TV show The Ghost Whisperer, James Van Praagh was one of the executive producers on it. He is similar to John Edward in that he had also had a TV show in a similar fashion. And, like John Edward he knows his stuff and writes some great books. I would say the difference between the two is that John Edward has a more East Coast no-nonsense type of style and James Van Praagh is more of a lighthearted West Coast flavor. Both great writers. Both spent years honing their craft and know what it takes to get where they are. And again, I would recommend any book that either author writes. 

The Afterlife Experiments: Breakthrough Scientific Evidence of Life after Death by Gary Schwartz – I’ll be honest with this recommendation. I read this book a long time ago, as in over a decade, but it is one that I still occasionally think about. This is a book written by a professor of medicine at the University of Arizona. He uses actual scientific experiments, meaning hard scientific data, to try to prove or disprove mediums and the existence of the afterlife. The fact that I highly recommend this book should speak to what he finds. 

Fiction

School Spirit (Suddenly Supernatural Series) by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel – This is a book I recommended a few weeks ago for those who have children, and I put it on my list again as it is one of my favorite fictional representations of mediumship. This is a super cute middle-grade book about a young girl just learning about her mediumship abilities. I love how the author treats, not only her abilities, but also those of her mother. Now that I am writing about it, I am itching to re-read this series.

Haunted Home Renovation Series and A Witchcraft Mystery Series by Juliet Blackwell –  I have listened to or read all the books in these two series. I think I stumbled on them because my library had the audiobooks available and I would listen to them while I would walk my dogs years ago. I am a little particular about how mediums and witches are treated in literature, meaning I don’t really like caricatures or those that aren’t based on any facts. But, these two series both offer a good, although fictionalized, portrayal of both a medium and a witch.

A Magical Bakery Mystery Series by Bailey Cates – My opinion on this series is similar to the ones above. I stumbled upon them, likely by searching the word “witch” in my libraries app, and tried one out. They are decent enough that I kept listening to them and am currently up to date on the series. Just a light casual mystery series that is pretty entertaining. 

TV Shows

I’ve included TV Shows on this list because it is very likely that your library has a collection of shows that you can watch. This is usually a resource that people either don’t realize their library has or is easily forgotten about.

Medium – Medium was a pretty popular show when it was airing from 2005 to 2011. It is actually based off the life of real life medium Allison Dubois. It is an entertaining and sometimes suspenseful show that follows the life of a medium as she balances raising her family with helping the police with her services. Allison Dubois has also written a number of books and I am pretty sure I have read some of them but they did not leave a big enough impression on me to recommend or not. But, if you find one at your library there is no harm in trying it out.

Ghost Whisperer – I’ve mentioned this show twice so far here and it was another popular one back when it aired from 2005 to 2010. It follows a character based off Mary Ann Winkowski, only she is given a different name for the series. This is not a realistic portrayal of what senses ghosts is like for the majority of individuals. It is only the very rare person that can physically see ghosts. But, it is very entertaining and I enjoy the message it conveys. And, added bonus, when I originally watched this series (I only occasionally watched it when it aired) I got my copies from my library at the time, so perfect for this list!

Hollywood Medium – my tv recommendations so far are a little old, but that is because there have not been many shows that I absolutely love recently. Hollywood Medium is one exception to this. This show follows medium Tyler Henry as he does psychic and mediumship readings on celebrities around Hollywood. I have found that Tyler Henry is a good example of what a professional medium working really looks like. He speaks of symbols and takes his time to deliver messages. He also has written a book, Between Two Worlds, which is his version of a biography. This is a great book too, but keep in mind that he is still very young, so there isn’t too much content for a 20 year old’s biography.

So that is my list!  As always, I would love to know if you have any books I should add to my to-read pile. I always love a good recommendation. And, if you like this, let me know if I should do another list on other categories of books!