Looking for a spooky read to celebrate the season of the supernatural? Look no further than Libba Bray’s newest book The Diviners. The story is set in the 1920′s and centers on young Evie O’Neill, who gets booted from her boring hometown and sent to live in New York City with her uncle Will (who just happens to be the curator of the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult). Evie wastes no time diving in to the bustling allure of her new home, but then the city is stunned by a string of chilling murders all riddled with creepy occult symbolism. The police call on Uncle Will for his expertise in dark symbology, and before she knows it, Evie is embroiled in the hunt for a serial killer. As the cast of characters grows and the body count rises, the line between the worlds of the living and the dead starts to blur. Even Evie harbors the secret of a strange and haunting gift, which could be the key to cracking the case.
The Diviners delves into an era when many people dabbled in Spiritualism– the belief that the living can communicate with their dearly departed. For a while, séances were all the rage. Groups of intrepid paranormal probers would gather under the guidance of a professional spirit medium to try to establish contact with the dead. Mediums might fall into a trance to channel one of the spirits in question or employ the use of a Ouija board in interviews with the other side. Some people swore by the messages they received through such sessions, while many others decried the whole practice as a series of elaborate hoaxes.
Whatever you believe, the Halloween season is the perfect time for tales that blur the lines between the living and the dead. Grab a copy of The Diviners today, and head to the library for more info on supernatural investigations throughout history.
Filed under: Holidays, Teen Interest | Tagged: ghosts, halloween, libba bray, mediums, seances, spirits, the diviners | Leave a Comment »
