Member Reviews
This book is a super enjoyable run down of cursed objects from around the world and their lore (and even some items that *should* be cursed but aren't! The tone of the writing is lovingly tongue in cheek but the installments are well organised and explained really well!
Will be looking out for more from this author :)
This audiobook was quite a quick journey, I think I got it finished in about a day and a half. The narrator was pretty good. Since the stories are a bit short and full of facts it could have ended up dry and boring but the narrator managed to bring a lot of life and wit to the story. I really like that in a narrator.
The stories of the items were interesting. Some of them I had read about in other volumes and frankly I found those ones run of the mill. There weren’t any details that I hadn’t heard before nor any fresh take on the item’s legend. The rest of them were quite fascinating though. I had never heard of a lot of these items and that was refreshing.
A wonderful non-fiction read (or for me listen). Beautiful writing that was easy to follow along.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in spooky history.
I wanted to like this book based on its premise alone, but it took some time getting through it. The stories behind these cursed objects are fascinating, however, I think the condensed versions made the stories lose some of their thrills and chills.
One of the best parts was learning about museums that specialized in housing these cursed objects and other haunted items. I knew of the Warren’s museum, but the other places were new to me. I also appreciated learning about cursed gravemarkers. Everyone knows about the cursed and haunted dolls like Annabelle and Robert, but I was surprised at a lot of the other cursed objects.
Overall, this is a fun overview for anyone who enjoys learning about oddities or spooky things in general.
True stories behind the most infamous, creepy, and bizzare real life cursed objects. It talked about the Hope Diamond, Annabelle, and King Tut's Tomb. It was interesting and I enjoyed listening to all of them even the objects I already knew about.
4 stars
Interesting listen on a niche topic. A series of stories about cursed objects keeps your attention. Overall, probably not a very broad reaching book and fairly simple in content.
I do plan on picking up the book because I believe it will be better on paper great concept but need to have physical copy.
Audiobooks are just not for me; it makes me sleep, I have to focus hard just to make sense of what I'm listening to. This book, though, did manage to snag my attention. I don't know if it's because of the narrator or the content, but I just really enjoyed this and saw it through 'til the end.
We have all heard of the curse of the Hope Diamond and King Tut's Tomb, but have you heard of Annabelle the Doll that inspired The Conjuring or The Ring of Silvianus which is thought to have inspired J. R. R. Tolkien to write The Hobbit? Cursed Objects is filled with stories of both infamously cursed objects and others that are more obscure. An interesting, well-written book. Tim Campbell's narration draws the listener in and holds their interest throughout the book.
This was an incredibly entertaining book about allegedly cursed items. Some, like Annabelle and the Hope Diamond, are things I'm familiar with but I was pleased to find out about many that I had never heard of. There was a lot of humor thrown in, and the narrator did a great job of adding to the humor with his narration. He's not a narrator I was familiar with, but I really enjoyed his narration. A very entertaining book about an interesting topic. Definite recommend!
Do you like reading stories about suspicious artifacts and the history around their mystery? Then Cursed Objects is the book for you. I love, love, love hearing about the weird and wonderful especially if it relates to the macabre. There are stories in here that relate to well known cursed objects like the Annabelle Doll (from The Conjuring universe), the hope diamond, Tutankhamun's mummy and lots more that I had not come across before but were equally as exciting to read about.
I listened to the audiobook of this and the narrator was amazing, he was soo good at building tension and bringing each story or object to life. He had great comic timing and brilliant delivery. The authors sense of humour in describing these items and how they became cursed had me laughing out loud at points. One of my other favourite parts of the book was he death count. That's right, the author gave each item a death count at the beginning of each tale so you knew just how dastardly that particular cursed object is.
I romped through this book in one sitting and I have been telling people about all the mysterious objects out there that we wouldn't want to cross paths with, its best to be safe than sorry. It was interesting, engaging and a super quick read. I loved it!
A fascinating look into cursed objects and the story behind them. I loved the details and anecdotes, which were interesting and fun to listen to. The narrator's voice is perfect for the subject matter, and adds a light-hearted touch. A great audiobook to dip into whenever you have time, I would definitely recommend it!
This is a slightly creepy book about various objects large and small that have been claimed to be cursed--people who come into various types of contact with each of the items usually come to grisly and early ends, and people blame the item involved. The author tells the story with tongue-in-cheek humor, and it is clear that the storytelling is more interesting than whether anyone believes it.
I got really nervous when I started reading Cursed Objects. I believe in ghosts and hauntings and curses, and am absolutely against provoking the nature of those things. But while this book is a bit spooky and certainly has creepy content, it’s definitely not a scary book. It’s more informative than anything, and each story is very short (just a few pages about each item or topic), which makes this the perfect spooky read for folks of all ages.
A culmination of different cursed objects dating back centuries. This collection shares the basics of these objects, their origins, and a brief synopsis of the consequences of their curses.
I listened to the audiobook and read the physical book both, and while I really enjoyed the audiobook, I think the illustrations in the physical book really added to the quirk and charm of the stories. The audiobook narrator was absolutely perfect - his voice was just the right mix of authoritative professor and haunting fairy tale storyteller. Plus he had a great impersonation of Lord of the Rings’ Gollum (“my precious!”). So it’s likely by only reading or listening, you’d be missing out on something. But overall, I do think the illustrations take the cake for me.
