Summer break is supposed to be a time for kicking back, putting your feet up, and forgetting all about school and your goofball teachers, not for finding dead bodies and hunting ghosts. But that’s exactly what the summer had in store for Clara and her friends. After moving into her family’s old Southern plantation home, Clara discovers it holds more mysteries than just Big Mama’s secret Pecan Sandies recipe. Clara suspects that her home is haunted, but can she prove it? With the help of her best friend, Shannon, the two instigate the history of her old ancestral home and discover it holds a link to a horrific period in American history. Can she unravel the truth before her family unravels around her?

This essay collection focuses on the gendered dimensions of reality television in both the United States and Great Britain. Through close readings of a wide range of reality programming, from Finding Sarah and Sister Wives to Ghost Adventures and Deadliest Warrior, the contributors think through questions of femininity and masculinity, as they relate to the intersections of gender, race, class, and sexuality. They connect the genre's combination of real people and surreal experiences, of authenticity and artifice, to the production of identity and norms of citizenship, the commodification of selfhood, and the naturalization of regimes of power. Whether assessing the Kardashian family brand, portrayals of hoarders, or big-family programs such as 19 Kids and Counting, the contributors analyze reality television as a relevant site for the production and performance of gender. In the process, they illuminate the larger neoliberal and postfeminist contexts in which reality TV is produced, promoted, watched, and experienced. Contributors. David Greven, Dana Heller, Su Holmes, Deborah Jermyn, Misha Kavka, Amanda Ann Klein, Susan Lepselter, Diane Negra, Laurie Ouellette, Gareth Palmer, Kirsten Pike, Maria Pramaggiore, Kimberly Springer, Rebecca Stephens, Lindsay Steenberg, Brenda R. Weber

Through American history, often in times of crisis, there have been periodic outbreaks of obsession with the paranormal. Between 2004 and 2019, over six dozen documentary-style series dealing with paranormal subject matter premiered on television in the United States. Combining the stylistic traits of horror with earnest accounts of what are claimed to be actual events, “paranormal reality” incorporates subject matter formerly characterized as occult or supernatural into the established category of reality TV. Despite the high number of programs and their evident popularity, paranormal reality television has to date received little critical attention. Ghost Channels: Paranormal Reality Television and the Haunting of Twenty-First-Century America provides an overview of the paranormal reality television genre, its development, and its place in television history. Conducting in-depth analyses of over thirty paranormal television series, including such shows as Ghost Hunters, Celebrity Ghost Stories, and Long Island Medium, author Amy Lawrence suggests these programs reveal much about Americans’ contemporary fears. Through her close readings, Lawrence asks, “What are these shows trying to tell us?” and “What do they communicate about contemporary culture if we take them seriously and watch them closely?” Ridiculed by nearly everyone, paranormal reality TV shows—with their psychics, ghost hunters, and haunted houses—provide unique insights into contemporary American culture. Half-horror, half-documentary realism, these shows expose deep-seated questions about class, race, gender, the value of technology, the failure of institutions, and what it means to be American in the twenty-first century.

Funny, heartbreaking, and real—these twelve stories showcase a dynamic range of voices belonging to characters who can't stop confessing. They are obsessive storytellers, disturbed professors, depressed auctioneers, gambling clergy. A fourteen-year-old boy gets baptized and speaks in tongues to win the love of a girl who ushers him into adulthood; a troubled insomniac searches the woods behind his mother's house for the "awful pretty" singing that begins each midnight; a school-system employee plans a year-end party at the site of a child's drowning; a burned-out health-care administrator retires from New England to coastal Georgia and stumbles upon a life-changing moment inside Walmart. These big-hearted people—tethered to the places that shape them—survive their daily sorrows and absurdities with well-timed laughter; they slouch toward forgiveness, and they point their ears toward the Holy Ghost's last words.

