‘The Ghost Photographer’ — Creepy, yet believable tales of Hollywood

‘The Ghost Photographer’ — Creepy, yet believable tales of Hollywood

  • By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER Bookworm Sez
  • Wednesday, January 23, 2019 10:06pm
  • LifeArtsbooks

You know how they do it. It’s a snap, really.

A little bit of computer imagery, film cells inserted here, a half-screen there, and you’ve got a movie that’ll scare the bejeebers out of anybody. You know how it’s done, though; it’s all special effects. Or, as in “The Ghost Photographer” by Julie Rieger,” could it be real?

Growing up in Oklahoma, Julie Rieger figured she’d someday marry her childhood sweetheart, have kids, and work at some local hangout, living “a normal and peaceful life.” Instead, she came out at age twenty-three and “officially gave up on organized religion,” moved to California, married Suzanne, became a powerful Hollywood movie-maker, and life was good – until her mother died of Alzheimer’s.

The loss of her mother almost destroyed Rieger’s world but there was one comforting moment: a friend who had “a gift” called Rieger as her mother lay dying, offering support in shared grief. When that friend died not long afterward, she visited Rieger in a dream and later, in a psychic reading. It opened a window to something Rieger had only scoffed at before.

“That first reading,” says Rieger, “… changed my life forever.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

She began “not only paying attention” but was “on a mission to learn everything I possibly could,” becoming an acolyte of the psychic-turned-mentor, and immersing herself into a community that further supported her foray into what was on “the Other Side.” She started collecting crystals and stones meant to protect, energize, and promote healing. She learned about the “clairs” and how dangerous it is to open a portal to the other side without remembering to close it, too. She had a terrifying altercation with a “deep dark Debbie Downer.” In short, she became “an evangelical spirit junkie.”

“Spirits are all over the place,” she says adamantly. “Our guides are by our side, ready to give us information if we only pay attention.”

“The Ghost Photographer” is a very interesting book, but only partially for what it says. What it doesn’t say is interesting in its omission.

Author Julie Rieger is an award-winning head of media at 20th Century Fox, but readers won’t find much about Hollywood in this book. Refreshingly, there’s no gossip and very little name-dropping. Instead, what you’ll find is the story of a journey from soft skeptic to firm believer, told in tales that are sometimes super-creepy and will sometimes make you roll your eyes. Rieger joshingly recalls such disbelief in herself.

For that reason, it’s hard to ignore or dismiss as coincidence the stories she tells in this memoir. Rieger shares those tales with humor reminiscent of a high-school Class Clown, which tones them down some but the sentiment remains: the spirit world is interesting, complicated, and real but if you’re inexperienced, don’t mess with it.

This book is an entertaining read in itself, and informative if you’re just dipping your toe into the paranormal. It’s also possible that “The Ghost Photographer” could make a scoffer into a believer. Yeah, it’s a book to snap up.


By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER, Bookworm Sez


More in Life

These monster cookie-inspired granola bars are soft, chewy and tasty enough to disguise all the healthy nuts, oats and seeds. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Fueling the fearless

My son’s adventurous nature unfortunately does not extend to his diet.

Isla Crouse stands with her award for winning the City of Soldotna’s “I Voted” Sticker Design Contest at the Soldotna Progress Days Block Party in Parker Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, July 27, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna launches second annual ‘I Voted’ sticker design contest

The stickers will be distributed at city polling places.

A bagpiper helps kick off the Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Monday, March 17, 2025, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
St. Patrick’s Day Parade brings out the green

The annual event featured decorated cars and trucks, youth marchers and decked-out celebrants.

After Red Cleaver, in 1959, helped Poopdeck Platt add 30 inches to the stern of his fishing vessel, the Bernice M, Platt took his boat out onto the waters of Kachemak Bay. (Photo courtesy of Ken Moore)
Poopdeck: Nearly a century of adventure — Part 5

Clarence Hiram “Poopdeck” Platt had already experienced two bad years in a row, when misfortune struck again in 1967.

This decadent, creamy tiramisu is composed of layers of coffee-soaked homemade lady fingers and mascarpone cheese with a cocoa powder topping. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
A fancy dessert for an extra-special birthday

This dessert is not what I usually make for his birthday, but I wanted to make him something a little fancier for 35

File
Minster’s Message: Will all things really work for your good?

Most of us have experienced having a door of opportunity or a door of happiness closed.

Larry Opperman, host of “Growing a Greener Kenai” radio show on local public radio station KDLL 91.9 FM, shows off a carrot. (Photo provided)
Local gardener shares love of growing on radio show

“Growing a Greener Kenai” runs the first and third Saturday of each month, starting April 5.

Attendees admire “Neon Poppies” by Chelline Larsen during the opening reception for “Infusion” at the Kenai Art Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, March 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Finding fusion

Kenai Art Center juried show challenges artists to incorporate different elements into works.

Artwork by Daisy Jeffords and Morgan Chamberlain is displayed as part of “Secret Garden” during an opening reception at the Kenai Art Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, March 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘Bringing life into something forgotten’

Kenai Art Center’s rear gallery show steps in ‘Secret Garden’

Most Read