Haunted Britain: Supernatural Realms of the United Kingdom

“A house is never still in darkness to those who listen intently;there is a whispering in distant chambers,an unearthly hand presses the snib of the window,the latch rises.Ghosts were created when the first man woke in the night.” J.M.BarrieWhen we think about countries with above average level of hauntings, then Britain and Ireland should be the first to cross our minds.Is it the history, the misty atmosphere?The rain?Whatever it is,the stories of true and not so true hauntings never fail to excite our imagination.In my visits in Britain and Ireland, I admit I've never experienced anything out of normal, but I've often felt strange.Naturally,when you read extensively about ghosts and weird occurrences,when you are very familiar with the history of the country,you cannot help being influenced and your mind decides to play its mighty tricks on you.There were two instances when I was really frightened, though. One was in Edinburgh, in the Vaults below the city and the second was in Ireland.We stayed in a hotel which was previously an asylum.This fact alone was enough to trigger quite a few images in my mind.I can't say I am a believer in the supernatural or a sceptic.I think I fall somewhere in between and this is the main reason I enjoyed Montgomery's book.He writes in a direct way, often using the present tense-which I love- and he narrates the stories and the legends associated with each place in an efficient, professional manner but never distant or with the desire to lecture and show offlecture.It feels as if you're talking to a friend.When he presents the facts of a haunting,he connects general questions about the paranormal and the supernatural to it and allows the readers to contemplate and,perhaps,reach their own conclusions.I find this honest and a token of a professional,trustworthy researcher.“The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe.I know that ghosts have wandered the earth. Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad!'' Emily BronteI'm sure you'll come across many well-known places while reading Haunted Britain.Hever Castle, Queen Anne's family home.(Poor Anne, she seems to haunt everything in England....),Glastonbury,where you can truly feel the history and the sanctity of the place touching your shoulder.Tintagel Castle (do I need to say more about it?) The city of Edinburgh with its haunting beauty.The Bodmin Moors with the amazing landscape.The Jamaica Inn that inspired Du Maurier's masterpiece.The Enfield poltergeist case, the bloody history of Borley Rectory,the talking mongoose in the Isle of Man,the spectres in the London Underground,the Whitechapel area and Jack the Ripper.Montgomery doesn't limit his research to ghosts and hauntings only,but dedicates a chapter to other strange phenomena like time-slips and the Tall Man with the top hate.To put it simply, this is the best book I've read on the subject, next to Peter Ackroyd's [b:The English Ghost: Spectres Through Time 2301604 The English Ghost Spectres Through Time Peter Ackroyd https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328008586s/2301604.jpg 2308010] My only minor grip is that he kept confusing the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, thus referring to Cork or Dublin or Wicklow as part of the United Kingdom.I confess I found this troubling and a bit irritating, so minus one star for that....Many thanks to Schiffer Publishing and Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.“Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleedingGhosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind.” Jim MorrisonP.S. I need to stop watching Most Haunted at night.P.P.S. Thank God I don't have a staircase in my house.P.P.P.S.Being alone on the platform in the Tube makes me very uncomfortable and it's good to know I'm not alone in this.