When I was five years old I was awakened by an intrusive ghost who not only scared the wits out of me but who also opened up a portal that activated my psychic gifts and allowed a never-ending parade of paranormal manifestations to occur in my life.

     A Knock in the Attic is my story, not only about my psychic awakening and the abundance of mind-blowing otherworldly confrontations I've experienced, but also about the life lessons those many supernatural encounters have taught me. I've learned that our loved ones who have crossed over, as well as our beloved deceased pets, can give us convincing proofs that life continues after death, sometimes even returning to visit us...in the flesh!

     I've discovered that Guardian Angels are indeed real, having been protected from certain death many times by their loving and watchful power. I developed healing abilities that greatly benefitted others and yet left me confounded by my own incapability when it came to dealing with my serious personal health issues. I've seen bizarre doppelgängers; experienced continual ghostly activity of an unbelievable and incredible nature; had spirits steal things from me and also bring me gifts; and lived through many more circumstances that will boggle your mind and challenge your perceptions about the psychic and spiritual realms.

     I'll tell you what it was like to meet Uri Geller, to film a TV pilot for The History Channel, and give you a behind-the-scenes look at some paranormal investigations I conducted that revealed incredible facts. I will also describe my own "UFO encounter" at the Roswell UFO Museum.

     In spite of this exceedingly close contact with the realm of Spirit—or maybe because of it—somewhere along the way I lost my faith and gave up on myself, my psychic gifts, and the beings on the Other Side; but they didn't give up on me, and that's why I'm still here to tell you my story.

     Now I'm happy to share these amazing events with you, wishing that you will find inspiration, insight, encouragement, laughter, hope, and maybe even a renewed faith of your own. You may have more than a few spine-tingling moments as you join me to experience these astonishing true stories of the unknown.

      "John Russell's A Knock in the Attic is a fascinating true story of incredible psychic experiences. If you are a skeptic or a believer this is a book for you." — Uri Geller


      "John's second book, A Knock in the Attic, is an experiential tour de force of the Other Side. John immerses us in his life's fascinating journey through planes both seen and unseen, giving us powerful insights into how the two worlds intersect. With his distinctive Texas-style storytelling, John has laid out a must-read for anybody wanting to gain more clarity about all things paranormal." — Jim Mullen, multi-award-winning television producer/editor/writer


      "If you've ever wondered what it's like to be psychic, read this fascinating book. John Russell describes in detail what it's like to see a ghost, hear an otherworldly voice, receive information telepathically, and other paranormal phenomena. John writes from the heart, and his easygoing, down-to-earth prose gives you the sense that you're talking to an old friend." — Martha Lawrence, author of Murder in Scorpio and coauthor of Trust Works! Four Keys to Lasting Relationships


      "Doc and I have both finished reading A Knock in the Attic. We were hooked from the first paragraph, and once we started it we couldn't put it down. It's a fascinating read that will hold your attention until the very end. We both love it, and we have a hard copy as well as two Kindle editions. We love John's style of writing: he writes in such a way that you feel like you are having a personal conversation with him on your back porch. Well worth the price. Keep writing John...your two biggest fans want more." — Jeanne & Doc


      "Riding with Ghosts, Angels, and the Spirits of the Dead is amazing. A Knock in the Attic is fantastic as well. John's books are impossible to put down. I've read so many paranormal books and John's are now at the top of my list of favs. I will definitely be reading them again and again; they are that good." — Shelley Spann Glenney


      "John Russell's writing is luminous, and a pleasure to read. Here is an unusually sensitive, lucid, and often playful intelligence at work. While many people have had strange and bizarre experiences in their lives, few that I know of have had such a continual parade of paranormal phenomena and have had the discipline and skill to weave these experiences into a compelling life story. More than just a string of random anecdotes, John's spiritual autobiography is a heroic journey that truly walks between two worlds, and we feel cheered and inspired by his adventures with the Great Unknown." — Alex Noble


      "A 5-star rating for bountiful, intriguing paranormal events that evoke emotions of amusement, surprise, interest, sadness, and happiness." — Johannes Schwarz


     "Very interesting ghost stories with twist surprise endings." — Joseph Trusty, Amazon Review


     "Few have encountered the sheer number of strange, inexplicable events that have flourished in the landscape of John Russell's fascinating life. A natural psychic, John has experienced ongoing paranormal events as a regular diet since he was a child. This is an engaging, thought-provoking book that will entertain, fascinate, and sometimes chill the reader. Above it all, you get to feel that John Russell is one of the most decent, honest people on the planet who is as amazed by these events as you will be. An outstanding read!" — Jeff R.


     "How is it that someone who is so gifted with the ability to see through the veil of the material world into the realm of the spirits can be so down to earth? That is John Russell and that is what you will discover as you read his book. His psychic abilities have impressed me but it is his compassion and realistic attitudes that have lulled me in. As you read this book you too will be invited into John Russell's world. You will be amazed. You will shake your head in disbelief. You will laugh. Your heart may break...and you will surely come to know the man, John Russell." — Marjorie Marcus


     "I began reading this book with no small amount of excitement, and I was not disappointed! John will show you (as much as it is possible to understand in print) what it is like to live the life of a man who is surrounded by paranormal activity and who has come to terms with a gift that can be a curse at times.
     "John's emotions are laid bare on these pages for all to feel and react to as they may. John's humor comes through and adds a lightness that doesn't downplay the importance of what he's trying to get across, and his serious moments radiate his love of life.
     "As I read, I laughed, and cried, and came away with a better understanding of this man, myself, and the world that surrounds us all." — Kim Beall


