“A tour de force . . . [Storr’s] dogged approach to nailing many of the most celebrated skeptics in lies and misrepresentations is welcome.” —Salon Why, that is, did the obviously intelligent man beside him sincerely believe in Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden and a six-thousand-year-old Earth, in spite of the evidence against them? It was the start of a journey that would lead Storr all over the world—from Texas to Warsaw to the Outer Hebrides—meeting an extraordinary cast of modern heretics whom he tries his best to understand. Storr tours Holocaust sites with famed denier David Irving and a band of neo-Nazis, experiences his own murder during “past life regression” hypnosis, discusses the looming One World Government with an iconic climate skeptic, and investigates the tragic life and death of a woman who believed her parents were high priests in a baby-eating cult. Using a unique mix of highly personal memoir, investigative journalism, and the latest research from neuroscience and experimental psychology, Storr reveals how the stories we tell ourselves about the world invisibly shape our beliefs, and how the neurological “hero maker” inside us all can so easily lead to self-deception, toxic partisanship and science denial. “The subtle brilliance of The Unpersuadables is Mr. Storr’s style of letting his subjects hang themselves with their own words.” —The Wall Street Journal “Throws new and salutary light on all our conceits and beliefs. Very valuable, and a great read to boot, this is investigative journalism of the highest order.” —The Independent, Book of the Week

When journalist and ghost sceptic Will Storr heads to Philadelphia to meet Lou Gentile, a demonologist, he expects a little fun with an amusing eccentric. What he gets are terrifying experiences of spectral lights and horrific demonic growling - and all of his safe, adult preconceptions about ghosts instantly vanish. In the cold light of day, Will decides on a quest for the truth about ghosts. He meets professional paranormal investigators and takes part in séances and a vigil in the most haunted house in Britain, tries out divining rods and ouija boards, and goes on set with TV's Most Haunted. But Will also seeks out the sceptics in clinical psychology and philosophy who ask if spirits are really just in our heads. His journey is full of bizarre, terrifying and hilarious experiences, each one a new insight into life, death and what might come after.

“An intriguing odyssey” though the history of the self and the rise of narcissism (The New York Times). Self-absorption, perfectionism, personal branding—it wasn’t always like this, but it’s always been a part of us. Why is the urge to look at ourselves so powerful? Is there any way to break its spell—especially since it doesn’t necessarily make us better or happier people? Full of unexpected connections among history, psychology, economics, neuroscience, and more, Selfie is a “terrific” book that makes sense of who we have become (NPR’s On Point). Award-winning journalist Will Storr takes us from ancient Greece, through the Christian Middle Ages, to the self-esteem evangelists of 1980s California, the rise of the “selfie generation,” and the era of hyper-individualism in which we live now, telling the epic tale of the person we all know so intimately—because it’s us. “It’s easy to look at Instagram and selfie-sticks and shake our heads at millennial narcissism. But Will Storr takes a longer view. He ignores the easy targets and instead tells the amazing 2,500-year story of how we’ve come to think about our selves. A top-notch journalist, historian, essayist, and sleuth, Storr has written an essential book for understanding, and coping with, the 21st century.” —Nathan Hill, New York Times-bestselling author of The Nix “This fascinating psychological and social history . . . reveals how biology and culture conspire to keep us striving for perfection, and the devastating toll that can take.”—The Washington Post “Ably synthesizes centuries of attitudes and beliefs about selfhood, from Aristotle, John Calvin, and Freud to Sartre, Ayn Rand, and Steve Jobs.” —USA Today “Eminently suitable for readers of both Yuval Noah Harari and Daniel Kahneman, Selfie also has shades of Jon Ronson in its subversive humor and investigative spirit.” —Bookseller “Storr is an electrifying analyst of Internet culture.” —Financial Times “Continually delivers rich insights . . . captivating.” —Kirkus Reviews

While excavating fossils in the tropics of Australia with a celebrity creationist, Will Storr asked himself a simple question. Why don't facts work?

Part sinister fairy tale, part gothic horror, this debut novel pulls back the curtain on the celebrity chef’s kitchen, revealing a disturbing world of ambition and brutality. Killian Lone comes from a long line of gifted cooks stretching back to the 17th century, and he yearns to become a famous chef himself. When he starts an apprenticeship under Max Mann, the most famous chef in London, he looks set to continue the family tradition. But the reality of kitchen life is brutal. Even his fellow apprentice, Kathryn, who shows Killian uncharacteristic kindness, can’t stop him being sucked into the vicious and debauched world of 1980s fine dining; and gradually he is forced to surrender his dream. Then he discovers a dark family secret – the legacy of an ancestor who was burnt as a witch for creating food so delicious it was said to turn all who tasted it mad. Killian knows he can use this secret to achieve his ambitions and maybe, finally, to win Kathryn's affections. But is he willing to pay the price?

