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Beginning in 2006 on the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with the legendary Brad Steiger about his research and subsequent writings on the paranormal realms. During our conversations, we’ve discussed many aspects of spirituality, including parapsychology, the metaphysical and the dark side. Suffice to say, if there was a paranormal incident requiring the need to assemble a powerful group to investigate, Brad would be my first choice for the team.

Over the course of five decades, Brad has written 170 books in exploration of the unexplained, the mysterious and the supernatural. I consider myself a fan and a friend and I’ve had the pleasure to interview Brad several times about his work. These interviews are available in the archives of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show including -  Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures from the Darkside; as well as Shadow World and Revelations: The Divine Fire and my favorite interview of all with Brad – Strange Guests.

In his latest book, Real Zombies, The Living Dead, and Creatures of the Apocalypse, Brad Steiger demystifies the stories and legends of the zombie, including what has been portrayed incorrectly in films. The book delivers a haunted history of zombie life and explores how zombies are created using spells and hexes, along with intense rituals and ceremonies to bring the dead back to life. Examining the history and culture of the zombie, the book includes legends, traditions and rituals from Native America, China, Japan, Persia, India and the Pacific. Along this historical journey leading up to modern day reports of zombie encounters, Steiger compels us to ask the question, ‘Are zombies real, are they the undead walking amongst us’?

This blood-curdling chronicle delves into the legends
and chilling tales of the macabre including:

• The devil baby of Bourbon Street, lurking in the shadows of New Orleans
• The great zombie war involving hundreds of zombie soldiers fighting for their Queen
• A swamp child who roams the bayous of Louisiana
• The history of the most famous Queen of all – Marie Laveau
• Cheeka, the wendigo of Sproat Lake and other ghosts, golems and monsters
• Ancient Kahuna teachings of Hawaii

Moving beyond zombie legends, Steiger explores the religions and traditional folk magic rituals connected with the ability to create a zombie including Voodoo, Shamanism, Spirit Doctors, Santeria, and Macumba. Other chapters reveal time honored traditions of creating objects to ward off evil, invoking special rites to honor the dead and ongoing battles between darkness and light.

A particular favorite for me in the book is on page 128, where my name is defined as it was used in an ancient Hawaiian Kahuna ritual.… ‘When she agreed to his request, he took a sprig of leaves and some sea water, sprinkled the girl and the air where the spirit stood, and spoke the words of the kala. Then dismissing the girl and the spirit, he turned to the young man explaining that the kala (to bring back the light) or cleansing for him was a more difficult matter’…

Highly entertaining and informative, consider it to be a must read for any paranormal scholar who wishes to further understand the connections between tribal religions and cultures and the link to the astral planes where spirits reside hovering between life and death before passing into the shadowland.

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