What causes a haunting? “Many people believe that when people die, especially in a violent way, their spirits sometimes stay at the location of their death.” Most of the haunted locations introduced here are in the United States, with a few in other parts of the world—a closing map indicates the location of each. Brief descriptions of place, manner of ghostly activity, and cause of the figure’s death (when known) intertwine with comments on popular and expert beliefs about ghosts and hauntings. Causes of death include murder, fire, shipwrecks, and other tragedies, as well as ugly means of torture in Prisons and Asylums. Paranormal investigation crops up frequently and receives uneven definition among the books. Selected photographs often depict dark and spooky scenes, some superimposed with spectral shadows or with sleeping children.
VERDICT While the volumes tend to vary in coverage and accessibility, there is a decent range of subjects presented here. Consider where needed.
—School Library Journal, November 2016
