24/10/2026
Book recommendations on the topic of illusion within the paranormal!
A Magician among the Spirits by Harry Houdini (1924) -
It is probably no surprise to you that this is one of the first books I am recommending. I have been quite vocal about my love of Houdini and his work with spiritualists. This book is a fantastic account written by Houdini himself about the different ways that spiritualist mediums would devise devices and use sleight of hand to trick their clients into thinking they were receiving a genuine paranormal experience. It contains letters, pictures, diagrams, and his real-life dealings and thoughts on individual cases, including famous ones such as the Fox sisters and Davenport Brothers. It is a real insight into the deception that still sadly occurs today.
The spectacle of illusion: magic, the paranormal & the complicity of the mind by Matthew L Tompkins (2019) -
In 2019, a Smoke and Mirrors exhibition was showcased in London and this book was launched to accompany this exhibition. It even contains photos of the items in the exhibit, which is a big bonus for those of us in other countries who were unable to attend. Much like Houdini, the author was a Magician who used his knowledge of illusion to demonstrate the many ways we can be deceived. In a lot of ways, to me, this is the modern-day Magician among spirits. This book however, is much more educational for the modern-day paranormal investigator. With sections dedicated to parapsychology and famous psychical researchers, it adds another layer of information missing from Houdini's book. In fairness, though, Houdini had passed away long before these events occurred.
Paranormality: why we see what isn't there by Richard Wiseman (2011) -
Heading away from the theme of intentional illusion, while people can trick and deceive us, so can our brain. This was one of the very first paranormal-related books I purchased (unbelievably from a cheap book table in the middle of a shopping centre). Admittedly, I bought it because it had the word paranormal in it. It struck a chord with me and completely flipped my style of paranormal investigating on its head and had me questioning a lot of things. It has had a profound influence on my work, and a lot of the Stuff Paranormal Investigators Need To Know series. In fact, you will notice I reference this book quite a few times throughout my own book. It looks at the psychology of our brain to show us how easily our brain can deceive us. Wiseman uses examples of mass experiments he has conducted as well as including do-it-yourself tests (such as magic eye tests) to show you how easily your brain can trick you. Even though it is written by a professor, it is written in fairly understandable terms and is not as hard to digest as a lot of other science-related papers.
