"When people in Ancient Greece, or in Biblical times, or the Middle Ages, or in the First World War, or today, talk about angels intervening, historians have always dismissed their accounts as lies or considered them allegorical. I am now convinced that these are real, lived experiences. When people talk of angels, they should be taken seriously." - John Geiger

'Tis the season for angels, and here at the Patheos Book Club, we are indeed taking them seriously after reading John Geiger's remarkable new book The Angel Effect: The Powerful Force That Ensures We Are Never Alone. In his second book documenting such experiences, Geiger shares story after incredible story of ordinary people who claim to have been visited, and often saved from tragedy, by an unseen, benevolent and guiding presence. Most of them, when interviewed about the experience later, referred to their visitors in no uncertain terms as "angels."

We caught up with John Geiger to find out more about his research on angel sightings and what he's learned about this shockingly common experience. Most importantly, we wanted to know: are angels real, or not? 

What is the "angel effect"? 

When people are in danger, under stress or in need, they often describe the sense that an unseen being has come to aid them. They describe receiving guidance, comfort and advice. Some credit the intervention with saving their life. Neurologists call these cases examples of the "sensed presence" phenomenon and the researchers are desperately trying to explain how it happens, believing that it is a product of the brain. Most of those who have had this experience have a different explanation entirely. They say it was an angel. Thus the term: "the angel effect."