      "If you don't personally know John Russell, you will once you have finished his book. You feel that—through his book—you are with him from the night when he was 5 years old and awoke to see the elderly black gentleman out in the hallway, on up to the present; you will feel that you have lived with and experienced not only his family life but his work-a-day world. And yes, later his most private of thoughts and relationships.
      "This book not only tells you of his psychic experiences, but his personal triumphs and disappointments. The experiences he shares are real, and many of those experiences are shared by others. I can only imagine how it must feel to have such great insight and ability.
      "His book is very well written, and holds your attention and at times puts you on the edge of your seat. Within a few minutes of my first reading, I knew that I would never again doubt the fact that he is gifted, and that everything on every page of this wonderful book he shares with us is true." — Cynthia S.


     "What an incredible book!" — A Beta Reader


EDITORIAL REVIEWS

     "Part autobiography, part engaging paranormal story-telling, John Russell pens an entertaining—at times scary, if you believe in the paranormal—account of his life as a medium. Russell insists that he first encountered a ghost at age five, when he awoke to see an older Black gentleman standing staring at him in bed. At first, young Russell believed the man to be an intruder, but when he screamed for his parents, the man vanishes into thin air. So begins Russell's many run-ins with the spirit realm. 'Perhaps they would want me to try to convey messages to others for them. Perhaps they had things to tell me about myself that would prove beneficial to my own life. Perhaps they were lonely,' Russell muses as to why the spirits gravitate toward him.
      "Russell serves up strange experiences and paranormal events with a fast pace and enough vivid detail to keep even some skeptical readers turning the pages to find out exactly how many encounters he claims with the spirit world and how he has dealt with the aftermath. Russell reports that his 'gift' runs the gamut from seeing spirits to having prophetic dreams to being able to read other people's history—histories, he insists, that have not been disclosed to him and he would have no way of knowing. Russell describes his gift as likely inherited: 'Several generations of my family had been both believers in and had had experiences with the paranormal.'
      "Russell relishes building tension as he spins his tales. This is not a book readers will want to read late into the night if they are inclined to be fearful of the dark. It will put readers in the mind of television shows like Ghost Hunters or Medium in book format, or a round of entertaining ghost stories told around a campfire.
      "Takeaway: Readers who enjoy a good heart-racing, spooky ghost story will enjoy this collection claiming real-life encounters with the paranormal world.
      "Great for fans of: Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Sylvia Browne's The Other Side and Back." — BookLife (by Publishers Weekly)


     "A Knock in the Attic: True Ghost Stories & Other Spine-chilling Paranormal Adventures by John Russell is an engrossing, at times, disturbing nonfiction book in which the author narrates his supernatural experiences. At the tender age of five, John had his first encounter with a black ghost. The image of the old black man's face peering around one of the doorways from down the hall will always stay with him, and he refers to it as 'the harbinger of the beginning' of his psychic, mediumistic, paranormal life, a life lived at the edge of the Veil which separates the seen and unseen worlds. This book is composed of stories that detail paranormal occurrences and experiences involving those who have passed on to another life. John has had run-ins with spirits, developed healing powers, and been saved by angels. His incredible experiences with the otherworldly creatures are recounted in this book, and they are stunning.
      "This is a book that is filled with adventure and mind-blowing experiences, and the author provides ample proof that there is life beyond death, that those who have died still have the power to influence us, that the universe is a mystery that is bigger than our physical world. John Russell might have had and still has extraordinary experiences, but he also has the gift of storytelling which allows him to communicate his adventures in prose that is crisp and in a voice that is irresistible. A Knock in the Attic: True Ghost Stories & Other Spine-chilling Paranormal Adventures is a book that will entertain fans of the paranormal, but more importantly, it is one that will make any reader question existence and change what they think they know about life beyond the tomb. I was mesmerized by the writing and enamored by the experiences the author shares in this book." — 5 Star Review by Grace Masso for Readers' Favorite


     Summary: "A Knock in the Attic is a paranormal non-fiction book by John Russell, a psychic, paranormal investigator, and an ordained minister. In this book, he shared his many stories of the unseen realm of life, spirits, ghosts, hauntings, strange experiences, and more." — Shey Saints's Reviews

Review

     "John Russell's stories may be scary, but because of the conversational style of writing, I found them very engaging and easy to read. I've had experiences of my own that were petrifying, so I can't imagine how John lived and fully accepted his psychic abilities. I guess having psychic abilities is very rare because not everyone can handle this kind of gift, which makes it very remarkable that John fully embraced what he was blessed with, regardless of its complexities. But what's more amazing is his courage to share his experiences, knowing that not everyone believes in paranormal occurrences. For me, the hardest part of life isn't accepting who you are, but rather, accepting that not all people will accept who you are.

     "I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. In response to John's message to his readers on the last page: yes, this book has challenged me, made me laugh, given me food for thought, and inspired me. I highly recommend this book to ALL readers who love reading real paranormal stories." — Shey Saints's Reviews

     An explanation of the Forest EVP: I was attempting to record EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena...electronic recordings of spirit voices) in the forest of one of our state parks. This startlingly clear voice says, "Peekaboo." There were no other people in the forest and nothing else that could account for this voice, which I did not hear with my ears at the time but is clearly audible in my recording.

     The spirits obviously wanted me to know that they were watching me that day!