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The English Ghost by Peter Ackroyd (view source)
Revision as of 12:33, 21 September 2011
, 12:33, 21 September 2011no edit summary
To talk of Ackroyd's part in this book, beyond his obviously inestimable research. There is perhaps too much of the sceptic about some of his editorialising, but also more than welcome summaries of aligned cases at the end of chapters. But what he hasn't satisfactorily done is compiled a book in any particular order. There's no historical progression, or sorting by region. (In fact one benefit of the randomness here is perhaps to disguise how many of the cases come from Devon.)
But he has found some sterling stories, and I can't believe I've not come across ""''The Daemon of Spraiton"" '' (from, of course, Devon) before now. There is nothing here to disagree with Kant - ''while one can be sceptical about any individual instance, the sum total presents a body of evidence that is difficult to ignore''. Indeed, the poltergeist section here is a serious gamut of Hollywood effects waiting to happen. I'll refrain from pointing out the bad pun in there being a body of evidence regarding ghosts, and conclude by recommending this book for a welcome hodge-podge of English ghost tales. It's for life, not just for Hallowe'en.
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