Undiscovered Scotland

 

Haunted Dundee is a fascinating and beautifully presented account of stories of hauntings and ghosts in Dundee. The author, Geoff Holder, has written a series of books about mysterious or paranormal happenings in Scotland, and one of the particularly pleasing aspects of this book is the amount of background knowledge and fresh research he has obviously brought to his subject.

Another is the very objective approach the author takes to the stories he tells between these covers. This is not an "I believe and therefore you should too" book. Geoff Holder has been at pains to track down the best, i.e. most immediate, possible accounts of ghosts and mysterious happenings from across the city. In each case he sets out a balanced and dispassionate view which often includes suggestions of alternative explanations for the events recounted: and the result is that the reader is allowed to make up his or her own mind.

Geoff Holder begins his introduction by noting that Dundee is scarcely mentioned in the best known works collecting together ghost stories from across Scotland or Britain, and concludes that "As far as ghost hunters are concerned, it appears that Dundee is not even on the map." Well it certainly will be now. Geoff Holder's takes a thematic approach, and there are chapters about "malevolent entities", "spooky ships" and "historic hauntings", amongst others. A chapter covering a number of different "white lady" apparitions is a good example of the approach adopted throughout. Reports from contemporary writers and newspapers are combined, where appropriate, with modern interviews, physical exploration on the ground by the author, and research by him into possible causes for the reported hauntings. The result is an intriguing book that will appeal to believers and non-believers alike; and a book that adds a new level of interest to the exploration of a city that already has much to offer.