The World's Most Haunted Places: From The Secret Files Of Ghostvillage.com

by Jeff Belanger

Ghostly legends abound wherever history has made its mark-from battlefields to monuments, prisons to inns. If these places have existed for centuries or more, and if they are where history-especially tragic history-was made, ghost stories will inevitably follow. The World's Most Haunted From the Secret Files of Ghostvillage.com explores the history, folklore, and ghostly legends behind some of the world's most fascinating points of interest. Objective, educational, and entertaining, Ghostvillage.com's founder, Jeff Belanger, speaks with witnesses, psychics, and ghost hunters who tell their stories and share their research on haunted places around the globe. Take a world tour of history, the supernatural, and the macabre. You will explore libraries, museums, restaurants, inns, and landmarks from North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. But be The World's Most Haunted Places may make you a believer!

Genres: Paranormal, Nonfiction, Ghosts, Horror, Ghost Stories, History, Supernatural

255 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2004

About the author

Jeff Belanger is one of the most visible and prolific researchers of folklore and legends today. A natural storyteller, he’s the award-winning, Emmy-nominated host, writer, and producer of the New England Legends series on PBS and Amazon Prime, and is the author of over a dozen books (published in six languages). He also hosts the New England Legends weekly podcast, which has garnered over 5 million downloads since it was launched.

Always one for chasing adventures, Jeff has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa, he’s explored the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, he’s searched the catacombs of Paris, France (where he encountered his first ghost), he faced his life-long struggle with basophobia on his birthday by going skydiving, and he’s been ghost hunting all over the world from a former TB asylum in Kentucky, to medieval castles in Europe, to an abandoned prison in Australia.

Jeff got his start as a journalist in 1997, where he learned how to connect with people from all walks of life. For his work, he’s interviewed thousands of people about their encounters with the profound.

His books include the best sellers: The Call of Kilimanjaro, The World’s Most Haunted Places, Weird Massachusetts, Our Haunted Lives, and Who’s Haunting the White House?. He’s a noted speaker and media personality. He’s spoken at MENSA’s national conference, has given a prestigious TEDx talk in New York City, and provides dozens of live lectures and programs to audiences each year.

Belanger has written for newspapers like The Boston Globe and USA Today, and has served as the writer and researcher on numerous television series including every single episode of Ghost Adventures (25 seasons and counting), Paranormal Challenge, and Aftershocks on the Travel Channel, and Amish Haunting on Destination America. He’s been a guest on hundreds of radio and television networks and programs including: The History Channel, The Travel Channel, Biography Channel, Reelz, PBS, NECN, Living TV (UK), Sunrise 7 (Australia), Bell (Canada), The Maury Show, The CBS News Early Show, CBS Sunday Morning, FOX, NBC, ABC, and CBS affiliates, National Public Radio, The BBC, Darkness Radio, Australian Radio Network, and Coast to Coast AM.

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm fairly knowledgeable in this subject, and I can say with confidence that this is definitely one of the better books I've read on the topic. Thankfully, it avoids the usual hype and sensationalism that are attached to much of the paranormal literature and TV investigations and simply presents short, simple stories, none more than a dozen pages long, covering a basic history of the site and reports of supernatural events that have taken place there, usually with interviews of eyewitnesses, and an interpretation of these. It's concise and easy to read, and along with its appendix on how to find ghosts yourself, this book could serve as a guide for a neophyte ghost hunter. It doesn't try to scare you - it just presents the facts, and although it leans towards a more supernatural interpretation, it basically asks you to be the judge.

There are, however, a few downsides. Firstly, there is no apparent logic in the choice or order of the purportedly haunted locales: some are very famous, and others not so much; they are an apparently random selection of well-reported hauntings. Secondly, there's the amateurish appearance of the whole production, starting with the dark monochrome pictures complete with "creepy" spotlights on the cover. Thirdly, although Belanger purports to be a scientific researcher, he's a journalist by trade, and doesn't seem to have any actual credentials. His book never reports on any proper investigations by any real scientists; Scooby-Doo has about as much credibility. Proper scientific studies would make the book stand out from the crowded paranormal shelves. Until I see some, I will take this and all similar literature with a grain of salt.

[Sis_P5E_Angelronda]

Ghostly legends abound wherever history has made its mark-from battlefields to monuments, prisons to inns. If these places have existed for centuries or more, and if they are where history-especially tragic history-was made, ghost stories will inevitably follow.

The World's Most Haunted Places: From the Secret Files of Ghostvillage.com explores the history, folklore, and ghostly legends behind some of the world's most fascinating points of interest. Objective, educational, and entertaining, Ghostvillage.com's founder, Jeff Belanger, speaks with witnesses, psychics, and ghost hunters who tell their stories and share their research on haunted places around the globe.

