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kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
3.0
This collection of ghost folklore from Boston is okay. The constant references to Ghost Hunters and the file under part of each entry were a bit annoying, however.
krista225's review
3.0
An entertaining collection of allegedly haunted locations in Boston. I picked this up the night after our Haunted Boston walking tour - we got rained out, sadly, and didn't get to visit all the sites we were supposed to.
local_hat's review
fast-paced
This book is deeply not good! The tone is overly credulous and condescending. Multiple stories are repeated multiple times. Multiple stories are thoroughly debunked, only to be repeated in a later section! The author is seemingly unaware that "Goody" was a TITLE in use in the 1600s, rather than a NICKNAME! Then there's the "inexplicable" movement of a cannonball ON THE DECK OF A SHIP. Then "mysteriously" doors slam and candles are blown out in a 250+ year old church! A doormat was blown up in to the face of a rude customer in a city famous for its lack of wind!!!
And then we get to the complete fabrications, including a discussion of how the Parkman House was "destroyed" (yes, that's the word used!) by a toilet tank leak in 1999. The Parkman House is owned by the City of Boston and still in use today; former mayor Tom Menino recouperated there in 2013 from an infection and injury. The flooding did not even merit a mention in the article about the house (https://www3.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/01/13/menino-living-parkman-house-trying-make-mansion-like-home/HtE2abmUdUj5YFbQ2vCDXM/story.html)
Then there's the bit about how flowers apparently don't grow on Boston Common because of the bad vibes! Please take three seconds to google some images here, because there are multiple types of flowers that grow on and in the Common.
Far from serious, this book is all too happy to repeat rumours, innuendo, and outright falsehoods and present it all as "evidence" that Boston is "haunted." It is absolutely risible, and the publisher and author should be embarrassed.
And then we get to the complete fabrications, including a discussion of how the Parkman House was "destroyed" (yes, that's the word used!) by a toilet tank leak in 1999. The Parkman House is owned by the City of Boston and still in use today; former mayor Tom Menino recouperated there in 2013 from an infection and injury. The flooding did not even merit a mention in the article about the house (https://www3.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/01/13/menino-living-parkman-house-trying-make-mansion-like-home/HtE2abmUdUj5YFbQ2vCDXM/story.html)
Then there's the bit about how flowers apparently don't grow on Boston Common because of the bad vibes! Please take three seconds to google some images here, because there are multiple types of flowers that grow on and in the Common.
Far from serious, this book is all too happy to repeat rumours, innuendo, and outright falsehoods and present it all as "evidence" that Boston is "haunted." It is absolutely risible, and the publisher and author should be embarrassed.
duchessofreadin's review against another edition
4.0
If you are looking for a book that has the ins and outs of the haunted spots in Boston, then this is your book! I enjoyed reading about the different accounts, and the many different locations that are supposedly haunted. Fun read!
doriastories's review against another edition
3.0
Spoiler alert: a lot of the places and buildings mentioned in this book do not appear to actually be haunted. And this, according to the author himself. Many are of interest historically, but most stories or rumors associated with these spots are systematically debunked in the book, an honest but odd approach. The whole thing is kind of a stretch and much less interesting than I had hoped.