Rochdale Poltergeist Reviewed

Steve Mera is a parapsychologist and paranormal investigator.  He publishes "Phenomena Magazine," an online journal that explores a wide range of topics in the paranormal field and he's appeared on numerous radio and television shows. 

In 1995, Mera and his team from SEP (The Scientific Establishment of Parapsychology) took on what came to be known as the "Rochdale Poltergeist" case.  But Mera's years in the field didn't prepare him for a very physical experience with something unexplained during the investigation.  In fact, he reveals that there was a moment when he questioned his very involvement in pursuing such things:

"Up to that point, I was quite happy to be interested in the paranormal because I really hadn't experienced much.  Until I did.  And then I was thinking, Oh God, do I really want to continue with this?  I don't know."

The revelation comes in the new release from Steve Mera and his co-author, Jenny Ashford, in their book, "The Rochdale Poltergeist A True Story"

The case is certainly one of the strangest in recent history.  It centers around the Gardner's, a family that includes Vera, Jim and Vera's 34 year old daughter, Jeanette.  They're fairly quiet people, living in a government home in the UK.  At least, everything is quiet until it starts to rain--in their home.

Strangely, out of nowhere, drops of water start to manifest on the ceiling and then begin to rain down.  Much of the family's furniture gets ruined over the time they deal with the odd rains. 
The Gardner's did their best to deal with the situation as an endless parade of government officials attempted to find the cause of the falling water.  On one occasion described in the book, Jim snaps open an umbrella while standing in the kitchen trying to make tea.

What really stands out about this particular case is the fact that Mera and his team walked away with some interesting physical evidence that couldn't be fully explained by a laboratory.  I won't spoil it as you really should read the whole book so it's in context.

The book is a quick read, coming in at just over a hundred pages, but it efficiently covers the case and in some ways reads as a long case file.  We get enough of a glimpse into the team's process to know that they worked hard to cover all the bases. 

If you're interested in poltergeist cases, or paranormal cases in general, I encourage you to check this one out, it's well worth a read.

Available from Amazon.com