The Mammoth Book of True Hauntings by Peter Haining

The Mammoth Book of True Hauntings Reviews

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  Nick

  Even though its a Mammoth book it was a fun and quick read. Some of them I have heard before and others were new to me. Author provides newspaper clippings and references so it definitely has a "true" feel to it. A lot of unexplained hauntings in this one.
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  Arkrayder

  A good informative book on hauntings. The author reproduces news clippings, letters and lectures which he as been given or collected through out his years of interest in the paranormal. He facts are given and it’s up to you to decide whether the information has any credence. Also liked the paranormal glossary at the end of the book.
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  Artemis

  I read this whole book in 2 days! It's fun to read but I'm not gonna bother to re-read it unless I read it to my friends while camping by the night fire
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  Ethan Parkin

  I really enjoyed how they tackled everything from believers to non-believers and a lot of the time it’s up to the reader as to what actually happened. The only real complaint I have is that some of the stories are cut a little too short which is really frustrating and it was a book I was happy to take my time with because certain sections can be very repetitive but otherwise a great collection.
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  Kirsty

  I didn't even read the whole thing, just skimmed to passages that interested me.
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  Paula Knight

  Great book.. took some reading thou..
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  Oppossum24

  Got this book at BAM and loved it. Ive read it twice and alot of the stories ive heard before so i feel the book is a great read on popular ghost stories.
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  Steve Parcell

  A bumper feast of different hauntings and unexplainable happenings. I sailed through the book.
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  James Perkins

  This book is mostly a collection of eyewitness accounts, including reports from ghost hunters, famous actors and writers who have had supernatural experiences, and a long list of other stories from more unknown individuals. Many of the tales were interesting, some were entertaining, and a few were just plain dull. A lot of the literature on supernatural subjects is absolute rubbish, and you have to pick and choose to find writing of quality. I bought this book on the basis of the editor's reputation, but I'm not sure it is nearly as good as it could have been. The cover promises much: for starters, its by-line refers to modern-day hauntings, although the book starts in the year 1900; since it was published in 2008, this is hardly modern-day. It would have been better to define the time frame as "twentieth-century", since it stops its reporting in 2000. Then our amiable editor Mr Haining tries to pack in far too much. Unfortunately, each part suffers from neglect as he attempts to be comprehensive but cannot really cover everything in a tome of manageable size. Each section could have warranted a book in itself, especially the "A-Z of Ghosts" at the end, most of which were not mentioned elsewhere in the text (so I'm wondering why it was included). The book feels as if it was tacked together in a hurry and is a fat, disappointing volume, without even an index to make searching much easier. Published the year after his death, it's a pity Mr Haining is not around to create a better, updated edition.
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  Stephen Osborne

  This was a tough one, because a lot of it was extremely interesting...but it seemed for every good piece there was one that was dull or left you going "Really? That was good enough to get into the book?" It could almost be called The Mammothly Padded Book of True Hauntings. Some good stuff to be found here...but you have to get past the snoorers.
• 
  Kathy

  I kind of thought it would be spookier or at least more informative than it turned out to be. It was a (mostly uncommented) collection of facts and newspaper clippings, plus a few more detailed experiences. Not 'scary story' enough to make your skin crawl, not documentary enough to enlighten you. Meh.
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  julianne

  Oh my lord, if you have insomnia (like me) read this and your problem will be solved. Tedious, repetitive and mind numbingly boring. I expected so much more from it but it made every detail dull and tedious. I'm hoping the non true books in this series will be an improvement but let's face it they can't be any worse.
• 
  Deanne

  Really enjoyed this book, lots of stories from around the world. Though the majority are from the UK. I particularly liked the chapters which concerned journalists and writers. Find ghost stories fascinating and it's christmas.
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  Tara

  I've been reading this in an out-of-order, bit-by-bit way. I am not fond of the format but I haven't gotten around to selecting my next "real" read so this is good enough to go to sleep by for now. :)
• 
  Amy

  Interesting -- I especially liked the chronology in the chapter "A Century of Hauntings" and the "A-Z of Ghosts -- Phantoms of the World". I just wish there had been more pictures!
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  West Paranormal

  Interesting real ghost stories from 1900's up mostly set in England including some fictional ghost stories by some famous authors. Near the end of the book they talk about some ghost theories.
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  Hannah

  This was pretty boring. I eventually gave up, read the part on astral sex and ghost rapings, and called it quits.
• 
  Bobby

  I love reading about hauntings, but the lack of uniformity in the entries as well as the many stories which weren't actually about haunting ensured that this took me days to read.
• 
  Stephen

  Incredibly boring collection of articles. I gave up 1/2 way through
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  Kim Canich

  Decent; thumbed through it, having read a lot of these stories as a kid. this would be good for a first-timer.
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  Tamara

  It was good but took me forever to get through. Lots of the stories I didn't enjoy. Seemed to drag on
• 
  Jessica

  boring
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  Twisted sister paranormal Lady Book Voodoo

  love stories like this
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  Chy

  Kind of boring i ended up skimming most of the stories. The description sounded a lot better than it actually was.
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  Stacey

  did not finish such a waste of money