Haunted Castles of England promises to take readers on a jaunt across the nation, exploring a blend of famous and obscure residences in search of the supernatural. And while the title certainly follows through on its claim, I finished the work wanting more.

If you are new to reading about British castles or history, then this book is a great introduction to the manors and mansions represented. But I have read extensively about many of the places listed in this book, and I felt that each location was not described in as much detail as could have helped contextualize the haunted tales that went with them. I did appreciate that a few obscure castles or stately residences that were not quite castles were still included in the collection. Also more images to go along with each story would have also been interesting. I don’t know if it appears differently in print versus the ebook version I read, but the images that were included were small and hard to see much detail in. Having more images would make the stories come to life more.

The myths themselves and how they were presented became a bit rote after a while. Understandably, there are a lot of castles and stories to cover in a limited amount of time and space. And how many times can you describe a ghost or a noise in the night differently? I think including more historical context or details about eyewitness experiences would have added more color to the stories. I know that with hauntings, much is unknown. But many of the stories seemed incomplete or didn’t have enough details to warrant their inclusion.

As I read along, I noticed that many of the castles seemed to share very similar haunted tales or trends in storytelling: the sounds of children playing or the sight of a women in red staring out a window or at the top of a tower. It would have been interesting if the author surmised how so many castles had common threads and why. Why are the ladies usually wearing red and not another color? Why do the same few room types always seem to have activity in them? How do the same people, like Anne Boleyn, appear repeatedly at completely different locations? Perhaps there is no common thread, but I am now curious whether some extra research would show interesting patterns in British history, society, culture, folklore, and thought.

The author’s personal interjection of experiences in the castles he did visit, such as Hever Castle, fell a little flat to me. The atmospheres and impressions did not have much weight to them. Comments missing detail, such as saying he felt something but could not describe it, didn't translate well in writing that relies on description to get a point across to a reader. More details about where he was and the actual things that happened in the moment would have been more interesting.

A note about the writing itself: I am a big believer in individual style and approach, and writing a book is no small task. But the overuse of adjectives and adverbs throughout the book became distracting to me as I read. This may be because the same experiences are expounded upon for each of the castles, and I understand that it can be difficult to find unique ways to describe them. But the same adjectives are often used repeatedly to describe things within the same chapter or section. I think the text could benefit from editing to tighten up or diversify the language used to make the descriptions clearer.

The go-to guide for everything eerie and odd about England's oldest castles, Haunted Castles of England is an exciting and interesting notebook of what tourists and locals should read if they want to catch up on almost-forgotten myths, rumours, and, of course, hauntings.

I really enjoyed this book. There is a decent amount of up front history included so the reader knows what happened at each location historically. The sightings are intriguing and it's so interesting to see that sometimes ordinary tourists get quite an unexpected experience whereas the pro investigators will usually see or hear nothing! Makes me want to buy that ticket! Recommended.

This started out with a dramatic scenario description, written in second person, sort of guiding the reader through a ghost encounter situation. After that, to my surprise, it actually explained ghost stories as only having life as stories and nothing real behind them. After that it gets into individual castles that are known for ghost stories and I was amused to find seven of them that I have been to.

Most of the book is a series of blurbs about each of the castles, giving a little history and relating what stories have been told about ghost sightings in them and any speculation about who these ghosts might be. The approach is refreshingly objective, though the author does admit to seeing three ghosts first hand at the end.

I expect to refer back to this book as a reference whenever I travel, to see what stories have been told about castles in the areas I visit. Though the individual entries are short, they are sufficiently descriptive to be a good travel guide for the castles themselves, with or without the ghosts.

I liked this book, but not for the reason the author intended. I was hoping for more atmosphere, more eerieness, more actual storytelling; instead, there was very little spookiness and a whole lot of quoting other books/tv shows/news articles and cheesy word-of-mouth tales. So, forget all the "haunted" business - what really makes this book interesting is the tidbits of history. Being castles, many of them VERY old, naturally these places were witness (or party) to many of the legendary people and events throughout English history, from William the Conqueror and the Norman invasion, through the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil War, to the two World Wars of the 20th century. The snippets of historical fact included in the brief descriptions of the castles were fascinating, and make me excited to read some of the other historical books I've recently picked up.

