The Mammoth Mountain Poltergeist

By: Tom Ross, Jenny Ashford

Narrated by: Jenny Ashford

Length: 3 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

In December of 1982, when Tom Ross was 13 years old, he took a week-long vacation to Mammoth Lakes in California with his aunt, uncle, and cousin. Almost from the moment they arrived at their condo, they experienced a near-constant barrage of bizarre phenomena that escalated over their stay, and seemed to follow them after they left. Items moved around by themselves, shades flew open when no one was near them, bloody tissues appeared out of nowhere, words appeared on windows in empty rooms, a blue haze seemed to hover near the ceiling, a door chain was broken from the inside by what appeared to be a clawed hand, and disembodied voices emerged from corners. The family was simultaneously terrified and amazed. Thirty-two years later, the four witnesses decided to tell their story. The audiobook contains a special bonus chapter not available in the print or ebook editions!

©2015 Jennifer Ashford (P)2016 Jennifer Ashford

More than just about a poltergeist

I was curious as to how much information I was going to know listening to their 13 O'Clock podcast and reading The Unseen Hand, so I was happy there was MUCH more being explored in the book. Theories were reviewed, which I found as insightful and new information.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Intriguing and spooky

This was such an interesting story to listen to and lose myself in. Wonderfully written and narrated; what a crazy experience.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A scary story...

This must have been a terrifying experience to live through. The narration is consistent, but very matter of fact and doesn’t convey very much emotion about this incredible story. Instead of being scared, I found myself simply listening to learn more. The narration makes the story interesting, but not scary.

Awesome read!

loved it .....it was a great read and an excellent story. Jenny Ashford did a great job.

You'll never look at handtowels the same way again

As a fan of the "13 O'Clock" podcast, which Jenny and her partner Tom (one of the people who experienced the titular poltergeist) co-host, I was intrigued to check out one of her books and I'm very glad that I did. It was strange hearing Jenny speak in a more "formal" way rather than the casual and chatty way that the podcast is presented but soon grew accustomed to the new style. Both her writing and her delivery is pacey and to the point without any unnecessary, over-descriptive sections that, for me, can get in the way of a good story.

Speaking of which, this particular story is the true tale of a short holiday to a mountain resort and the weird activities that happen to an extended family whilst they are there. The experiences start pretty much as soon as they step foot through the door with a series of small events that they each try and write off with very plausible, rational explanations but after the first few days so much has happened that they cannot deny that something paranormal is afoot. Once the family accept it and start looking out for things, the activity increases in frequency and strength.

I'd love to see a filmed version of this story, maybe as one of the many dramatised paranormal series that Travel Channel / Destination America crank out constantly.

The last few chapters are an analysis of the events with comparisons to other poltergeist cases, including a chapter from a sceptical perspective. The audiobook also has a special bonus episode not included in the print versions which details events that happened since the book was originally completed.

Narrated in a tin can?

The narration in this book is so distracting. It sounds like she recorded it on her cell phone. I got through a few chapters and had enough. Besides the narrating, the story just wasn't interesting.