Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places Hardcover – October 4, 2016

Oh boy, do I have mixed feelings on this book. As the title says, the book is about the history of haunted places in the US. The truth behind the legends. And... it's got its good and bad.The good:- Ghostland is well researched. It's clear the author put in some time on that front. It's full of fun facts and bits of information.- It's thought-provoking. It brings up interesting points you may not have considered before. It makes for great conversation starter (I chatted about this book with my doctor).- It gives a voice to those no longer alive to speak the truth.The bad:- At times it looks down on or mocks/pokes fun at ghost hunters or people who believe in ghosts. Personally, I neither believe nor disbelieve in ghosts. But I would never look down on someone who does. As long as they are being respectful and aren't trying to cash in on a tragedy or fool others (like lame ghost hunter shows), then I am ok with people believing in or trying to find ghosts.- Rudeness. I don't think I have ever read a book in which the author came off as rude. But this one did multiple times. He interviewed a handful of people for this book and I got the feeling that these were polite conversations. But the author's comments after the fact were full of slight digs at these people. It just comes off as so shady. To be polite to their face and then rude in the book. I keep imagining one of them reading this book, expecting just their nice conversation, only to see the insulting remarks added on and feeling hurt. Not cool.- The writing itself is a hot mess. Some chapters/paragraphs have a clear point, like "don't believe everything you hear" or "be respectful." But many were random stories that felt kind of pointless. They went on and on like they were leading to a point, but they never did. There were also random paragraphs that had nothing to do with anything. It's as if the author liked what he wrote so much that he mushed it in with no rhyme or reason. There were also sections that felt like stream of consciousness. Entire paragraphs full of flowery language that wasn't saying much of anything. The introduction was so wordy and just went on and on about nothing that I ended up skipping it. The book could do with a serious edit.In spite of all of the bad things, I do think this is an interesting book worthy of a read. But maybe borrow it from the library and not buy it.

The title of this book hints at spooky delights within and the book utterly fails to deliver any such thing. Instead there is a pendatic discussion of mass psychology and how we convince ourselves to perceive nonexistent phenomena. Absolutely boring book.

Interesting. Makes some good points but missed the boat more often than not. Teaches how to analyse stories but forgets the ghost.

I loved this book. I am a bit of a ghost story fanatic. I watch all the Haunted History shows on the Travel channel I can find. I have read numerous Ghost story books. I have even taken part in haunted tours described in the book, both on my own and as part of a group. I myself am a believer I have seen things I can’t explain.However I really enjoyed how he researched the real history of some of America’s most famous haunted destinations. I cannot believe how much we have been lied to about The Winchester Mystery House. The way he explained most hauntings really made sense.I also really liked the chapter on the new era of cyber hauntings. I received an email from my dead mother and it really chilled me to the bone. I know in m rational brain it was just something that hacked her account. But my non rational brain went to she was trying to send me a sign from beyond. Which is really what he was getting at in his book. Most ghosts and ghost stories are people turning a narrative into something that makes them feel better or benefits them more.

Even more interesting than I'd hoped, this is a well-researched and kind spirited evaluation of how and why people believe in hauntings. If you are looking for confirmation you'll be disappointed, but if you want to learn about the facts behind legends and tales you'll love it. It is at once a history and a nicely paced tour of American "haunted" places as they are today. The writer presents histories and back stories in an entertaining and thoughtful way. Thoroughly enjoyable book.

This is an interesting book that vacillates between being facile and insightful. There's really not much to the premise of the book. It's just catalog of ghost stories from across the country. As a result, the book tends to get fairly repetitive. Some of the insights are quite good. Others miss the mark. It is a very easy read. You may want to think about spending the money on a book like this that you're not going to have in your hands long. This may be one that you want to get out of your local library instead. Well done, but certainly not profound. It does not count as a true history. A little more than popular non-fiction but not much.

Unexpected in the best way possible. The author spends more time debunking folklore than retelling tales (he’s clearly a skeptic). Deeply researched, he touches on the cultural, racial, political, architectural and psychological factors at play with hauntings. From land disputes spurring the Salem witch trials, to the strategic fabrication of lies to promote tourism in places like New Orleans, to the role suffragettes played in Spiritualism, to the blatant dismissal of the real experiences of current day Detroit residents in favor of “ruin porn”...the author reminds us that we create these stories (predominantly white people) to feel “normal” and to cope with guilt over our own wrongdoings & fears about our own inevitable demise.

Boring

I had to write a review after seeing that the only other person to comment on this book gave it one star. I could disagree more. The book is really interesting and very thought provoking. It's not written for cheap scares but rather to explore the idea of hauntings, why they become culturally significant and why memories and trauma are repeated over and over in the form of supernatural events. Don't by this book if you're looking for a scare. This book is more of a cultural history told through the lens of haunted houses. It asks more questions than it answers, particularly about why people want or need to believe in something beyond the veil, and it isn't about the truth or untruth of hauntings. Well worth a read....

J'adore

I really liked this book ! even though I ended up being too scared to read it at night haha

I gave up reading this book a third of the way in. The way yer man Colin writes is unbearably smug and faux intellectual. I wanted to read a book on ghosts, ghost stories and the history of supposedly haunted places, but instead what I got was this insufferable rubbish. The book actually starts out alright, but quickly derails into 'Oh, you believe in ghosts? You absolute fool, here's why you're wrong' over and over for almost 300 pages. This is the first book I've hated so much I've stopped reading, I'm not wasting any more of my precious time suffering over this smarmy nonsense. I'd happily slam dunk this book into the nearest bin, but obviously I'm gonna stick it on eBay instead to try and recoup my losses, more fool anyone who buys it off me.