Mary Ann Winkowski is "the real life Ghost Whisperer and consultant on the top 30 CBS show Ghost Whisperer."  She discussed about how she discovered her gift: she can only see the spirits who linger around and don't go to the Light, then she helps them to go into the Light.  She got trained by her grandmother on how to help them.  She cannot see the ones who have crossed over to the Light.  Even if the ghost speaks a foreign language, she is still able to understand what the ghost is saying.

In When Ghosts Speak, the author brought out to light some truths about ghosts to help us understand more about earthbound spirits: 

- The spirit attends its own funeral.

- Ghosts are not ugly or scary as Hollywood movies portrayed; they look normal like the rest of us; they still have desires which they cannot satisfy because they don't have a body anymore.  These desires include going to a movie, going to see a show, and/or drinking alcoholic beverages.

- Why some spirits stay behind:  some are still attached to materials such as a beautiful vacation home they once had, jewelry, or cars; a spirit who once was famous at a work place such as Hollywood and is still attached to that work place; spirits who used to have a fun work place and still want to perform an old job such as singing a romantic song on stage; some spirits want to seek revenge or pursue justice; some spirits are nosy and don't want to leave; and some are jealous lovers and want to follow the love life of the one they left behind.

- Young spirits are different;  spirits of young children rarely come back.  They are not attached.  They don't have greed.

- Ghosts stay after unnatural deaths, such as in cases of murders and suicides.

- Pets are loyal, even after death, they still come back, and hang around their master.

- Evil spirits are rare, but they are real.  Even spirits of "bad" people-murderers, rapists, pedophiles, etc.-are welcome into the Light when they die.

- Dark Spirits are evil, they "are not of the Light", they "do not come from the Light.'  They were never human.   Black magic (dark witchcraft, Ouija board process, satanism) brings back Dark Spirits, if not performed correctly.  The author advises:  do not dabble in black arts, do not play with Ouija boards of any type, do not perform spells intended to summon a spirit to grant you greater power or wealth or fame.

In the last chapter, "Living with Ghosts", Mary Ann Winkowski discussed about how people attract earthbound spirits, how to identify spirits around us, how to deal with eartbound spirits or how to protect ourselves from their influence.

Some kids enjoy scary stories before bedtime... but what do ghost kids consider to be a scary story? Find out in the hilarious new picture book by David LaRochelle, The Haunted Hamburger. There are actually three separate stories in the book which father ghost tells to his wide awake ghost kids in an effort to get them to go to sleep. 

The first tale, the Scary Baby, is all about ghostly Uncle Ned who flies about town trying to scare various people without any luck whatsoever. When he finally ends up in the bedroom of the scary baby, the baby’s crying is so awful that he decides to hide in an open drawer - big mistake - as (spoiler alert!) the baby’s mother comes in and mistakes Uncle Ned for a diaper! While this is truly a horrifying thought for the ghost children listening to the tale, human kids will definitely get a kick out of the illustration of poor Uncle Ned turned into a baby’s diaper.

Then there is the title story in which boastful cousin Nell somehow gets defeated by a hamburger in a race, solving math problems, and even in a scary face making contest. The full page illustration of the hamburger’s winning scary face: two green pickle eyes, scary yellow mustard mouth, and ketchup red cheeks is sure to get a laugh from non-ghost kids.

Lastly the tale of the Big Bad Granny... most frightening of all to the ghost children - where ghost Grandma comes up the stairs with a “Thump Thump Thump” to kiss ghost children all over the face with her red lipstick if they don’t go to sleep!

Local legend tells us that Sarah Winchester was a woman obessed.  Was she consumed with the need to do what the spirits told her, or was she just misunderstood?  Here are some books that you can read to make up your own mind about what you think Sarah Winchester and her Mystery House was all about...

"The Inscrutable Mrs. Winchester and Her Mysterious Mansion" attempts to dispell some of the myths surrounding her and gives insight on the facts that rarely come to light.   

"Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester heiress to the rifle fortune" gives an overview of of Sarah Winchester's life and attempts to demystify her as the notorious eccentric history has made her out to be. 

Was she really trying to stave off the ghosts?  Did she really believe that non-stop construction would confuse the spirits?  Or is it possible that Sarah Winchester was really a loving, caring woman who mourned the loss of her husband and infant daughter, and just wanted to be left alone?  Maybe we'll never know, but the great thing about this mystery is you get to decide!

For more information about local history, you can also visit our California Room and it's Digital Collections.

Anya has immigrated to the United States and has worked hard to assimilate into the American culture.  She has eliminated her Russian accent and adopted American mannerisms.

Everything changes on the day she falls into a hole and meets a ghost.  This "benign" ghost seems to be a great  supporter and advisor.  Anya's ghost looks nerdy and unassuming.  However, this new friend finds ways to help Anya out of schoolwork and skipping out on classes.  Anya's ghost even starts to help Anya find a way to get together with her huge crush, who never seems to notice her.  With the ghost's help, however, Anya soon gets his attention!

Vera Brosgol is an illustrator for Laika, Inc.  She works on storyboards for feature animation.  Neil Gaiman has called Anya's Ghost (find on Link+) "a masterpiece."  This is a novel for those who love graphic novels and young adult literature.