Also: NEEDS MORE PICTURES!

An interesting collection of Castles in which sights of ghosts are said to have been seen. Accompanied by their stories, as well as the ghost stories that are said to have taken place, this is a lovely list that can also be used as a mini written tour guide for anyone interested in the castles of England !

I received a copy of this for a fair and honest review. I was excited to get this because I have always loved anything to do with hauntings and ghosts. I had not read mine about England and I got to read these tales and learn more about this country and the haunted locations. I am not sure how I would react to some of the sightings.

This is an awesome book. You get not only ghost stories but you get photo's and history of the castle and the people that were in it as well. I am more then a fan of ghosts, I am also a armchair traveler and a history buff. This book was so interesting I could hardly put it down.

The book takes you on a trip through 99 Haunted Castles in England. They are broken up between regions. It also gives a website for each castle so you can go online and learn more about the castles. There are also some first hand accounts of witness and even the writer. I like how the witness accounts are dated by the year the account was encountered.

This book is very well written and very interesting to me.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

I highly recommend this book for the paranormal lover. The writing is excellent. The story keeps you interested.

Truth is that I love a ghost story. My mama kept me away from anything scary until I was in 7th grade. O.K., Seriously? Seventh damn grade. Up until then I was only allowed Disney. Disney? Crikey!! No wonder why I'm 54 and still tripping through the freaking tulips!' Ugh, and argh! Why the hell does that matter you ask? It doesn't, to you. To me, it's everything. I'm a scaredy cat. I'm also a believer. I've seen some weird, funked up things. What, you ask? Yeah, I ain't going there. Life is wild, and the incredible happens. This book though....was so incredibly repetitious. So , you want to be a ghost? Fine....boring.....But, after awhile you'd think they'd all get fed up with the morons who are just so fucking amazed by It all. Again, "heavy sigh." Yes, I'm not dead yet, but if I was to be a ghost.........You'd be absolutely terrified. Really, I'm not just blowing smoke out of my arse. I would make you shart your shorts. These haunted castle ghosts are way too lame. Did they send word out to the next castle up the line on how to behave? Maybe that damn first ghost was a poet? Do I recommend this book? What do you think?

Interesting book. The stories were entertaining as well as informative. I felt it was well researched and well written, perhaps a bit dry at times though. If you are looking for an interesting read within this genre then give Haunted Castles a try.

Who doesn't love a good ghost story? Here you have multiple ones to read about set in England. I was fascinated and I loved them all, but my favorite one was the Tower of London. So many tales and so much history. I want to go to everyone of these castles. There are some amusing and scary incidents that people have seen or heard. Web links and Castle web sites are included so you can look everything up. This book is well written and informative and I really, really want to visit them all. I received this book from Net Galley and Llewellyn publishing for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

This was a book full of facts, but i tought the author wrote very briefly about the stories in each castle. It felt as if he was just stating facts when i would have appreciated a bit more of the stories behind each fact. I appreciated the book but did not love it.

This book was well written and very fun to read. The characters were great and I enjoyed the world building. The author does a great job at introducing the characters and moving the plot along. There were a few things that I didn't like, but it wasn't enough to really sway me one way or the other. It's definitely a story that I can get lost in and both feel for the characters. It is definitely a go-to novel that I highly recommend to anyone who loves a great read. Definitely a highly recommended read that I think everyone will enjoy.

2.5 stars

Interesting histories of the castles and possible ghosts, though some seem to be hear say or direct quotes from others work. The author also includes uninteresting personal anecdotes.

Fun vignettes about hauntings at English castles. Some of them have a little bit of historical backstory, so I learned a few things. They aren't too scary, but add color to my understanding of English history. These would also be great fun for a vacation in England. Now I want ghost stories to read on the plane on my way to every destination....

With all the furor over an American marrying a real life English prince, Americans will be in the mood for this book about the many haunted castles scattered over the British Isles. Divided into section by location, readers are given historical information about each castle, its builders, and its more infamous residents. Then follow the reports of haunting, ghoulies and ghosties and thinks that go bump in the night. With the history these old buildings have seen, it’s no wonder they are haunted. Fun for travelers, both real and virtual