Occult Memoirs

By any measure, Byron Janis has had an extraordinary musical career. His discovery of two long-lost Chopin scores made headlines around the world, and he has been honored many times for his breathtaking performances of some of the most exciting and challenging works in the standard classical piano repertoire. As he retraces this remarkable journey in Chopin and Beyond, he shares something even more extraordinary: the other-worldly experiences that have shaped his life and music in profound ways.

This story of a real-life Indiana Jones of the 1950s named John Keel contains everything but a trip to Venus in a flying saucer - a subject our newsman/explorer would become famous for a decade later. In Egypt, the fearless Keel was cursed by a mummy and befriended members of a strange snake-charming cult. In Iraq, he played Russian roulette with a notorious desert bandit and lived among the Yezidi devil-worshippers. Later, in India, he was buried alive and discovered the secret of the Indian rope trick, which he then performed for incredulous reporters in New Delhi.

Destination Heaven and My Journey Back to Life is an inspiring and profound account of the day Beth Peterson was struck and killed by a lightning bolt while on patrol at US Army Fort Benning, Georgia. She was subsequently accompanied to the majestic realm of Heaven by three angels and, while there, was given the choice to return to her life on Earth or remain in the peaceful serenity of her afterlife.

In the 1820s, two families, unknown to each other, worked on farms in the American wilderness. It seemed unlikely that the families would ever meet—and yet, they did. The son of one family, the famed actor John Wilkes Booth, killed the son of the other, President Abraham Lincoln, in the most significant assassination in American history. The murder, however, did not come without warning—in fact, it had been foretold. In the Houses of Their Dead is the first book of the many thousands written about Lincoln to focus on the president's fascination with Spiritualism.

In a world where whispers become roars and rumors turn into accepted reality, Dexter Maxx delves deep into the labyrinth of modern myths, guiding listeners through a mesmerizing journey of the most tantalizing conspiracy theories of our age. From dark corners of the internet to the corridors of power, Conspiracies is a gripping exploration of humanity's age-old quest for answers in an increasingly complex world.

On February 2, 1963, a tanker with 39 men aboard departed Beaumont and never returned. In the mid-spring of 1882, Billy the Kid's friend, foe, and equal escaped Huntsville Penitentiary and vanished. On December 9, 1961, a young boy in Wichita Falls disappeared without a trace. On November 18, 1936, a father and son were swallowed by a Walled Kingdom. On December 23, 1974, three girls went to a Fort Worth mall and were never seen or heard from again. This collection explores 20 baffling disappearances that investigators have studied for decades, to no avail.

Peter Lyles was unremarkable in life, but unforgettable in death. After overdosing, Peter's friends almost bring him back to life, turning him into a zombie with the help of "sex-magic" Voodoo. His unforgettable adventure takes him from bedroom to bedroom, giving him a career as the hottest gigolo, not quite alive, while he denies his hunger for human flesh. At times humorous, at times touching, but always sexy, sexy, sexy - Lucky Stiff will leave you wanting more. Peter's just that good.

Night delivers a litter of eight puppies in a poor neighborhood in Springfield, Tennessee, the week before Melissa Armstrong first meets her. As a volunteer for a local nonprofit, Melissa has experience with strays and plans to rescue Night and her litter within days. But nothing goes as planned. For the next six months, Melissa and a ragtag cast of characters try to trap the mutt with nets, catchpoles, spring traps, cheeseburgers, hot dogs stuffed with Benadryl, and the dog’s crying puppies. They fail so many times that Melissa is on the brink of giving up.

In the early days of photography, in the death-strewn wake of the Civil War, one man seized America's imagination. A "spirit photographer", William Mumler took portrait photographs that featured the ghostly presence of a lost loved one alongside the living subject. Mumler was a sensation. Peter Manseau brilliantly captures a nation wracked with grief and hungry for proof of the existence of ghosts and for contact with their dead husbands and sons. It took a circus-like trial of Mumler on fraud charges to expose a fault line of doubt and manipulation.

