Samantha's Blog

I recently read the book Poltergeists: Examining mysteries of the paranormal by Micheal Clarkson. It was 217 pages long. The dictionary definition of poltergeist is

Mr. Clarkson is a recently retired investigative reporter who has written stories on everything from the AIDS epidemic to books on fear management and stress.

In this book he says that he is a skeptic who was introduced to the paranormal fairly recently. He wanted to look into if there were other explanations such as the belief that a human with mind power can move things without touching them. This is called telekinesis or psychokinesis.

He looked into many poltergeist cases and interviewed hundreds of witnesses, paranormal experts, psychologists, university professors, magicians and skeptics. His conclusions are that some instances cannot be explained. He is still somewhat of a skeptic, but perhaps one more willing to accept that there may be unknowns in our world than he was before he started the project.

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I read Promises to the dead by the author Mary Downing Hahn for Reading Counts and I passed my test with flying colors! I completed 202 pages, and I would give this book a rating of 9 out of 10.

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1,049 pages read my goal accomplished! I read the non-fiction book Haunted Houses; Opposing Viewpoints by Michael O’Neal.

This book told about the opposing points of view on notorious haunts, mostly leaning towards the side of trying to debunk the findings of the paranormal. This book broke down the different types of hauntings, what hauntings were, and different locations with strange occurrences. This book also includes possible explanations for different occurrences around the world in which the reader can decide. This book definitely answered some of my questions about the paranormal world, yet I do wish it would have shown more of a believer perspective.

This is a very interesting book that I would highly suggest because it is very educational. Even though I very much like this book but, it was skeptical so it made me ask if they have the authority to write a whole book about it. This is a great book for you to read and then decide, do you believe?

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I read Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn. It was a fantasy/mystery book. The theme was about friendship and hoping for the best results; never give up.

Andrew, a 12 year old, is about to die from diphtheria when he accidentally falls through a time portal in his own time ,1910, and finds himself in 1990, in his own room, now occupied by his great-great-nephew Drew. The boys, identical looking, then change places. Modern medicine saves Andrew’s life. ShyDrew isn’t comfortable filling the shoes of the wild Andrew, and Andrew is equally uncomfortable in Drew’s shoes. However, Andrew is reluctant to switch back, fearing he will die if his body returns to 1910. The boys have a bet when Drew wins at marbles, they will change back places. Will the families notice that something is off? Will the boys mess up family history by meddling with past events? Will Andrew survive whenand if he gets back home?

I suggest this book because it is very mysterious. Many people will enjoy the suspence in this nicely written book.

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I read the book the doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn. The genre is Fantasy and the theme is about the importance of friendship. Only 232 to go!(read 768)

The main character of this book is Ashley Cumming. It was very suspenseful, but not very scary. First Ashley and her mother move to the small town because Ashley’s father died of cancer earlier that year. Ashley’s land lord is an unfriendly old woman with a aggressive dog named “Mad Max”. Shortly after, Ashley meets a girl named Kristi. They go into a garden where they find Anna Maria, a doll in the garden. Ashley then finds a ghost cat, Snowball. Ashley follows Snowball through the hedge of the garden, where she meets a sick girl ghost, Louisa, who is dying of Chlorea, from the early nineteen hundreds. Louisa tells Ashley about a girl, named Carrie, who has her doll, Anna Maria. Ashley said she has Anna Maria, not Carrie, and will bring her back tomorrow. The mean old woman took Anna Maria soon after and said the doll was hers. What is all this confusion about? Find out in The Doll in the Garden. I suggest this book because it was very  nicely written and is good for multiple ages.

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I read the book Witch Catcher by Mary Downing Hahn. The genre is fantasy. 640 pages down, 460 to go!

When 12-year-old Jen’s widowed father inherits a castle in the mountains of West Virginia, she is thrilled. But she soon realizes that not all change is good. Her dad has a mysterious new girlfriend, Moura, who separates Jen and her father. Moura has an strong interest in the antiques that fill the mansion, especially a glass globe that Jen finds hanging in a window. When Jen’s cat accidentally breaks the globe, which Moura calls a “witch catcher,” strange things begin to happen. An odd looking girl wearing a torn dress appears out of nowhere. Soon Jen finds herself troubled with the fate of a mystical story come to life and her family in her hands.

This is a nice well written book about the fantasies everyone had when they were children. It would be a good read for young readers.

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I read the book Wait till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn. It is a mystery book and tries tell that forgiveness and friendship help improve your life.400 pages down, 600 to go

Molly,a 12-year-old, and her brother Michael don’t like their bratty 5-year-old stepsister, Heather. Their family moves to a  church in the country. The graveyard frightens Molly, but Heather seems drawn to it. Molly discovers that the ghost of a child named Helen who died in a fire a century ago wants to bring Heather to her doom. Molly tries to save her stepsister. In doing so, she learns that Heather’s strange behavior is from her guilt because of accidentally causing her mother’s death by playing near a stove and starting a fire. Eventually, Molly takes Heather away from Helen as the ghost attempts to drown them. The girls discover the skeletons of Helen’s parents, and their burial finally puts Helen’s spirit to rest.

This is a very nice book about how important forgivness, truth, and friendship is. I suggest it because it is a chilling story with a good messege.

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        The book Old Willis Place is by Mary Downing Hahn. The genre is mystery and theme is forgivness is key. 

      Diana and Georgie , brother and sister, have been living in the woods behind a mansion their whole lives. The only thing is they have been the same age for over 60 years.  Miss Lilian, the owner of the mansion, died about 20 years ago and she is limited to haunting her home although Diana and Georgie haunt the woods. They’ve seen caretakers come and go, but the new one seems different. Mr. Morrison has a daughter, Lissa, who seems to be about Diana’s age. Diana wants to be Lissa’s friend but it is against the rules of being a ghost. As Diana breaks the rules so she will no longer be lonely, Miss Lilian escapes her home in search to destroy the children’s ghosts because she believes they are the reason she died, but in reality did she kill them? Will they be able to forgive each other and move into the light, or be doomed to stay there for eternally? Find out in Old Willis Place.

      This book offers an interesting point of view on how powerful forgivness can be. It is a beautiful piece of writing that will make you think about how forgiving you are. I found this book moving and would be a nice book for grades 5-8 to just read. I overall think its a great book, I do recommend it.

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In Science class we are learning about erosion. One thing we learned was that a longshore current was a water current that moved sand in a zig-zag pattern down a beach. I have expierienced this when I have gone to the beach. I saw a very distinct shell that was washed out in the tide. When the waves came back in the shell was further down the beach.

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