Book Review: There's Something Under the Bed!

While I’ve been hidden away in the quiet of Northern Michigan in the sheltering arms of my beautiful family home, I’ve had plenty of free time to catch up on my reading. One of the first books I read while I was here was There’s Something under the Bed by Ursula Bielski. This book was a very pleasant surprise. I find many paranormal books to be very difficult to read. They may have interesting information and their writer’s may be well informed, but the writing is often stiff and bland and I have to shuffle my way through them.


Ursula Bielski’s book is nothing like this. She is a very good writer and the history of dirt can be interesting in the hands of a good enough writer. Ms. Bielski’s subject matter is very interesting too, making this book dangerously interesting. I’ve seen several books published recently on children and the paranormal and how to deal with children who see ghosts or have paranormal experiences. This is by far the most interesting of the group. Ms. Bielski starts with old folklore and the deep roots our child rearing practices have in folklore and superstition. She explains children’s fears and discusses the history of popular magical creatures we encourage our children to believe in such as the sandman, Santa Claus, and the tooth fairy. She then branches off and tells numerous interesting case studies of children who’ve been involved in the paranormal in one way or another.

My favorite and the most horrifying chapter in this book is the one on toys. Ms. Bielski tells numerous true stories of demonic dolls and wicked Ouija boards. I will never have another doll or Ouija board after reading this book. One of the creepiest stories is the story of three girls at a slumber party playing with the Ouija board. The board brings all kinds of wickedness that the girls are never able to dispel. I also really enjoyed the chapter on children who see angels and saints.

This book was so good that since we’ve gotten here three other people have read it.