[rating:4/5]
For some strange reason, I’ve had a sudden interest in local ghost stories. Why? I really haven’t a clue. I suppose it could be because the topic is rather entertaining (even though I really don’t believe in ghosts – at least I haven’t met any yet <smile>). I recently read another book which I found in the bargain bin at the bookstore. That book, “The World’s Most Haunted Places: From The Secret Files of […]” was poorly written and did little but put me to sleep. While Ghost Hunter’s Guide to Los Angeles follows the same format (just a few pages on each alleged “haunting”), the author’s prose is far better and the stories remain interesting (albeit, unconvincing).
It is apparent the Jeff Dwyer must have done a far amount of research before writing this book and his tales are a good read. Even so, the book lacks any “hard evidence” that the spooks he reports on exist – most are simply good stories that outline the history of the “haunted” places he writes about. Having lived in the Los Angeles area essentially all of my life, I am familiar with a large number of the places he writes about and was surprised to find that Dwyer reports on many of the lesser known landmarks, in addition to the “standard” ones (i.e., the Queen Mary, Disneyland, and many of the large cemeteries).
While I remain a skeptic (and nothing in this book convinced me otherwise), the book was both interesting and enjoyable. I would certainly recommend it to those who are interested in Los Angeles historical landmarks as many are covered in this book. Of course, it also adds a bit of character to the history of those places.