Hidden Haunts: A Creepy Collection of Forgotten Ghostly Places by Conner Gossel, illustrations by Natalie Dean

Reviewed by Jeanne

With an interest in both history and ghosts, Conner Gossel combined his interests to create “The Haunted Historian,” which is both a podcast and an Instagram account. He has collected some of the more interesting stories in Hidden Haunts which, as the subtitle suggests, focuses on lesser known haunted places rather than the one with high name recognition like the Winchester House.

The book is divided up by region and while most of the listings are from the United States, there are a few entries from other countries like Canada or Mexico. Each entry has a brief, well-written description with important information such as whether or not the site is available for public tours.  Many seem to have been turned into apartment buildings or B&Bs, and a good number have embraced the ghost stories as a selling point.  “Frightmore Manor” in Talbot, Tennessee has gone so far as to become a seasonal attraction, with added frights provided by entities more natural than super.

Of course, the first thing I did was to check the table of contents to see if I recognized any of the places and I did not.  I didn’t recognize any of the place names but after a couple of quick searches I discovered some where closer than I thought—the aforementioned Talbot, Tennessee is between Morristown and Jefferson City, while Harriman, Tennessee is a bit past Knoxville.

Even if the places aren’t in our own backyard, I enjoyed reading the descriptions. I like Gossel’s neutral tone, neither trying to sell the reader on hauntings nor debunking them.  He does have a few humorous asides, noting the commercial prospects of a haunted location, but for the most part his tone is compassionate regarding some of the tragic tales told about a property. He avoids sensationalism but still manages to be entertaining. Entries are short, one or two pages at most.  Gossel often mentions historic preservation in connection with these sites, including some restoration and renovation made possible by paranormal investigators.

I also was very impressed by the illustrations by Dean. They suit the book perfectly and to me have a bit of an Edward Gorey feel while also appearing to be mostly architecturally accurate.  (Not knowing the buildings personally, I have to rely on an image search.) I'm happy to report the illustrations are plentiful.  

The only disappointments were the lack of an index, especially as Gossel will occasionally toss in a bonus bit, like the Bell Witch.  The other complaint I have is that while the use of a gray textured background on the paper provided a good feel atmospherically, visually it made it a bit more of a chore to read for older eyes.  Bigger print would have helped a lot.

Those quibbles aside, this is an interesting, entertaining, and informative book enhanced by the atmospheric illustrations.  And if I ever find myself in Brandenburg, KY I definitely want to check out the prisoner pepperoni rolls at Jailhouse Pizza.