3.75 Stars
If you’ve watched Netflix’s Files of the Unexplained
episode on the Myrtles Planation then you’ve come across author Karen Stollznow,
and that’s how I came upon this book. I liked the way she infused historical
accuracy into the haunted tales. While I can certainly appreciate a good ghost
story as well as a place that emits an eerily haunting aura (Halloween is one of my favorite holidays), I’m also in the skeptic
category and have limited patience for cheap gimmicks or misleading and manipulated narratives
with an agenda, which some of these locales perpetuate.
This book explores 8 supposedly haunted sites, many of which claim they are the “most haunted.”🙄 While some of the ghost stories and folklore may have come about more organically, others are clearly purposeful propaganda, part of a business plan to make money rather than understand the past and the people associated with it. Each chapter relates the circulated myths, folklore, urban legends, and ghost stories about the locations and then details what historical records actually reveal. It's a bit of compare and contrast, and often there’s a big discrepancy. Personally, I found the realities more interesting and certainly more informative than the myths or, in some cases, tired old haunted theatrics, distorted facts, and the power of suggestion. Truth is, as Twain once asserted, stranger than fiction.
This title is a needed addition—call it a voice of reason—in
a world where misinformation and "fake news" runs rampant. History can be lost or distorted. And some
of these places certainly have their sights set on rewriting it, if they haven’t
already.
The title’s intent is a solid five stars; the execution a
three. The book could certainly benefit from an editor and professional formatter.
The infamous Alcatraz escape is incorrectly listed as July instead of June.
There are distracting punctuation and quotation mark errors throughout. Pagination
doesn’t align with typical publishing standards. Photo captions are sometimes
disconnected from the photo. For the price and given this is its second
printing/edition, I’d expect better quality.
In addition, the narrative could be clearer in places. For
instance, each chapter begins with the reported story and then leads into the
more verifiable information and historical accuracy. Basically, Stollznow
repeats the myth and then debunks it. However, it would be beneficial to more
clearly designate the claims with “according to legend…” or “the ghost stories
told say…” to better differentiate what the general public and tourists have been told to
believe from what historical records and science indicate really happened.
Locations discussed include Alcatraz, Coral Castle, The Lemp Mansion, The Myrtles Plantation, The San Antonio Railroad Tracks, Silver Cliff Cemetery, Wavery Hills Sanatorium, and the Winchester Mystery House. Before visiting any of them and hearing their supernatural tales, this would be a handy guide to read first. If nothing else, it's a reminder to always look deeper, research, and think critically about your surroundings.
*Paperback purchased from Barnes & Noble. All reviews written by Book-Bosomed Book Blog are honest opinions.
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