Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey

I may have blogged about this title before as I first read this book last year. At that time I had no idea it would tie into the other books in my journey. Ghostland tells the story of famous American hauntings while exploring the real and true history behind the stories. This book features such famed paranormal places as the Winchester House, Alcatraz Prison, and the cemeteries of New Orleans to name just a few. Besides exploring the true histories of these haunted locations Colin Dickey asks some hard psychological questions. Why do we tell ghost stories? What makes a location haunted? Why is this haunting more famous than that haunting? What does the tale tell us about our values or guilt as a society? In exploring America’s tales of the paranormal, Dickey forces us to look within ourselves to discover truths about human nature, our society, and historical truths we may be too scared to face.

This was a very different read than other books on the paranormal that I have read. I would recommend this book to both believers and skeptics alike as it sheds light on the true origins of our ghost stories whether you believe in them or not.

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I ran into a book recently, The Book of Japanese Folklore: An Encyclopedia of the Spirits, Monsters, and Yōkai of Japanese Myth. I became more and more intrigued as I flipped through the pages, and I knew I needed to explore folklore and folktales and learn some more. What better place than a library!

What is folklore?
Folklore covers a wide span of traditional beliefs and stories of a community, such as myths, legends, practices, superstitions, etc. Folklore is commonly passed from generation to the next by word of mouth.

What is a folktale?
Folktales focus on the stories that have been passed down from the ancestors of a particular group of people on to their younger generations. Folktales vary widely in genre, ranging from fairy tales, historical, adventure, to ghost tales. Like folklore, folktales pass along generations through word of mouth.

Culture plays an important part in both folklore and folktales, but this does not make them interchangeable. Folklore captures a large range, from beliefs to superstitions, and is told in more of an informative, and even instructive way to the listener. Whereas folktales are only the stories passed down to younger generations. Here are a few books on different folklore and folktales that are on our shelf at Mead Public Library.

The Book of Japanese Folklore: An Encyclopedia of the Spirits, Monsters, and Yōkai of Japanese Myth by Thersa Matsuura, Illustrated by Michelle Wang

I have always been intrigued by Asian Folklore, but not to the point where I’ve pushed to learn more. Seeing this book gave me the push I needed. I’ve heard of yōkai (the Japanese word for supernatural beings, like ghosts, demons, etc.), but was far from understanding. This book is a wonderful teacher! The writing is very light and entertaining, and the illustrations are vibrant and colorful, fitting each yōkai perfectly.
Each section starts with an overview of the yōkai, then it gives a nice background and popular stories the yōkai is found in, and then finishes with modern stories.

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