A Natural History of Ghosts

Beautifully written ... lithe, complicated and hugely rewarding

James McConnachie, Sunday Times

Simmering as it is with personal reflections, this handsome volume ... is bursting with a giddy passion, buoyed further by an expert's thirst for abstruse facts. The main pleasure of reading this book is Clarke's own enthusiasm, intelligence and seriousness ... a deeply interesting, revealing read

Book Hugger

Splendid ... compelling ... Clarke manages to give goose-flesh and a giggle while informing the reader - an enviable feat

Scotsman

A highly enjoyable (and disturbing work) ... I am in awe of [Clarke's] intrepidity

Guardian

Outstanding ... Clarke's dissection of the shocks, sadnesses and sexiness of the seance tables from the late Victorian era is brilliantly done ... The book is deeply enjoyable, hugely informative and at times distinctly unsettling

Shade Point

Britain has over 500-years' worth of ghost stories in the cupboard and in The Natural History of Ghosts, Roger Clarke makes them dance ... the most original and readable book exploring our ghost-rich culture to appear for years ... fascinating

Fortean Times

Clarke's examination of the need people have to believe remains insightful and illuminating throughout

Observer

Roger Clarke explores the endlessly fascinating subject of the dead who won't lie down, the places they haunt, as well as the hysteria and panic they inspire. Why and how over 500 years their existence has never been scientifically proved - but at the same time, never disproved. Ghosts are masters of the elusive and ambiguous, but Clarke is a master investigator

Fay Weldon, Daily Mail

An intriguing, shivers-down-the-spine book

The Lady

Lively and absorbing ... [Clarke] has proven himself an ideal guide to this troubled and disorderly realm

Literary Review

Roger Clarke tells . . . gloriously weird stories with real verve, and also a kind of narrative authority that tends to constrain the sceptical voice within. There's simply so many of these accounts, each unique to its own setting but having much in common with the rest, particularly poltergeist activity and ghostly apparitions. What prevents the reader from casually dismissing it all as the delusions of disturbed minds is the frequent presence of some unflappable English person unlikely to be rattled by a mere bump in the night . . . [an] erudite and richly entertaining book

New York Times

A fascinating social history ... exceptionally well written and researched

Starburst Magazine

Why do ghosts wear clothes? This is just one of a number of interesting questions raised by this jaunty book ... In a series of short, snappy chapters, Clarke examines the evidence for just about every ghost who ever drew, or withdrew, breath ... but A Natural History of Ghosts is also haunted by another story, lurking not very far beneath: the story of the author's childhood need to believe in ghosts, and the gradual erosion of that belief

Craig Brown, Daily Mail

A gripping history that traces the scientific and social aspects of ghostly sightings

Telegraph

Compelling ... Research into the paranormal necessarily involves a fair degree of debunking, and Clarke is careful to be sceptical. The narrative of ghost-hunting is simultaneously a history and exposure of fraud and popular delusion ... [yet] Clarke retains a boyish and ... well-informed enthusiasm for his subject

Independent

[A] voyage through the half-lit world of lost souls ... tales told with ghoulish relish

Telegraph