"Where'er we tread, 'tis haunted, holy ground."
-Lord Byron
This rather odd collection of ghostly anecdotes has been on my list for quite some time; I'm still playing catch-up from my Halloween reading list! Honestly, it wasn't the greatest - three stars is probably generous - as it certainly sacrifices depth for breadth, but it does provide numerous examples of reported hauntings and other paranormal activity, and sometimes that itself is valuable. It's arranged topically, with chapters including hauntings in the city of Edinburgh, for some reason; angels and apparitions, which is quite a bit of a misnomer, actually; famous psychics, and other standard fare. It's true value is the variety of content, but if you want any depth, you'll have to do a fair bit of research yourself.
The introduction has some promise: it begins with the author's rather unique assertion, at least for those interested in the paranormal, that he believes in "ghosts," per se, but not the existence of evil spirits or "demons," stating instead that all malevolent energies are, or, were, once human. That's something of a departure from the typical, as it's usually the other way around. He also attempts a definition of the nebulous and highly contentious term "ghost," which it seems means something different to just about everyone who uses it.
He asserts the belief that a ghost is not a supernatural, but rather a natural, phenomenon, using as a springboard the definition offered by another paranormal investigator, who stated in 1953 that "if we could take the material man and dissolve away his physical constituent without interfering with the sense-data by means of which we perceive him, we should be left with, exactly, an apparition." (1953). So, essentially, a "ghost" in this context is just a disembodied person.
What follows is a collection of anecdotes, mostly, about hauntings in specific places, such as Edinburgh (the section on the Black Mausoleum is chilling: it also includes some disturbing firsthand accounts by visitors which are eye-popping to say the least), and accounts of those who have had encounters with them, including a well-known but sometimes-reluctant psychic, who reportedly solved the murders of a number of children, dating to the 1950s. Boy, did THAT story take a turn...
Overall, it's quite shallow, but enjoyable. I often use these types of books, although they admittedly do usually have more in-depth content than this one, for use as inspiration for short stories and the like, when I feel up to writing these days. I do like to conduct my own research, but having a helping hand is always appreciated, especially when the author has taken the time and effort to speak to persons directly involved, or has local knowledge which is difficult to dredge up on the internet. It's worthwhile if you're up for a bit of light reading: just don't have terribly high expectations.
-Lord Byron
This rather odd collection of ghostly anecdotes has been on my list for quite some time; I'm still playing catch-up from my Halloween reading list! Honestly, it wasn't the greatest - three stars is probably generous - as it certainly sacrifices depth for breadth, but it does provide numerous examples of reported hauntings and other paranormal activity, and sometimes that itself is valuable. It's arranged topically, with chapters including hauntings in the city of Edinburgh, for some reason; angels and apparitions, which is quite a bit of a misnomer, actually; famous psychics, and other standard fare. It's true value is the variety of content, but if you want any depth, you'll have to do a fair bit of research yourself.
The introduction has some promise: it begins with the author's rather unique assertion, at least for those interested in the paranormal, that he believes in "ghosts," per se, but not the existence of evil spirits or "demons," stating instead that all malevolent energies are, or, were, once human. That's something of a departure from the typical, as it's usually the other way around. He also attempts a definition of the nebulous and highly contentious term "ghost," which it seems means something different to just about everyone who uses it.
He asserts the belief that a ghost is not a supernatural, but rather a natural, phenomenon, using as a springboard the definition offered by another paranormal investigator, who stated in 1953 that "if we could take the material man and dissolve away his physical constituent without interfering with the sense-data by means of which we perceive him, we should be left with, exactly, an apparition." (1953). So, essentially, a "ghost" in this context is just a disembodied person.
What follows is a collection of anecdotes, mostly, about hauntings in specific places, such as Edinburgh (the section on the Black Mausoleum is chilling: it also includes some disturbing firsthand accounts by visitors which are eye-popping to say the least), and accounts of those who have had encounters with them, including a well-known but sometimes-reluctant psychic, who reportedly solved the murders of a number of children, dating to the 1950s. Boy, did THAT story take a turn...
Overall, it's quite shallow, but enjoyable. I often use these types of books, although they admittedly do usually have more in-depth content than this one, for use as inspiration for short stories and the like, when I feel up to writing these days. I do like to conduct my own research, but having a helping hand is always appreciated, especially when the author has taken the time and effort to speak to persons directly involved, or has local knowledge which is difficult to dredge up on the internet. It's worthwhile if you're up for a bit of light reading: just don't have terribly high expectations.
