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This is All About Ghosts (1977), one of three books in Usborne’s World of the Unknown series. I got them at the Ontario Science Center (RIP?) on a family trip circa 1988 or so (all the copies with this cover that I’ve seen claim 1977 as the publication date but don’t account for what was certainly many printings; the series had a covers refresh in the ’90s and then reverted to the original design a few years ago, with the addition of an inset advertising forewords by new authors). Of all the books about ghosts that I devoured as a kid, it was my favorite by a large margin.
There are probably a few reasons for this. First, I love the house art style for the series (shared with the three-volume 1979 Supernatural World series, which also has a volume on ghosts). It reminds of science books (perhaps, because of some Usborne science books I have), except cooler, because there are a lot of transparent, cloaked skeletons and just a hint of the British flare for the grim and gritty. There is a lot of art, in fact, making the text breezy and easy to read. It managed to be spooky, too, and provided a how-to guide for amateur ghost hunters (boy, my gran sure was annoyed when I dusted her definitely not haunted guest bedroom with flour to detect fake ghosts). Honestly, though, it might just be down to that amazing illustration of Black Shuck (that dog don’t give a fuck).
My favorite thing about this book is the two-page spread on Pluckley, the “village with a dozen ghosts.” I very much wanted to visit, as I figured the local demographics ensured an encounter with a phantom, but only a couple of the dozen hauntings listed seem to have any basis in folklore that pre-dates the publication of this book. The village eventually got a Guinness world record as the most haunted village in Britain, and appeared on several paranormal shows. I like to think all that supposed spookiness started in this book… |
