Real Monsters, Gruesome Critters, and Beasts from the Darkside

by Brad Steiger

Visible Ink Press

43311 Joy Rd., #414 • Canton, MI 48187-2075

2011, 398 pages, US $19.95/Can $21.95 • ISBN: 978-1-57859-220-3

Reviewed by Brent Raynes

For five decades straight and with over 170 books under his belt, the master of paranormal suspense, the legendary Brad Steiger, has produced yet again another creepy classic of encyclopedic proportions, recounting more documented tales of frightening eyewitness being encounters that covers the gamut of such dark mysteries, from your more mundane cryptozoological Bigfoot fanfare to supernatural beasties like the Little People or the Shadow People, with every shade and variety of non-people in between. There are even intriguing accounts of mermaids, of the classic Black Hell Hounds (Brad recounts quite a story in that regard shared with him by famous actor Clint Walker, formerly of the poplar TV series Cheyenne), reports of modern-day dinosaurs, lake and sea serpents, demonic creatures, and, of course, winged phantoms of horror like West Virginia’s Mothman (which you can read some contributions that I and Sandy Nichols made for inclusion in this book on that subject as well, though that’s not why I recommend it so!).

At any rate, with 398 pages that are filled with professional illustrations and a great assortment of photographs, this is a pleasant, easy on the eyes, fascinating and thought-provoking read for the seasoned student and new comer alike. With the latest stories, many found here for the first time, as well as a global and historical sweep of all significant data to be found on such things anywhere, Brad’s book will have you riveted to each page from beginning to end.

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Uprooting Satan’s Grip - Opening to God: Psychological & Spiritual Healing

By Anneliese Widman, Ph.D.

Author House

1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200 • Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com • 2009, 236 pages, $15.99 • ISBN: 978-1-4490-073

Reviewed by Brent Raynes

The author, a psychotherapist who has been in private practice in New York City for over two decades, developed a unique and thought-provoking approach in her work that connected the psychological and spiritual aspects of ones mental, emotional, and spiritual being in order to achieve wholeness and access to the real Self. She explains that there are three categories of our beingness: the Not I, a state of being lost, miserable, and unconscious; the I, simply ones functional role in the world, attending school, pursuing a vocation, raising children, and so forth; the I Am, the highest state of being where a person is in alignment with the whole Self, to God, or the greater Self.

Dr. Widman realized early on, back when she was writing her doctoral thesis some twenty years earlier, that humankind needed to address “the demonic aspect in the human personality.” She developed a method whereby her patients could identify such inner negative voices (which could go back to the words, behavior, and even the “demonic intention” instilled by ones parents) and then become liberated from them. She was achieving good and encouraging results with her methods, but then one Sunday morning she was in a Christian church when she had a powerful spiritual experience that would cause her to realize that there was much more work to be done yet and that she needed to further expand on her techniques. She describes how the Holy Spirit entered her and a “foul-smelling, thick, black energy emerged.” The pastor whispered to her that the Holy Spirit was cleansing and healing her. She asked of this darkness what it was, and it said to her: “I’m your other self. I’ve been with you forever.” When she questioned what it wanted, she wrote that it replied: “I want to possess you, make you mine, not God’s, mine.”

The psychotherapist came away from this experience with a new knowledge and understanding: Satan really existed, even had a voice, and could invade a person’s body, mind, and spirit, and it was intent on one thing, total possession. “Thus the concept of Satan emerged; taking me beyond the parental demonic construct I had devised to eliminate the destructive parental demonic voices,” Dr. Widman wrote. “I now had to face with all my ingenuity, fearlessness, and skill what I had encountered in that church. The battle against Satan had begun.”

Needless to say, what is described in this book is no ordinary and regular psychotherapeutic approach to these matters. But whereas traditional psychology typically doesn’t venture into religious dogma, a recent poll reports that 70 percent of Americans believe Satan does indeed exist.

Dr. Widman focuses in this book on her therapeutic work with two of her clients, who she names Gabrielle and Jesse, and in this way illustrates the various elements and the therapeutic strategies she employees in order to deal with these kinds of complex psychological and spiritual disturbances.

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The Choice: Using Conscious Thought and Physics of the Mind to Reshape the World

by Mike Bara

New Page Books - A division of The Career Press, Inc.

220 West Parkway, Unit 12 • Pompton Plains, NJ 07444

www.careerpress.com

2011, 240 pages, US $15.99 (Can. $18.95) • ISBN-13: 978-1-60163-144-2

Reviewed by Brent Raynes

The author, Mike Bara, a New York Times bestselling author and screenwriter, assembles a large amount of data, both modern and historical, to try and discern what we can expect may occur in 2012. From the ancient astrological/astronomical clues of not only Mayans but Egyptians, the Hopi, and the Vedic Hindus, to the emerging modern sciences and discoveries of astrophysics and geophysics (plus you’ll get a good amount of schooling on ancient calendar systems of measurement and apparent cosmic influences upon human behavior and consciousness) the author connects a lot of dots in an effort to bring everything into focus. He also explains how each of us should seek to change our inner consciousness to bring about real and lasting change and transformation.

Ultimately it boils down to the Big Choice we each must make about how to live our lives and whether or not we wish to evolve spiritually and perhaps, in our own individual way, add to what we believe may become the collective good for us all and for the planet!

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Nostradamus, Bibliomancer: The Man, the Myth, the Truth

By Peter Lemesurier

New Page Books

A division of The Career Press, Inc.

220 West Parkway, Unit 12 • Pompton Plains, NJ 07444

www.careerpress.com

2010, 288 pages, US $18.99 (Can $22.50) • ISBN-13: 978-1-60163-132-9

Reviewed by Brent Raynes

Peter Lemesurier, considered a leading authority on the legendary 16th century Nostradamus, and the author of a previous bestseller on the subject entitled The Nostradamus Encyclopedia, presents once again a comprehensive book here that separates the man from the myth and gives us the hard-core truth. Digging through original sources, Lemesurier painstakingly pieces together the factual details surrounding Nostradamus, his life, and the many “prophecies” attributed to him. As it turns out, not only was he not actually a mystical magician, a prophet, or a doctor skilled in astrology, he was actually, the author reveals, pretty much just an ordinary man. Lemesurier presents evidence that Nostradamus felt that there were repeating patterns or cycles in history and so he used a process called bibliomancy wherein randomly selected extracts from various books are used, and then later the process is described as “divine inspiration.”

Besides all of the detailed information and quotations presented in this book, a CD is included as well that includes facsimiles of original “prophecies,” from 1555 to 1668 editions.