By the author of the acclaimed Eat Dat, a brand-new guide to New Orleans's scary side, from Voodoo rituals to historic cemeteries and haunted mansions Fear Dat New Orleans explores the eccentric and often macabre dark corners of America’s most unique city. In addition to detailed histories of bizarre burials, ghastly murders, and the greatest concentration of haunted places in America, Fear Dat features a “bone watcher’s guide” with useful directions of who’s buried where, from Marie Laveau to Ruthie the Duck Girl. You’ll also find where to buy the most authentic gris-gris or to get the best psychic reading. The Huffington Post tagged Michael Murphy’s first book Eat Dat, about the city’s food culture, the #1 “essential” book to read before coming to New Orleans. New Orleans Living called it “both reverent and irreverent, he manages to bring a sense of humor to serious eating—and that’s what New Orleans is all about.” In Fear Dat, Murphy brings similar insights and irreverence to New Orleans voodoo, vampires, graveyards, and ghosts.

The sky is cornflower blue, the air is scented with the smell of fresh apple blossom and Lizzie Lovell can’t wait to start her new life in the mill on Magnolia Lane. But is she just about to fall in love with someone she shouldn’t? When Lizzie loses her larger-than-life dad she doesn’t know how to move forward. Encouraged by a childhood dream she shared with her beloved father, she is determined to continue his legacy and moves to the old Mill on Magnolia lane, a place he had always longed to own. Restoring the old windmill is a much bigger job than Lizzie bargained for, especially when she is distracted by her new next door neighbour Jude, who has temptingly twinkly eyes and a body to die for. But when Jude’s ex- girlfriend Harriet arrives back on the scene, Lizzie begins to wonder if life wasn’t far simpler before she moved to the mill. Especially when it emerges that Harriet knows something about Jude’s past, something that could shatter her new start and her heart into smithereens … If your heart is warmed by Jenny Colgan, Lucy Diamond and Josie Silver’s One Day in December, you’ll fall in love with this beautiful feel-good story about finding love when you least expect it. What readers are saying about The Mill on Magnolia Lane: ‘Another absolute gem from Tilly Tennant, that was hard to put down. A gorgeous comfort read, with characters to fall in love with from the start. The story centres around Lizzie who follows her fathers dream to renovate the old windmill and the trials and tribulations it brings. The characters in Lizzie’s family along with the hunky next door neighbour and his own family bring their own additional storylines which have us falling in love with them all in their own unique way. Great summer read.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars ‘This is another wonderful book from Ms. Tennant. I loved the storylines that wove together. I felt like I was friends with all the characters. I highly recommend this and any of her other books.’It’s My Life, 5 stars ‘A heartwarming and emotional novel to be sure, but it was still lovely and had a beautiful ending.It's a lovely story about love, relationships and about losing a loved one. Emotional, sometimes I had tears in my eyes whilst reading this! But at other points I had a smile on my face.’ The Cosiest Corner ‘Fascinating and entertaining, the perfect feel good book for a cosy afternoon. I love the plot that kept me hooked till the last page and the cast of characters. The setting was lovely and it made me wish I was there. Highly recommended!’ Scrapping and Playing, 5 stars I am a big fan of Tilly Tennant so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book, and it didn't disappoint! This is the ultimate feel good romance book… Throughout the book you are treated to the blossoming romance between Lizzie and Jude. Perfect read for the summer days!’ South Dublin Reads ‘What a great story, I got really involved in the rebuilding of the windmill and the family dynamics. The description of the countryside around the windmill was so realistic I could picture the hedgerows and smell the wild flowers… A definite holiday read.’ Netgalley reviewer, 5 stars ‘A delightful escape, and if you're looking for a fun country romance, check out The Mill on Magnolia Lane.’ Sasha Wichita ‘I love Tilly Tennant’s books and her writing... With the sails working on the mill, a new baby and hope for new loves and happiness to come – the story came around to leave me with a smile.’ I Am Indeed

Anne is fascinated by the run-down and possibly haunted "Boogerman House," and decides to research it for a school assignment. With reluctant help from Gena and Juniper, the Fortune Tellers Club investigates the ghostly "Grey Lady" seen in the house.