Parapsychologist Hans Holzer, 1920-2009, advisor to NoDS

[Midnite]

Holzer served as technical advisor to Night of Dark Shadows.  From the April 29 NY Times Books section:

Hans Holzer, Ghost Hunter, Dies at 89

[Nancy]

I have several of his books.

[ProfStokes]

Oh man...I grew up reading Holzer's books.  Many of them, unfortunately, were compilations of cases from previously released books, but as a youngster I found them fascinating.  I'm very saddened to learn of his death.

ProfStokes 

[D_Friedlander]

I wonder if Holzer ever saw the finished NODS after the frantic editing job that excised some of the important/ explanatory plot points.

He was cool and cultured, unlike the Warrens, I guess his nearest competitors, and contemporaries in point of age.  Unlike them, he remained consistent in his ideas about the paranormal and ghosts, which made him pretty respectable even to someone like myself, who no longer believes in that stuff.  And he exhibited a sense of humor in some of his writing, from wry to sympathetic, which made his work entertaining to read.  He must have been great to know for reasons beyond his paranormal research--- in an interview just a few years ago, the octogenarian revealed that he had taken up swing dancing!

Here you go:  http://www.ghostvillage.com/legends/2005/legends35_02072005.shtml

http://www.ghostmag.com/archive-hans_holzer.htm

(As you can see, even in old age, he was a handsome gent!)

However, though he wrote many well-regarded, best-selling books, he didn't appear to actively pursue publicity after the 1970s.  Thus he slipped into the background somewhat, as the Warrens went from mere ghost-hunting, into the splashy, often grotesque "demonic" themes that made their fortune, and numerous amateur sleuths tried to prove the existence of ghosts with electronic devices and generally scaring themselves silly.   

(Some people, myself included, thought he had already died or just became ill and retired, until some of these articles appeared on the Internet.)

However, he did meet with some of the current groups, and in recent years, his daughter Alexandra has appeared at venues such as TAPSCON.  Here's an article about her memoir.  I do think her picture on the cover resembles another Alexandra dear to DS fans (and her mother was also of the nobility):

http://www.ufodigest.com/news/0308/ghostly-memoir.html


As someone on another forum pointed out, Hans Holzer (like Ed Warren before him) definitely knows the truth NOW. 
RIP, Professor.

[arashi]

Oh Man! My older sister and I are big fans of his books. He wrote some of the best ghost books and books on the paranormal in general. I'm really sorry to hear of his passing. Thanks for the article links.