Book Review – When Ghosts Speak by Mary Ann Winkowski
I had “When Ghosts Speak” by Mary Ann Winkowski on my Amazon wishlist for ages, and was pretty excited to read it. The authors story is the basis for the Ghost Whisperer TV series and I’m a lover of all things paranormal, real life hauntings and all that jazz.
Unfortunately I was very disappointed and I'll be honest, this is a pretty brutal review.
Read at your own discretion.
What I liked
Some of the stories were interesting, in the way a fictional story would be interesting. As someone who does similar work, I know these stories have been dolled up for an audience.
It wasn’t too long
There were some photos in the middle of the book to help connect the reader to the authors family history
What I disliked
There are many OMG WTF moments that made me actually hate this book and I will include them here.
It was incredibly repetetive. Whilst each chapter had a different theme, the reader does not learn anything new about what Mary is doing, how it is done, or why it is done. After the first chapter it is just the same story with different faces on it.
Pg 164: "Of all the ways to die, taking your own life can create the most dramatic ripple effect. However, people who commit suicide are generally doing it for selfish reasons and usually aren't concerned too concerned wtih the mess they are leaving behind for others to sort out."
WOW. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Now this was published in 2007, so maybe we have to give 'some' leeway for age. And she's obviously from an older generation herself. But I am still gobsmacked an editor didn't take this out. There is an entire chapter on murders and suicides (as if they're even remotely similar) and this 'sentiment' continues throughout. As someone who has struggled with depression and suicide ideation AND lost friends and family members to suicide, this sentence is apalling to me. (note to reader, the term ‘committing suicide’ is outdated, please try to use ‘completed suicide’ instead since it is no longer considered a crime.)Pg 205: "The evil spirits I address in this chapter, on the other hand, are specifically used in negative ways - for instance, to give people power when practicing the dark arts such as certain forms of black magic or satanism"
My main gripe here is the racial connotations around the work 'black magic' and 'dark arts' but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt being that this was published in 07.Pg 206: "Any number of rituals can be used to summon spirits. While ouija boards generally attract the attention of earthbound spirits, they can occasionally invite other entities into a home."
Further down the page and onto page 207 she goes on to talk about a couple who purchased a home and upon renovating "when they took down the wallpaper, they discovered pentagrams drawn on the walls." they also apparently found a mirror decorated with 'symbols they couldn't recognise' and a ouija board hung up on the wall inside a closet.
"I explained to the couple that the pentagrams on the wall might have been intended to serve as portals. Portals are energy openings between the mortal and spirit worlds that allow spirits to come and go at will. They are usually created in rituals involving specific symbols drawn on walls or floors. Those dabbling in black magic or black witchcraft often use the symbolism without fully comprehending the powers they are invoking."
I won't bother to type out the rest of the nonsense on this page but this was enough to make me throw the book at the wall in frustration.
TELL ME YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WITHOUT TELLING ME.
As a professional witch, psychic and divination expert this was so uneducated and cringeworthy to read. It seems like she makes her assumptions on this based on her own religious (catholic) world view and doesn't actually understand what she's talking about.
Pentagrams are symbols of protection, but she'd know that if she even bothered to do a simple google search, or you know, ask a magical practitioner. Instead she's perpetuating the stereotypes we see in pop culture that negatively impact real witches, Wiccans and occultists the world over.Page 211: "Do not dabble in black arts, dark witchcraft, or satanism. Do not play with ouija boards of any type. Do not perform spells intended to summon a spirit to grant you greater power or wealth or fame.”
*eye roll*Page 257: "As I've said before, I'm not sure why quince seeds work for me, but they certainly do."
She's mentioned putting quince seeds in your pocket, or above doorways about a hundred times in the book for 'protection' yet she doesn't know why?Page 258: "I still don't know how my relatives energise the seeds to discourage ghosts from entering houses, but I continue to have faith in their power to keep earthbound spirits at a distance."
I don't know, maybe a phone call would help you fill in this gigantic hole in your information. Like, "Hi, I'm doing research for my book. Those seeds you send me, why/how do they work?" is all you needed to do. The fact that you didn't is a big red flag for me and you shouldn't be 'teaching' anyone anything.Continued on the page; "Smudge Stick. Another simple technique for removing energy and reducing the effects of earthbound spirits in your home or business environment is to cleanse the atmosphere with a smudge stick."
She goes on for 2 more pages about 'smudging' saying it will make the ghosts leave.
Firstly; way to misappropriate a sacred practice from the indigenous peoples of Canada. What she's describing is not the sacred act of 'smudging' but a very generic smoke cleansing.
Smoke cleansing also does not remove spirits or entities, and in fact can make matters worse in a haunting. Banishment is what's needed for removing spirits.
She also lists some protective things such as tobacco and marigolds which made me laugh audibly, seeing as those are very typical offerings for spirits and will likely entice them.
Do I recommend it?
Over all, I hated this book and think the author has no idea what she's talking about and is perpetuating negative and harmful stereotypes and information. It was repeptitive, and honestly felt like a money grab of a book. There was no heart, no feeling and no connection within its pages.
If you want to educate yourself on ghosts and spirits, do yourself a favour and find an actual expert like J. Allen Cross, Mortellus or M. Belanger
I give this book 1 out of 5 witches hats.
My witches’ hats rating system:
0 - Problematic, this book should be burned.
1 - Did not like this book, do not read
2 - It was ok, wouldn’t recommend it though.
3 - I liked it but it might not be for everyone
4 - I really liked it and think most people will like it
5 - AMAZING, I loved it and everyone should read it
Meet Hana
Hana O’Neill, the Suburban Witch is a professional Tarot & Astrology reader, Intuitive Coach and the host of the Witch Talks podcast.