Revelstoke: Where the worlds of the living, dead, and extraordinary collide Embark on a fascinating journey into Revelstoke, Canada, a world-renowned ski destination with a well-kept secret: it has a long and active paranormal history just as breathtaking as its mountain views. Packed with stories of hauntings, UFOs, Sasquatch, missing time, and much more, A Strange Little Place takes you into a small town full of thrilling secrets and bizarre encounters. Chronicling over seventy years of unusual occurrences in his hometown, Brennan Storr provides exciting, first-hand accounts of unexplainable phenomena. Discover the sinister mysteries of Rogers Pass, the strange craft and spectral music of the Arrow Lakes, and generations of hauntings in the infamous Holten House. As a magnet for the supernatural, Revelstoke invites you to experience things you never thought possible.

The compelling, groundbreaking guide to creative writing that reveals how the brain responds to storytelling Stories shape who we are. They drive us to act out our dreams and ambitions and mold our beliefs. Storytelling is an essential part of what makes us human. So, how do master storytellers compel us? In The Science of Storytelling, award-winning writer and acclaimed teacher of creative writing Will Storr applies dazzling psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience to our myths and archetypes to show how we can write better stories, revealing, among other things, how storytellers—and also our brains—create worlds by being attuned to moments of unexpected change. Will Storr’s superbly chosen examples range from Harry Potter to Jane Austen to Alice Walker, Greek drama to Russian novels to Native American folk tales, King Lear to Breaking Bad to children’s stories. With sections such as “The Dramatic Question,” “Creating a World,” and “Plot, Endings, and Meaning,” as well as a practical, step-by-step appendix dedicated to “The Sacred Flaw Approach,” The Science of Storytelling reveals just what makes stories work, placing it alongside such creative writing classics as John Yorke’s Into the Woods: A Five-Act Journey into Story and Lajos Egri’s The Art of Dramatic Writing. Enlightening and empowering, The Science of Storytelling is destined to become an invaluable resource for writers of all stripes, whether novelist, screenwriter, playwright, or writer of creative or traditional nonfiction.

· What unspeakable horror glimpsed in the basement of a private library in West Yorkshire drove a man to madness and an early grave? · What led to an underground echo chamber in a Manchester recording studio being sealed up for good? · What creature walks the endless sands of Lancashire's Fleetwood Bay, and what connects it to an unmanned craft washed ashore in Port Elizabeth, nearly six thousand miles away? In 2009 Jeremy Dyson was contacted by a journalist wanting help bringing together accounts of true life ghost stories from across the British Isles. The Haunted Book chronicles the journey Dyson, formerly a hardened sceptic, went on to uncover the truth behind these tales.

When someone admits to a strange experience, such as witnessing an unidentified flying object, having telepathic hunches, or seeing angels or ghosts, listeners usually explain it away as mistaken perception, intoxication, ignorance, or even mental illness. Though these unsympathetic psychology-based explanations remain the most popular responses to claims of the supernatural, those who use them often have little understanding of what such dismissive "solutions" actually entail. This study offers a balanced and accessible analysis of various explanations for the paranormal. By providing insight into how these theories are applied, or misapplied, to inquiry into the paranormal, it clarifies the relationship between the field of psychology and the supernatural. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Reports of paranormal experiences vary tremendously, but are often associated with ghosts, haunted houses, and otherwise eerie circumstances. There exist both classic and modern texts on ghosts and haunted or possessed people, places and spaces; many discuss traditional ideas regarding such phenomena or utilize now-outdated research in highly academic and technical ways. This book offers a very different approach in reviews provided by a leading-edge research program devoted to who has ghostly experiences and why. With new insights both global in scale and multidisciplinary in scope, this collaboration by five researchers uncovers consistent evidence that anomalous experiences represent a very real "Haunted People Syndrome"--a term describing anomalous experiences that manifest recurrently to the same percipients and are interpreted as "ghostly"--with implications for future research across academia. The participation of new citizen scientists (the field investigators and researchers among us) is invited in furthering the exploration of paranormal mysteries. Photos and figures illustrating concepts and models are included, as is a glossary.