But other times it serves to increase business, power, or add to religious fervor. Sometimes the creation of ghost story is to honor the dead person. I learned that haunting and supernatural legends are created by those left behind more often than they’re an actual ghostly presence. The book’s epigraph includes a quote from Judith Richardson, “The main work of haunting is done by the living.” Ultimately this is what I took away from Ghostland. From horrific abuses by slave holders to the tragedies of lost souls, it’s a city where hauntings kind of make sense. While the city is the setting for fantasy and horror stories, its real-life stories are just as intense-especially as it relates to Hurricane Katrina. But if you’ve ever heard about how the KKK got started, it won’t surprise you.Īnother locale that struck home for me was New Orleans, since we visited there earlier this year. Learning how white supremacists employed ghost stories to keep people of color down feels frightening and makes me angry.

But his stories are at their most chilling when he discusses the Civil War battlefields and the slave markets of Richmond. Of course, he starts in Salem, MA, home of the most famous witches in American history. Whether it’s houses, cemeteries, hotels, or asylums Dickey explains why ghosts or ghost stories exist there. I like the way Dickey organizes Ghostland, moving through typical types of haunted places throughout the U.S. Of course, I was significantly distracted by current events all month. But I also have to say it wasn’t nearly as gripping as I expected. It combines history, travel, architecture, urban legend, and philosophy. From author Colin Dickey, Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places is just the kind of book choice readers make in October.

Ghostland by Colin Dickey