Take a world tour of history, the supernatural, and the macabre. You will explore libraries, museums, restaurants, inns, and landmarks from North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. But be careful: The World's Most Haunted Places may make you a believer!

[Sophie Narey (Bookreview- aholic) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Author: Jeff Belanger
Published: 28/08/2004
Edition: Kindle

I found this little story on the Kindle Store for free and so I thought I would give it a try. I thought that this was an okay book to read, what drew my attention to it was the fact it was about Haunted Places which is definately my kind of thing, when I was reading it I didn't feel hooked on it or shocked by anything the tales said but on the other hand I didn't hate the book either. It was well written by the author and I am glad I did give it a chance

[Kayla Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as creepy/scary as I wanted it to be, but I enjoyed a few of the stories. The catacombs and the vaults were really creepy, and I liked reading about The Tower of London too. Just okay otherwise.

[Lake County Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading anything haunted. This book was very detailed and interesting.

-- Anonymous staff member

[Janice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every now and again, I feel the need to read something totally aimless. This book was it. It wasn't the greatest writing. It was peppered with inappropriate use of commas and the overuse of the word "actually". But it served its purpose and it's time to move on to bigger and better reads.

[Lynnaurya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was slightly disappointed in some of the locations and just browsed through them but for the most part it was am interesting read and I've put some of them on my bucket list to visit, especially if there's a special room to stay in where most people don't dare to sleep.

[Kristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm so I would give this 2.25 stars probably. 2 means it was okay and that’s how I feel but not in a bad way. It was older than I thought (2004) and you could tell it was a bit dated in the writing style and opinions/comments of the author but I can’t really explain how. Some of the haunted places were really cool to learn about (the Queen Mary, Mercy Vampire, Thorne Castle) and others were just ok. I liked that there was some backstory to each, and talks of the kinds of ghosts and haunts that people have experienced and that each place wasn’t more than a few pages so you could pick this up and read a few chapters here and there.

[Tricia Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy reading stories from around the world but I like it much better when it is first hand accounts of people experiencing what Legends are telling us. the world is full of unknown and this book is also full of unknown whether you believe folklore or ghostly Legends this book is very interesting from the back of the book it says, " ghostly Legends abound wherever history has made its Mark battlefields prisons asylums national monuments all of them has stories to tell. Their ghost still lurk demanding that we remember the past they're real they're out there."

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this one you'll hear about haunted places all over the world (primarily USA and UK). Bellygate Castle Hotel in Northern Ireland, RMS Queen Mary, Castle Inn in New Orleans, Rose Hall, Hibbing High School, The Deane House, Imperial Casino Hotel, The Catacombs Museum in Paris, the White House, Mercy Brown (the Rhode Island Vampire), South Bridge Underground Vaults in Edinburgh, The Tower of London and many more. It was easy to read with much background to some famous and many completely unknown eerie places (photo at the start of the chapter). Interesting and inspiring selection. Recommended!

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book brand new at a thrift shop and bought it immediately because I love books about ghosts and hauntings. I like the format of this book: a picture of the haunted location, a cover page with a contact number and website if available and then a few pages about the history of the place, the haunting and some eyewitness accounts. I also like that this has places that I haven't heard of before.
Unfortunately, the book feels really repetitive by the half way point. It might be better for fans of ghostvillage.com where the stories came from or to just flip through once in a while.

[Dennis Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author's writing style is pleasing, his research is meticulous and he has done the leg work necessary to bring his stories to life and make them believable. It has been a long time since I enjoyed a book of ghost stories as much as I have enjoyed this one. I wish that everybody who plans on writing a book of this type would read this book so that they could see how it should be done. This is as close to the perfect ghost story book as I think I am ever likely to read.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable tour of the world's most famous haunts. Jeff Belanger sprinkles his research with his own personal experiences with the paranormal and invites his readers to try investigating on their own. I especially enjoyed his chapters about the Tower of London and Edinburgh's underground vaults, places that I've experienced on my own and loved revisiting through Jeff's eyes.

[Ellaisa Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good to read at first however I got bored of it easily. There is no entry from the Asian continents and mostly the places in the book is about the English speaking countries. It's good to know about this places however I would also like to know other places besides those that are in this book. So I DNF this book.

[Julio · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is actually good I thought I wasn't gonna like it but the more I read the book I more I liked it. I was always into the paranormal stuff but this book widen my eyes. When I grow up I might have to visit and explore the places that were in the book. I recommend this book.

[Leslie Matey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice short read into each of the featured places in the book. It gives you just enough information that if you want to continue reading about a place you can look it up for a deeper dive. I enjoyed the stories and look forward to reading more about some of the places.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of locations, but sometimes short on details. Nice chapter on conducting your own investigations.

[Rhys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories from all over the world. I was surprised in how many towns, areas I have been in with these locations so nearby. Each location has a few pages and stories so the book is easy to get through.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not wonderful but an interesting collection of real places around the world and the spirits who haunt them.

