Like The Modern Antiquarian, Ghostland (2020), by Edward Parnell, is a guidebook. A strange and multifaceted one. Let’s start with the ghost stories, both written and televised. Parnell, in the context of this book, is fairly obsessed with them, their writers and their relationship with the topography of their settings. He makes a broad survey, looking at the work of authors like M.R. James, Arthur Machen, Alan Garner, William Hope Hodgson, Charles Dickens, Walter De La Mare, Algernon Blackwood, E.F. Benson as well as television programs and films like Penda’s Fen, Robin Redbreast, Wickerman, the Quatermas series and the terrifying public service announcement Lonely Water. (Is this psychogeography? That term is usually applied to urban landscapes, I think, but it feels appropriate here, but I am not sure because I’ve never been able to get through an Iain Sinclair book). On this level, the book works as an excellent primer for British folk horror and weird tales. My to-watch list grew by feet reading this. Y’all gotta dig into the original Ghost Stories for Christmas, I’m telling you (I’m mostly unimpressed by the modern Mark Gatiss resurrection, though).

Be warned, however, there are two additional narratives intertwined with Parnell’s fiction-related travels. He’s an avid birder (I’m a much lazier birder, but I found myself envious of the energy Parnell is willing to devote to his hobby), a hobby he pursues with his brother and looms with increasing significance as he navigates a series of tragic deaths in his family. In this way, Ghostland is a cathartic memoir and Parnell’s investigation into ghost stories takes on larger implications. This makes the book dififcult reading in some points, particularly near the end, but it stands as one of the most moving pieces of creative non-fiction I’ve read. I find myself thinking about it often.

I should note Richard Wells’ excellent cover art that references the fiction Parnell pursues and establishes the mood quite nicely. Each chapter gets a little illustration as well.