Chasing the Dark - by Ben Machell (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Tony Cornell spent his life probing the very edges of reality and paranormal activity. A member of the UK's Society for Psychical Research (SPR) from the post-war era to the dawn of the 21st century, Cornell's role as an investigator of so-called "spontaneous cases" saw him returning time and again to the unsettling spaces that exist just on the periphery of our ordered, tidy, and rational lives: Ghosts. Spirits. Premonitions. Psychic powers. Glimpses of other worlds that throw into question everything we take for granted about life, death, and material existence itself.

This is a gripping and page-turning narrative drawing on decades of Cornell's casefiles, which survive as a huge and uniquely untapped repository of stories reported by ordinary people, as well as correspondence between some of the great intellectuals of the 20th century--including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill, and Marie Curie. Award-winning journalist Ben Machell mines the extensive archives of the SPR for the first time to reveal the untold history of the secretive organization, and to understand our ceaseless fascination with the unexplained.

Review Quotes

"A fascinating story, at turns engrossing and utterly eerie. Tony Cornell spent his life searching for the supernatural, but he never fit the modern stereotypes of 'ghost hunter' or 'paranormal investigator, ' and as a result his story is all the more intriguing, for here is someone who wanted to believe but wasn't willing to suspend disbelief at the expense of his own rigor. In following Cornell's lifelong quest for the afterlife, Ben Machell unearths a deeply human story--a story about our fears, longings, and what drives us to believe."
--Colin Dicky, author of Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places and The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession with the Unexplained

"Chasing the Dark combines the spookiness and investigative thrills of The X Files with brilliant research and a flair for historical narrative. This enthralling book will greatly satisfy anyone looking for thoughtful and thought-provoking insights into our perennial obsession with the supernatural."
--Lindsey Fitzharris, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Facemaker

"A fascinating testimony to our nervous hunger to map the hazy, haunted territory at the edges of the rational. An engrossing, entertaining and distinctly unsettling read."--Sarah Waters, author of Fingersmith and Tipping the Velvet

"Shiversomely eerie, ...so impressive in its research and remarkable in all it uncovers."--Tom Holland, author of Rubicon and Dominion

About the Author

Ben Machell has worked for the Times in London since 2005, and is a principal feature writer, interviewer, and columnist for the award-winning Times Magazine. His debut book, The Unusual Suspect, was widely acclaimed and shortlisted for the Golden Dagger at the 2022 Crime Writers' Association Awards.