[Brooke Hodges · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, but I wish their was more detail it was very brief descriptions of each haunted place.

[Wendy Eskew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great spooky travel guide

Very interesting book. Mr. Belanger has been featured on so many paranormal shows and this book is a great introduction to his work.

[Shelby Hawk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish there was more detail on the hauntings and I had heard about all the places and the descriptions were pretty basic and repeating what other books have done. It just wasn’t unique

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interessante, ben strutturato e ben documentato. Non il solito "si dice che" "quel tizio ha detto", no, qui ci sono indirizzi, foto dei luoghi e nomi degli eventuali testimoni. D'altronde ha lavorato anche per Ghost adventures, se seguite la trasmissione troverete alcune location familiari.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Around the world we're surrounded by phenomena we cannot begin to understand. Apparitions, disembodied voices, shoves and shoulder taps. These all leave questions: Who is there? What do they want? Is there indeed a spiritual realm? Are they going to hurt us or are they harmless? Jeff Belanger compiles these stories with the history of the location to try to grasp for answers. These are accounts from across the globe- things seen, heard, and felt.

I read this book a little before Halloween to get in the spirit. I will admit I thought it was going to be a little scarier. Even my mom read it and thought the same thing. However, once I started reading the heavy historical aspect behind each location, I became fascinated! I even googled a few of these locations to read more information behind them. Some accounts left a little to be desired, hence the three star rating.

[chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, not a bad book on historical places around the world with interesting "inhabitants".
Actually, if you're looking for locations to visit with ghosts, this might be a great book to pick up and read. Although, you could probably get 1000 x more locations by just doing a search on the internet.
It is a decent book, with a colleciton of locations, location information, and collection of stories recounted by some of the people who have experienced first hand, the unworldly and slippery ghost or two.
Things I would have preferred: more stories for each location, better and more photos, maps with a thumbnail pin-pointing where in the world the location is, some color photos would have been better (realizing of course, that it would cost more money to print and buy).
Though the book and stories presented didn't knock my socks off. I was not riveted to the page.
I bought the book for research, so in that regard, it was worth the money. It is the first book I have read on ghosts, so my rating on it may change as I continue my research.

[Alicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are looking for a scary story to read this is not it. Basically this book was just a history lesson on each of the locations mentioned. For the most part I was bored reading this book and I just pushed through it as fast as I could so I could get started on something else. Out of the like 30 chapters there was roughly only two, maybe three, that I even found partly interesting. One of the most interesting for me being Ressurection Mary because I grew up hearing the song "Bringing Mary Home" which was based on that story (at least I'm assuming that was the song that was being referred to in that chapter, the author never gave the title of the song). The one thing, well two things, that I did like about the book was how a phone number and web address was provided for each location as well as a picture. Of course colored pictures would have been ten times better and additional pictures, especially if there was pictures available that showed any evidence.

[Jaksen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really kind of a dull book about haunted places. Merely gives a brief overview of several locations without any detail. Like someone else said before me, you could get the same info. from wikipedia. Also written in a lackluster style, like encyclopedia entries. I read a few and was so bored I dnf.

For a book like this to be successful you need more of first-person accounts, written in their own words, with their own sensations, emotions, thoughts, etc. for it to work. Either interview style or 'put yourself in their place' style. It can still convey a sense of excitement, with those elements which can be firmly explained in the 'real world' also presented.

The best 'haunted' books are written by expert investigators who take into account as many variables as possible. They eliminate the false accounts; they fully explore those which can't be explained. This book did NONE of that and I was very disappointed.

[Kasandra Pond]

While the writing style was a little underwhelming, the places in the book itself were interesting to learn about. Many people are skeptical about things such as haunting's, or ghosts; however if one looks at it from another angle it can be seen as history. Some of the site's visited in Belanger's book have been around for centuries, so not only does the reader hear of the ghost stories, but of the history behind the location of the haunting's. Belanger does an excellent job of researching more than just spooky stories, he looks into the reasoning for the local legends, as well as other historic moments documented around the haunting areas. Definitely a good book for readers interested in the paranormal, and places to visit involving paranormal activities, as well as an interesting read for someone with an interest in history.

[Zenaida Castro]

My review about this book is that its awesome!! The most detail and interesting book. Talks about many haunted places around the world. The most chills and the creepiness you will get by reading this book. It gives you so many details on how everything happen for it to be haunting. Also the investigators who wrote about this book were the ones who investigated these haunted places. The one that got to me and gave these intense feelings was Rose Hall Great House in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Talks about a witch who have lived in the great house, has killed more than 3 husbands, torture slaves, and ever since she died she promised herself she will come back and haunt that place, therefor shall no one will live in her Great House. Other than this book its amazing and interesting once you start reading it.