A review by rebelspinster
Ghostland: In Search of a Haunted Country by Edward Parnell

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

4.5

So much about this book was unexpected— I anticipated spookiness, and I got some, but I also got a heaping portion of existential sadness. This book took me months to finish because I started it when I was in the throes of a bad OCD episode and the subject matter kept hitting a bit too close to my deepest anxieties, namely death from serious illness. “Ghostland” is a book about other horror books, stories, and films, but it’s also the story of a man who is loses one family member after another to cancer until he is left completely alone. I can’t conceive of anything more horrific. I did finish this book eager to read the recommended works of Susan Cooper, Thomas Hardy, Algernon Blackwood, and, of course, M.R. James, but I must warn potential readers that this book goes far beyond an extended list of British horror recommendations. Prepare to feel the true, everyday horror that is loneliness, not just the fun, spooky horror of Parnell’s media recommendations.