Edinburgh: City Of The Dead Review

by Jan-Andrew Henderson

Overall 4.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

add to my favorites email to a friend subscribe to feed

utk9trnr
Heber City, UT

add utk9trnr to my friends list

Not only hauntings but history too

a library-goer, chronic book buyer, married, interested in the history of hauntings, avid reader, non-fiction reader, a fan of quick, page turning books, personal bookworm trainer

show all »

Pros

rich in history of edinburgh, easy to follow

Cons

keeps you up late reading :)

DEC

2007

When I picked up City of the Dead is was because I had seen a show on the many haunted places of Edinburgh. Having Scottish ancestors I immediately became enchanted with the history of Scotland and how horrible some of the times were. I was excited when I saw this book as it seemed to be a glimpse into why the City of Edinburgh has such a troubled past that it has become known as the City of The Dead.

I am truly impressed with the way that Henderson presented the haunting tales in his book. He makes it clear in the very beginning that if you just want ghost stories you have the wrong book. For in order to understand the haunted streets and alleys of Edinburgh you must also understand the history of the walled in town.

Henderson takes the reader through a delightful journey beginning in the very early years on through history to help understand the many plagues that lent Edinburgh it's famed notarity as the most haunted city on earth. Local Maps of the streets of Edinburgh are also furnished to helpt he reader better understand just how close together some of these places were.

Not only were fierce battles fought but also poverty and disease, hunger and magic filled the scottish air of Edinburgh. With a delightful scottish brogue Henderson describes in great deatil witch trials, hangings, hauntings and despair that created Edunburgh.

Only the last few chapters actually go into stories of various hauntings, but Henderson also offers a wealth of information on the ghostly tours that are available today.

A short book and found in paper back I found it to be an easy read. In fact to say it was a page turner is not an understattement. I read the whole 182 pages in less then two days. The author kept me interested and I wanted to learn more. I am sure that I will read his other works soon!