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Average rating3.5
This was the first book on London's ghosts, when Peter Underwood was President of the Ghost Club. He is uniquely qualified to write Haunted London, presenting a parade and gazetteer of the psychic phenomena of Britain's capital city - a city with nearly ten million living inhabitants and the ghosts of many dead ones. As well as all the famous hauntings - the Cock Lane ghost, the Grey Man at Drury Lane, the Tower ghosts, the haunted house at Berkeley Square etc. - the book contains many new and hitherto unpublished findings. Not all ghosts date back to earlier centuries: there are ghost motorcyclists, for instance, and new buildings on the sites of older ones are as likely to have ghosts as those which still stand. For easy reference, Haunted London has divided up London geographically. Ghostly associations are uncovered in churches, theatres, hotels, inns and scenes of murders. Poltergeist infestation is another phenomenon included in this work which is sure to fascinate anyone wanting to get to know London better - whether they be visitors, psychic researchers, students of history, of legend or folklore, or simply lovers of one of the world's finest cities.
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I didn't technically read all of this because it's just a collection of ghost tales around London, much like any ghost show you could watch but in written form. It's also very dated, so a lot of these places aren't at all like how they're described here any more. I read it hopeing to add things to my to-do list when visiting London this year but didn't realise it was written so long ago, so it was unhelpful in that aspect. Also, the writer seems to be even more of a sceptic than I am, so some of the people they interview or the stories they told are re-told here with a very sarcastic air or, as in one notable case, completely debunked by the author in the last few pages. This is definitely not a book to read for those looking for a good scary story, but is almost academic. It would definitely have had more impact in the early 1970s when originally published.