Peter Aykroyd spent his childhood watching his family's parlor séances through the crack of a basement door. Here, for the first time, Aykroyd tells the strange and delightful story that inspired his son, Dan, to make the mega-hit,Ghostbusters. Part history, part family legend,A History of Ghostsstarts in 1848 in upstate New York, where the spiritualist craze first began. Aykroyd introduces the reader to notable mediums while telling the story of the development of spiritualism, interweaving a personal history marked by a fascination with ghosts and spirits with the larger narrative about the role the paranormal has played in our culture. Such legendary figures as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini appear and vanish.
Everyone loves a good ghost story. Successful TV shows such asMediumandGhost Huntersare proof that our national obsession with ghosts is here to stay. Millions of Americans believe in the paranormal—and even skeptics have heard a bump in the night and suspected it might be something supernatural.

Peter H. Aykroyd was director of public relations for the Centennial Commission during Canada's mega-anniversary celebration in 1967. Subsequently he served in the Privy Council Office with the rank of assistant secretary to the Cabinet, and then as assistant deputy minister, Research and Development, Transport Canada. He is chairman of the board of trustees of the Institute for 21st Century Studies, Arlington, Virginia, and a mega-anniversary consultant.

Mr. Aykroyd lives with his wife in a cedar forest beside a lake near Kingston, Ontario. Their two successful sons, Peter and Dan (who is the well-known Blues Brother, Conehead and Sneaker), both live in Los Angeles.

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