The Ghost That Haunted Itself: The Story of the McKenzie Poltergeist

Amazon recommended this book to me along with This House is Haunted, the recently re-released story of the famous Enfield plotergeist. After reading other reviews here, it sounded like a good idea. However, I quickly regretted spending the extra money after I started reading it. "Just the facts, ma'am" seems to be a boring idea to the author, who works hard to "bring the story to life" with much irrelevant and poorly-written prose. At times it becomes a challenge to ferret out the actual facts of the case. Much hype surrounds the happenings in the cemetery, along with an endless stream of thrill-seekers hoping, it seems, to be the next ones to feel sick, pass out, and end up with cuts and bruises (about as much fun as getting into a drunken bar fight from the sound of it, though many remain undeterred). The Enfield poltergeist case, and the associated book written by one of the primary investigators, is rightly world-famous for its conscientious documentation, objectivity, and many witnesses to the amazing events that took place. This book, on the other hand, reads like an extended school assignment to write a "really exciting" ghost story. By the way, being six years out of date at the time of this review, you can get more up-to-date information for free by searching the internet. Read this if you just want a bit of fun that doesn't tax the grey cells too much, and try not to mind the typos.

Fantastic throughout, Amazing book (0/0 people found this helpful)

This book keeps you gripped from the first chapter, the accounts from other people used in the book add to the suspense and the fact that it actually happend and is still happening makes this book a great read.

A good introduction but could use some historical research (4/4 people found this helpful)

I bought this book after having gone on the City of the Dead tour in Edinburgh with a friend who was very into the ghost lore, and I was interested to find out more. It's a very good introduction to the history of the hauntings in Greyfriars and the Vaults, and is a very easy read. The mixture of first hand testimony and narrative makes it varied and interesting too.

My only criticism would be on the historical accuracy of the text, and I'd advise people reading this to take any dates or details given with a pinch of salt. The mistakes I've found were very basic (the dates of the deaths of Charles I and Oliver Cromwell for starters), which doesn't speak well of the research done by the author and just makes me want to double check anything else stated before I'd rely on it as fact.

Other than that, however, it is a very good introduction, and I'd also recommend the author's other work on Edinburgh's underground city to anyone interested in visiting and doing the tours.

Read this before the ghost tour! (3/5 people found this helpful)

An excellent book, very easy to read. Gives a good historical background on the cemetary, events that have happened there and details on the poltergeist activity recorded. Many anecdotes from people that have visited the cemetary.

It's a good idea to have a read of this book before you consider taking part in the ghost walk that goes hand-in-hand with it, as you will get to know what to possibly expect (especially good if you're a bit of a nervous person).

Facts and History (3/5 people found this helpful)

An excelent book. Full of facts and information a great read. Unable to put it down. I learnt a lot of facts on Scottish history. Highly recommended

The Ghost That Haunted Itself: The Story of the McKenzie Poltergeist

Jan-Andrew Henderson

Reader Reviews:

Disappointing. (1/1 people found this helpful)

Fantastic throughout, Amazing book (0/0 people found this helpful)

A good introduction but could use some historical research (4/4 people found this helpful)

Read this before the ghost tour! (3/5 people found this helpful)

Facts and History (3/5 people found this helpful)

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