An inspirational and heartrending memoir about Ben Breedlove, whose videos about his near-death experiences and visions of heaven went viral in 2012, written by his sister Ally Breedlove. On Christmas Day 2011, Ben Breedlove's soul went to heaven. But it wasn't his first time there. Ben suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart condition that posed a constant risk of sudden death. His condition, a thickening of the heart muscle, worsened over time, leaving him weak and fatigued.

Uschi Troll was born in Vienna in the 1950s. She had her first psychic experience at the age of four; by the time she was 11, she had bewildered and frightened her parents—and herself—with the extent of her powers. Only gradually was she able to accept her unusual gift, as she moved from school to school, from relationship to relationship. When Uschi decided that it was time to tell her story, she told it to Hans Holzer, knowing that he, a world-renowned expert on psychic phenomena, would tell it with insight and truth.

Over the course of one ghostly week in September 1982, the bodies of four taxi drivers were found in Buenos Aires, each murder carried out with the same cold precision. The assailant was a 19-year-old boy, odd and taciturn, who gave the impression of being completely sane. But the crimes themselves were not: four murders, as exact as they were senseless. More than 30 years later, Argentine author Carlos Busqued began visiting Ricardo Melogno, the serial killer, in prison.

This audiobook is a reflective journey into the pursuit of the spiritual needs of human beings. It is not based on any religion or ideology, but it has been influenced by many of them. It focuses on the core needs that are found in most spiritual practices and gives an introduction to each need. From love to uncertainty to significance, the listener encounters each fundamental need from a supportive and vulnerable approach.

For one brief moment, facing death, Jane Moe stepped into eternity. This incredible true story will take you on an enthralling journey as Jane sees God's plan for families and is taught how to recognize his church when she encounters it later in life. Take more steps into eternity with Jane and come to know what heaven - and mortality - is really about.

A catalyst for change can take many forms. For author Erin Burrell, that life-altering moment began with a jarring knock at the door. A solemn detective delivered the news that a loved one had died. The grief and heart-splitting loss sent her groping for answers. In her search, she was drawn toward an unexpected path - towards the metaphysical. After reading several books about psychic mediums, Erin wondered if she too might be able to connect with her deceased loved one.

In this meditative memoir - a compelling fusion of Barbarian Days and the journals of Thomas Merton - the author of Saltwater Buddha reflects on his "failing toward enlightenment," his continued search to find meaning and a greater understanding of grace in the world’s oceans as well as everyday life. Born to a family of seekers, Jaimal Yogis left home at 16 to surf in Hawaii and join a monastery - an adventure he chronicled in Saltwater Buddha. Now, in his early 20s, his heart is broken and he’s lost his way.

When food writer David Domine; buys a three-story Victorian house, little does he know it is located in an enchanted neighborhood, one full of gargoyles and gas lamps, hidden courtyards, towers, turrets, and gingerbread trim. The 1890s structure he will call home becomes known as La Casa Fabulosa--or the fabulous house in Spanish--because of its elaborate facade. His is just one of hundreds of striking dwellings in an area famous for its fanciful architecture and 19th-century charm, however. The neighborhood is also replete with colorful characters--an assortment of vagrants, cross-dressers, gypsies, and random misfits that make life interesting, to say the least.

How much do we really know about the world that exists beyond the reach of our five senses? In the voice of an easy-going road-trip companion, Heather McCutcheon guides us through the intersection of science, spirituality, and energy healing via her own experiences.

A Place Called Ananda is a deeply meaningful story. If what you seek in life is greater inspiration and understanding, you will find here a fulfillment. The story is different, yes. In some ways it is highly unusual. Its underlying message, however, is universal.

14 Minutes is the memoir of Alberto Salazar, the most accomplished, charismatic, and controversial marathoner in history. The narrative follows Alberto's boyhood in New England, his rise to stardom at the University of Oregon, his dramatic victories in the New York City and Boston Marathons, his long malaise due to injuries, which resulted in a near-suicidal depression; his resurgence due to intense spiritual experiences and discipline; his close alliance with Phil Knight and the Nike corporation; and describes his numerous near-death experiences.