Will Storr doesn't believe in ghosts. Not, that is, until he is sent on a journalistic assignment to follow Lou Gentile, a Demonologist from Philadelphia. What Will expects to be a straightforward piece, poking gentle fun at an amusing eccentric, turns into a terrifying nightmare of spectral ghost lights, suburban possession and horrific demonic growling. It is an experience that instantly demolishes all of his safe, adult preconceptions. In an effort to unravel what happened, Will sets out on a journey to find the truth about ghosts. He meets professional paranormal investigators, trance mediums, a sceptical monsterologist and a pair of black magic vigilantes from Worthing. He takes part in seances and vigils; tries out divining rods and ouija boards; experiments with Electronic Voice Phenomena and spends a week in the most haunted house in Britain. He also seeks out sceptical voices from the worlds of clinical psychology and philosophy, has tea, cake and a worrying chat with the legendary ghost investigator Maurice Grosse, goes on set with TV's Most Haunted, and is exorcised in Rome by the Vatican's chief exorcist. Will's journey is full of bizarre, terrifying and hilarious experiences. From the sceptics to the professionals to the outright quacks, each encounter fascinates, entertains and leads him to new insights into life, death and what might come after.

Will Storr has written for the Observer Magazine, The Times Magazine, Sunday Express, The Face, Loaded, NME, Q and the Mirror (Weekend Review section). His TV credits include RI:SE, Channel 4's 100 Worst Britons and Gonzo TV for Five. In the course of his travels, he's dressed up as a woman to impress the transexual leader of radical pro-suicide campaigners The Church of Euthansia, trained in jungle warfare with the British army in Belize, been arrested and then deported under armed guard from LA, driven at 140mph down A-roads with illegal street-car racers near Leeds, had his head sliced open by Backyard Wrestlers in Middlesbrough and performed a stand-up comedy routine in front of a load of students in Portsmouth. If all that wasn't dangerous enough, he's also spent the day with Ozzy Osbourne in his Beverly Hills mansion. Last year, Will was arrested again - this time in Athens, when he sneaked Ground Force's Tommy Walsh into the site of the Olympic Stadium to help with a report on construction failures. This is his first book.