Mini Reviews: Ghostland || Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil

Ghostland: An American History In Haunted Places by Colin Dickey

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 320
Publication date: October 2016

Colin Dickey is on the trail of America's ghosts. Crammed into old houses and hotels, abandoned prisons and empty hospitals, the spirits that linger continue to capture our collective imagination, but why? His own fascination piqued by a house hunt in Los Angeles that revealed derelict foreclosures and "zombie homes," Dickey embarks on a journey across the continental United States to decode and unpack the American history repressed in our most famous haunted places. Some have established reputations as "the most haunted mansion in America," or "the most haunted prison"; others, like the haunted Indian burial grounds in West Virginia, evoke memories from the past our collective nation tries to forget. 

Likes: I’ve been obsessed with ghost stories for as long as I remember. One of the first books I read willingly was an anthology of scary folktales. As a teenager, I may have owned several books of ghost stories from the American West. In Ghostland, the author attempts to find the truth at the core of America’s most famous hauntings. If you’re ghost-obsessed in the US, you’re probably familiar with these tales (Salem Witch Trials, Winchester Mystery House, etc.).

As you’d expect, the author discovers that ghost stories are more fiction than fact, but he doesn’t stop there. He delves into sociology and discusses why America has so many ghost stories. Why are we fascinated by hauntings? This book is about more than just ghosts. American history is far scarier than any urban legend. America isn’t haunted by ghosts. It’s haunted by guilt. All of our “cursed Indian burial grounds” and “haunted plantations” are ways to come to terms with our country’s bloody past.

If you like history and sociology, you’d probably find this book interesting. It’s a well-researched tour of popular haunted places.

“Surely ghosts will follow wherever there is bad record keeping.” - Ghostland

Dislikes: If you’re looking for scary stuff, you won’t find it here. The author is a skeptic who clearly doesn’t believe in ghosts. He pulls the stories apart and exposes their mundane origins. He thoroughly debunks every ghost sighting—which is fine—but it takes the fun out of the tales. Maybe that’s the point. The author seems to disapprove of people who tell ghost stories and use America’s history as entertainment.

My biggest issue with this book is the author’s condescending tone. I got the (possibly incorrect) impression that he’s one of those guys who always believes that he’s the smartest person in the room. I especially dislike the sections about ghost hunters, ghost tours, and people who photograph abandoned places. I feel bad for the people who the author interviews in this book. He instantly dismisses many of them instead of fairly presenting their point-of-view.

This is an extremely white-centric book. The author mostly focuses on the history of white Americans. Black Americans and Native American are mentioned, but only in terms of white people enslaving them and stealing their land. I wondered if the author’s conclusions about ghost stories would be different if he analyzed popular ghost legends in non-white communities.

I think this book would have been stronger if the author had been able to look past himself. His biases are showing.

The Bottom Line: I love history and appreciate learning the real stories behind the urban legends. The author’s tone left a bad taste in my mouth.

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil by John Berendt

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 388
Publication date: January 1994

Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case.

Likes: This book is a true crime classic, so of course I needed to read it.

We follow a decade of the author’s life after he moves from New York to Savannah, Georgia. He mingles with all levels of Savannah society, from the poor old men and the drag queens to the debutant balls and the ultra-rich mansion owners. John Berendt is a supremely talented writer. Savannah comes to life in this book. He perfectly captures the Old South atmosphere, the contradictions and quirks of small-town life. I really want to visit Savannah now.

For true crime, this book is surprisingly funny. The “characters” are over-the-top. My favorites are Chablis the drag queen and Minerva the voodoo priestess. They have big personalities. I would have happily read a whole book about them. The rich people are intriguing, too. I kind of wish I knew some eccentric rich Southerners. Aside from the murders and the casual racism and homophobia, they seem entertaining. It’s hard to believe that people actually live like they do in this book. If you’re rich enough and connected enough, you can get away with anything.

“If there’s a single trait common to all Savannahians, it’s their love of money and their unwillingness to spend it.” – Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil

Dislikes: This story is classified as true crime, but the crime doesn’t happen until the second half of the book. Reading the first half was a struggle for me. There’s no plot. It’s just a series of vignettes that introduce a bunch of characters who we see once and then never again. It does build the atmosphere and show the quirkiness of Savannah, but I got impatient. I wanted to see the murder!

The Bottom Line: I love the second half and feel “meh” about the first. Part 2 is better because it has all of the weirdness of Part 1 plus a plot.