It was really interesting to connect these “cursed objects” to pop culture, whether through inspiration of items (like the necklace from Titanic) or more direct inspiration (anything dealing with Ed and Lorraine Warren really). But what I noticed about the majority of the objects discussed (though not all) was that many of them originated through disturbance of those who are dead, or through just straight-up disrespecting others. So be kind, my friends.
"You are holding in your hands, right now, a cursed object. That's thanks to the curse printed on page 11, the one that prescribes the penalty for its theft as hanging and eye gouging by ravens." - Cursed Objects, J.W. Ocker
Again, I really think this book is appropriate for readers young and old. Nothing gets too in-depth, so each story really just synopsizes each object at a very basic level, and readers can use this base information to do a deep-dive into those items they find interesting. For example, I knew a lot more about the scary box bought at a yard sale and subsequently sold online and through a series of people because I read about it in another book. What I know about myself though is that I get extremely scared so easily so just getting the basic information was perfect for me. I could learn about these objects without diving too deep (because reading the full story of the scary box had me afraid for weeks). I really loved this book just the way it is, and I think those who may have bigger complaints may be those who didn’t enjoy the summarized stories and probably wanted more.
First I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley!
Full review to be posted on GR.
Cursed objects is a fun, interesting non fiction on things that may or may not be be actually cursed but certainly left a trail behind. I am not topically a non fiction reader or a fan but this narration made the entire experience very enjoyable. Even when talking about death and violence the author managed to bring a light approach to it, and you can easily get to the end of it without much trouble.
Its fun an easy to read without asking too much of you as the reader. Some of the objects were forgetable others made you turn the page looking for more. Overall a cool experience while not exactly life changing.
Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items, written by J.W. Ocker and narrated by Tim Campbell, details strange but true stories of the world's most infamous items. It will appeal to true believers as well as history buffs, horror fans, and anyone who loves a good spine-tingling tale. They're lurking in museums, graveyards, and private homes. Their often tragic and always bizarre stories have inspired countless horror movies, reality TV shows, novels, and campfire tales. They're cursed objects, and all they need to unleash a wave of misfortune is you. Many of these unfortunate items have intersected with some of the most notable events and people in history, leaving death and destruction in their wake. But never before have the true stories of these eerie oddities been compiled into a fascinating and chilling volume.
Cursed Objects is a very entertaining and well researched book. I have a love for the weird, spooky, and just plan strange things in the world. From wacky bits of nature and strange history to the things people believe about themselves and the world. This book did a great job or giving well researched information, and sharing the lore around objects while making sure the difference between what is known and what is speculation is shown. There was also a healthy does of, who knows and you might as well be careful in there too. I liked the organization of the book by type of object, and thought that a great deal of reading, listening, and travel went into getting the research done for this book. Some of the objects were well known to me, and are likely to be at least known about by anyone that picks up a book on this subject matter. However, I also learned new details about those items, and learned about some things that I had need heard of before. There was a good deal of insight that made this a fully engaging read. I also like that the author took the subject matter seriously, but not so seriously that humor is left behind. There is a good deal of tongue and cheek commentary and pop culture references that actually made me chuckle out loud as I was listening to the book. I even let my teenage listen to it with me, and we both enjoyed it.
Cursed Objects is and intriguing and well narrated book. I was fascinated and entertain through the entire listen. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the subject matter, or even vaguely curious about cursed objects.
What a fun, fascinating audio! I had heard of most of these objects before, but knew very few of the back stories. While the focus is, obviously, on the history of each object and it's supposed curse, in the process we learn a lot about how curse stories get started and why they persist. It's fun enough that we learn without getting bogged down in intellectualism.
Looking for a great, informative read for spooky season? This book gave me the absolute creeps and taught me a few things. It’s a wonderful audiobook for October!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of this audiobook. All opinions expressed are my honest views and thoughts of the selection.
I was hoping for something to get me in the Halloween spirit and man oh man did this book do just that! I love learning about cursed objects or supernatural type things so this book caught my attention. The cover alone is so cool looking in a graphic art kind of way. The narrator was absolute perfection and the stories......so many great stories. I highly recommend this book I'm ANY form you can get your hands on!
I loved the content of this book with lots of short entries about different cursed objects from around the world - from cursed chairs, to cursed diamonds and cursed funerary statues. Some of the entries were of well-known objects like Tutankhamun's tomb, and the Hope diamond and a lot of lesser known items such as the ring which 'inspired' Lord of the Rings and Crying Boy paintings from the 1980s.
The book outlines the myth surrounding the objects, the death toll and the actual evidence surrounding the object and therefore how likely it is to be true.
I'm not sure if the book has illustrations, and I feel the audio book lacks something by not being able to see some of the objects.
I really didn't like the voice of the narrator either, as he made it all sound like it was a 'Ripley's Believe it of Not' - a little cheesy and sensational.
The content of this is great, and would be a great read for the Halloween period.