Ghosts unveiled!
(Book)

This entry in the Creepy But True series is inviting but uneven, as some of the ghostly stories are as brief and insubstantial as the specters themselves. Hollihan describes historical and present-day eyewitness accounts of human and animal ghost sightings from around the world, along with a mix of legendary ghost stories. One of the more arresting tales involves ghosts of the airline pilots killed in the 1972 Eastern Airlines Flight 401 plane crash. Other stories tell of President Lincoln's ghost, battlefield ghosts, ghostly bandits, pirates, haunted railroad cars, phantom train engines, haunted schools around the world, and tales from Indigenous peoples of the American Southwest. Hollihan makes the text relatable to young readers with mentions of the Ghostbusters movies and use of emojis and ghostly puns. The pronunciation guide for certain words is helpful, snippets of information are found throughout, and there are color photos, a glossary, and solid backmatter. A nice variety of ghosts are included, but some young readers may be disappointed that the stories are generally more unsettling than scary.

The author of Mummies Exposed! (2019) digs up an array of spectral encounters, from the Flying Dutchman to personal brushes with the paranormal. Though not quite able to abandon her own skepticism ("For the people who see them, ghosts are true. Very true"), Hollihan takes a respectful approach in this anecdotal ramble. Uncritically stirring in spirit photos, trailing a thick section of source notes, and brushing in broad historical contexts for each incident, her thematic chapters get underway with a list of no fewer than 193 Anglo-Saxon synonyms for ghosts or fairies. She then goes on to record apparitions, including the 15 "well-authenticated ghosts [that] infest" the U.S. Capitol; "vanishing hitchhiker[s]" met in Indiana and Somalia; "creepy and delicious" reports of spectral trains and ships; post-mortem appearances by Australia's Ned Kelly and Alabama's "Railroad Bill," both seen as Robin Hood figures (the former White, the latter biracial Black/White); and angry or hungry ghosts in India, Korea, and Japan. She carefully acknowledges that different cultures regard their dead in different ways and links both modern Día de Muertos celebrations and La Llorona to Aztec beliefs and practices. The accounts are lively, and by closing with her own glimpse of two ghostly children, she makes common cause with readers eager to believe: "It's all left me shaking my head in wonder." Mild chills for fans of all things "creepy and delicious." (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

This entry in the Creepy But True series is inviting but uneven, as some of the ghostly stories are as brief and insubstantial as the specters themselves. Hollihan describes historical and present-day eyewitness accounts of human and animal ghost sightings from around the world, along with a mix of legendary ghost stories. One of the more arresting tales involves ghosts of the airline pilots killed in the 1972 Eastern Airlines Flight 401 plane crash. Other stories tell of President Lincoln's ghost, battlefield ghosts, ghostly bandits, pirates, haunted railroad cars, phantom train engines, haunted schools around the world, and tales from Indigenous peoples of the American Southwest. Hollihan makes the text relatable to young readers with mentions of the Ghostbusters movies and use of emojis and ghostly puns. The pronunciation guide for certain words is helpful, snippets of information are found throughout, and there are color photos, a glossary, and solid backmatter. A nice variety of ghosts are included, but some young readers may be disappointed that the stories are generally more unsettling than scary. Grades 6-8. Copyright 2020 Booklist Reviews.