Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places

Dickey explores places in America that are considered haunted, from abandoned asylums to spooky hotels. Along the way, he examines the role of ghost stories in culture and country.

This book was right in my wheelhouse! I am fascinated by ghosts, and haunted places, and the stories that surround them. Dickey has clearly done his research, and it has made for a great read.

I also really appreciated Dickey's analysis of what ghost stories have meant to places and people, and how they have served as an attempt to explain or justify historical events.

I just wanted more! I would happily have kept reading more and more stories in this book. I would love it if Dickey wrote more books on this subject.

I highly recommend this book! It's well-written and really fascinating. ( )

A great read for Halloween! Colin Dickey writes a great account of haunted places and stories, connecting them to their cultural, social and political origins. It can be a bit of a buzz-kill for those of us who want to believe in the folklore and ghost stories (Dickey often debunks some of the juiciest ghost stories, like the Winchester house), but what makes this a wonderful read is the way these legends are justified and informed by history. ( )

Colin Dickey always comes up with fascinating topics for his books, and this is no exception. As he writes at the outset, Dickey is concerned with the following question: "how do we deal with stories about the dead and their ghosts, and how do we inhabit and move through spaces that have been deemed haunted?" Drawing on several years' worth of observations from around the country, from famous haunted places to locations you've probably never heard of, Dickey deftly searches for the nuggets of truth at the heart of the ghost stories we tell ... and also for why we tell those stories. Very much a worthwhile read. ( )

Welcome to a road trip to some very historic and hauntingly memorable places to visit! Don’t turn out the lights!

Not really about ghosts, but about the social and historical climates that might cause such tales to arise. ( )