Last Bookstore sign.

I visited “The Last Bookstore” for the first time last week. It’s a great place with lots of character. It’s located in the Spring Arts Tower at 5th & Spring, and used to be a depression era bank. The vaults and heavy vault doors are still there, as well as the original tile floor.

Upstairs vault.

I of course asked one of the workers there if it was haunted. He replied that no one wants to venture up to he second floor at night before closing. Awesome.

Shot from the second floor.

My friends Sabrina and Gladys quickly found the strange and occult section of the bookstore on the creepy second floor.

Gladys and Sabrina

Gladys pointed out a book she thought I’d be interested in, and it was an excellent choice. The book is “Voices From The Tapes, Recordings From The Other World” by Peter Bander. (Yes I know it’s kind of ironic for me to supply an Amazon.com link to a book I found in a staunchly proud indie bookstore, but…actually I have no excuse!)

The book represents early research into the phenomenon of EVP(Electronic Voice Phenomenon). It’s written by the man who wrote the preface and edited Konstantīn Raudive’s Breakthrough. I found the introduction to “”Voices From The Tapes” very relevant to today’s paranormal investigators.

Quote from introduction.

But the coolest thing was the book was a gift to someone in 1977, and a small note was left at the beginning of the book.

The gift.

So my friend Lia wanted me to report on this book as I read it. I’m reading the book in pieces, as I rarely find time to read a book anymore! The entire book is only 160 pages, and could easily be finished in an evening. But I sometimes like to ‘live” with a book for a while, and think about what I’ve read. I may not get back to a book for a week or more.

The book first takes us through scientific reaction to the EVP phenomena, and how serious it was taken and researched in the 1970’s. Batteries of tests are presented, trying to figure out just where the voices were coming from. By process of elimination, Bander states the voices were dismissed from coming from outer space, or a projection of our subconscious, also known as “thought forms.” The only “possibility” left were voices of the dead. The voices d indeed show up on oscilloscopes, even after every possibility was eliminated, including radio waves.

Surprisingly, Bander’s book is openly critical of Konstantīn Raudive. The author chronicles the problems he had with the very demanding Raudive in getting “Breakthrough” ready for publication. Bander also states that some of Raudive’s conclusions were questionable, and he insisted that questionable material be present in his book. Bander states that “Breakthrough” is a difficult read, and it is. I’ve owned the bouk for about 3 years and still haven’t finished it. The book is basically meticulous notes of all the EVP Raudive captured, with side notes and minutiae that are just boring to read through.

That’s it for now. Stay tuned for another update!

Hallway to the 99 cent books.

From the second floor.