As a huge and faithful Stephen King fan, I’m no stranger to creepy tales and spooky stories. I hardly ever turn down the chance to hear or read about the things that go bump in the night, especially if they are based on true events or real occurrences. This is probably why I enjoyed Paranormal Niagara: Cases of the Mysterious and Macabre, a short book by Peter Andrew Sacco. This book delves into the various superstitions, alleged hauntings, and ghost stories around the Niagara region.
One of the first things I noticed about the book was the cover (of course). Although I like to think I live my life by the no-judgment based on covers mentality, I was immediately drawn to this one. The title words are blood-red and seem to be dripping just like…well, blood. There is also a menacing shadowy figure without a face, who looks as if he or she is about to walk right off the cover and into your bedroom late at night. It gave me chills, despite the fact that I was just seeing the illustration on my Kindle, while sitting in a well-lit room.
One of the first things mentioned in the book is a disclaimer, stating that all of the information used was taken from interviews and newspaper clippings, etc. It also states that some of the locations for stories are not disclosed, due to the nature of the information and event. This gave me that excited/terrified feeling that one can only get from a ghost story or a tale of horror. The disclaimer, combined with the front cover, put me in the perfect mood to read about spirits, ghouls, demons, and whatever else this book was going to throw at me.
Well, Sacco definitely threw a lot at me with this book. It wasn’t quite as terrifying in the Stephen King or Exorcist type way as I had originally thought it would be, but that’s reasonably understandable seeing as the stories being told were not fabricated or even embellished for entertainment’s sake. They were told to be as factual and informative as possible, and I definitely appreciated and respected that. The author goes into stories about people’s experiences with poltergeists, haunted forests, possessions, portals, and ghost-filled houses, all around the Niagara region of the United States and Canada. Though these tales are indeed pretty darn scary if you stop and really think about them, he tells them more in a way meant to educate the reader on the different types of paranormal activities that exist, and what they truly mean. Sacco’s writing is simple and to the point, making all the accounts fairly easy to comprehend. He writes almost as if he is speaking right to the reader, sans any elaborate descriptions or overly fancy imagery. At times, the book reads almost similar to a scientific study or report.
Each chapter is a different account of someone’s or some people’s experience with the supernatural. At the end of the chapters, he includes a page with the heading, “Key Points From This Case,” something I found to be extremely helpful and a nice touch on his part. The key points are bullets of the different bits of information that Sacco feels are most important to learn and remember from each particular case. He explains the difference between a spirit and a ghost, a poltergeist and a demon, and the reason behind why most forests are haunted. I won’t give too much away, though, because those who are interested in the paranormal or supernatural should definitely check this book out for themselves.
Twisted Talk: What’s the last scary book you read? Do you believe in the paranormal? Discuss below!
