Local haunted house.. quite spooky.. Don't think I would have lasted in that house a day

Not bad- The author is a little new age-y for my tastes but it was an interesting story and the writing was decent.

Not a bad read, but seems rather elementary in its writing style. I enjoyed the author's journey to find her home and her interaction with the spirits there. Her home is filled with many different types of spirits, the most interesting being Leon. There is a podcast with the author and that is actually better than the book. She is very engaging to listen to. This book definitely sparked some interesting conversation at our book club.

True Minnesota storyAnnie Wilder suspected the funky 100-year-old house was haunted when she saw it for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the mischievous and downright scary antics that take place once she, her two children, and her cats move into the rundown Victorian home.

I wanted to like this. A somewhat local writer with a somewhat local haunted house seemed like an awesome way to spend an afternoon. I like haunted stories. I think ghosts or spirits exist. And I really like the idea of past lives and those relationships holding true through time and space.
But there are only so many poorly written “encounters” and “astral plain experiences” I can stomach before I started skimming.
My takeaways from this:
1. Using the word “beau” instead of boyfriend or partner is not a cute affectation, it’s just annoying.
2. When the writer seemed to be experiencing - first hand - every single manifestation option possible, and subscribing to every single “spiritualism” idea that was trendy at the time, it makes the whole thing seem like she needs a good mental health professional to sort through some of her issues.
3. This is seemingly more likely when the parade of family members and friends who need places to stay begins, not to mention the friends that all like to come for parties to check out the ghosts.
4. Did you know that if your home is located by a funeral home, the ghosts from the funeral home will swing thru on their way to the Great Beyond? I know it’s true because a psychic named Echo said that’s what was happening.
5. The eyeless man from Peru was apparently a good friend and wanted to make sure she knew about the burning stick that was used on his eyes. But then disappears forever? What’s up with that?
6. If you want to write a believable haunted house documentary, you really need to pick and choose what you are going to focus on. This is just a mess. It reads like a stream of consciousness from a person that has spent way too much time exploring recreational substances.
7. And finally, how are kids that are living in MN going to school in WI? There are rules about that kind of thing. It bothers me more than it should, which tells me the rest of the book was pretty lousy. With a better book, I wouldn’t have noticed that detail.

This was a very entertaining, kind of spooky read especially nice right before Halloween. I've always loved ghost stories, both true and fictional, and have been long intrigued with the ideas of haunted places—houses, restaurants, cementaries, inns, schools, historical cites, you name it. I've been on a couple "ghost walks"/haunted tours, so I'm continued to be interested in this subject. I really liked this book, which is about a single mother who moves into a very haunted house with her two teenage kids, and has all kinds of various ghost experiences, from hearing noises, banging and whispers, to seeing spirits in her house.

I understand that the author feels herself to be psychic, and intuitive, and even admits to taking classes in Reiki—all of which can be interesting and truthful, but also perhaps suspect. I'm skeptical, which is probably funny to admit after being interested in ghosts (though I think I'm a bit skeptical about that subject too). I'm not doubting any of this (except maybe the Reiki), but I did find it hard to believe the author's many astral project travels/out-of-body experiences (OBE). I couldn't help but wonder how much of these—and perhaps even her ghostly encounters—were overly vivid dreams. All of that said, I still enjoyed the book and really found nothing off-putting about the author or any of her experiences. I think the truth is, for me, that I want to keep an open mind (even for Reiki, lol), and to quote the X-Files, "I want to believe." This is a fun book to read, and I also liked the quotes which preceded each chapter and kind of set the mood for each chapter.

I think it was valant attempt at writing this woman's real life experiences in the old Victorian. But there was so very much that happened. I find it hard to believe most people would continue living in the house. I mean, at one point she had a ghost trying to slip into bed with her. Her reaction was to try and understand that the ghost was lonely and confused. I have to say, psychic abilities or not, I would have been out of that bed, down the stairs and out the front door in two seconds flat. If she is this talented and unafraid of seeing and hearing psychic energy than why not do it for a living. It may have all happened as she said, but the book was not all that well written and even with the ghost activity I got a little bogged down in parts.

Loved it!!!

Couldn't put it down. It was well written and kept your attention. I would highly recommend this book. I am going to look into others that she has written as well.

Fascinating book,well written very personal author enjoyed very much

The book was very well written but if you are looking to be scared this is not the book to read.

Although I enjoyed this book for the most part, and found it exceptionally easy to read (except for the most annoying use of the word "gotten", which should not exist in the English language - it sounds awful!), I didnt learn anything new from it. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting Wilder's account of living in a haunted house to reveal, but I thought there would be more: That by the end of it I would have a greater understanding of my own "paranormal" experiences, but alas! I do not.

House of Spirits and Whispers is a descriptive account of the spiritual journey that Wilder was thrust into upon purchasing her house, and what she believed she learnt from it. It is not an objective account in any way, shape or form: At no point does Wilder engage the assistance and expertise of a unbiased third party (a parapsychologist, for example). Perhaps the whispering radiators were not ghostly whispers at all but a fault with the heating system? Perhaps the light shows were not ghostly displays of interaction but reflections from outside? Perhaps the OBEs and dreams really were just dreams? I was frustrated by this because I couldnt help but feel that Wilder was a little too eager to put everything down to the "paranormal", rather than trying to decipher if there were any "normal" causes for the phenomenon.

I also felt that the characters in the book - both living and dead - were a little hollow.

But it is a quick read, and it's not terrible, so I'm giving it 3 stars.

THis is a true story about the character, Annie Wilder, living in a new house filled with numerous ghosts. This is her experience living in a spooky house. It tells from Annie's perspective, from talking about the minute she walks into the house and her presence in the house. She describes how the ghosts interact with her, and what "signs" they give, to show their line of communication (such like conversations, pounding walls in the middle of the night, touches on the shoulder, appearances at random times.
I think i was really drawn into the book as if i was the character because i believe that there are other "supernatural" beliefs out there besides what the eye can see. I totally got absorbed into the story and I felt like everything was really going through my mind.