Plausible deniability

"The Haunting of the Presidents" is a collection of tall tales, myths and urban legends about paranormal activities in some way associated to U.S. presidents. There are no footnotes, and the bibliography at the end of the book is incomplete by the authors' own admission. Thus, there is no way a sceptical reader can check the sources for the alleged paranormal encounters.

Both Joel Martin and William Birnes are "true believers" and politically naïve. They want us to believe that Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation due to prodding from the spirit world, or that FDR discussed confidential matters concerning American relations with Stalin with a medium who wasn't even part of his inner circle. The old tale about George Washington meeting a female angel with prophetic abilities at Valley Forge is also dusted off. Here, the authors admit that the "prophecy" (which mentions the Civil War) wasn't published until *after* - surprise - the Civil War.

The only thing obviously true in "The Haunting of the Presidents" is that the Reagans had a court astrologer. The book is rounded up by the two authors asking New Age mediums to "channel" messages from deceased presidents. Despite pointed questions to Truman's spirit about Roswell, to Kennedy's spirit about the assassination and Marilyn Monroe, and to Roosevelt's ditto about Pearl Harbor, we aren't wiser than when we began!

"The Haunting of the Presidents" is nevertheless interesting, but only as a kind of cultural studies. This is what people *want* to believe about the men who held the highest position in the United States, and their first ladies. If some presidents *really* believed in the paranormal, or had purportedly paranormal encounters, is a question never really answered...