A Ghostly Guide To London

by Megan Coles

*Written by trailblazing historian and TikToker, @historyoflondon*From a spectral face looming opposite commuters on the Bakerloo Line and the mournful rattling of chains at the Imperial War Museum, to the illusory appearances of Jack the Ripper’s long-suffering victims, you won’t believe the hidden past and grisly tales surrounding your favourite London spots.A Ghostly Guide to London examines the spine-chilling happenings witnessed at over 130 locations within their historical context, including exclusive, never-before-revealed occurrences at some of the city’s most notable sites.Providing a lengthy index of haunted Tube stations, pubs, museums, theatres, and more, this book serves as the perfect companion for your ghost-hunting ventures. Or, if you’re too afraid to chase ghouls and ghosts, why not read it from the comfort of your own bedroom? Preferably while hiding in a trembling heap under your duvet…- Features an extensive historiography for further reading.- Contains a lengthy index for accessible browsing.- Embraces new and exclusive accounts of London's most hair-raising hauntings.

Genres: Nonfiction, Historical, Ghosts

136 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2023

Reviews

[Ethan Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazingly well- researched collection of paranormal activity accounts from many places in london from churches & police stations to pubs and palaces. Megan is already a brilliant historian and I look forward to seeing her future work.

[Danni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading ghost things, it has become a newfound obsession, so when I saw Megan Coles showing this book and teasing parts of it on TikTok, I knew that I had to read it! Reading about more than I knew in London in terms of ghosts was so interesting. I didn’t know quite how much there was to know, so it was fun to reread things I did know about from another persons perspective as well as learn about other haunting and occurrences that are brand new. The way the book was laid out was also good, split into sections and then indexed by the names of places and what happened.

[Dr Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A boisterous, irreverent, yet talented history writer like Megan Coles is the ideal author to lead one by the hand through the historic hauntings of Old London. Writing with verve, humour and, at times, surprising tenderness this is an excellent read. Megan Coles has a talent for selecting an interesting story and communicating it in an entertaining but easy style.

Personal favourites include the tail-less dog that forlornly haunts The Anchor pub seekng its abducted master and the haunted bolero jacket at The Duke of York's Theatre that would try to suffocate any actress who wore it!

Highly recommended.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author did a fantastic job of weaving together historical facts and spooky legends to create a captivating guide to the haunted side of London. From famous landmarks like the Tower of London to lesser-known locations, this book lists the rich history of ghosts in the city. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in both London history and the supernatural. It's a blend of informative and entertaining.

[Evie Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was such a fascinating and good read! i love history and ghost stories so this was right up my alley! i’ve also been binging on the authors tiktok’s so i was so exited to read this! i loved it although don’t read it at night like i did (i had to sleep with al the lights on!!)

[Raven Bellamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love reading paranormal books. I saw this book on tiktok and instantly had to buy it, and I do not regret my choices.

[Mirin ⋆⭒˚.⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!!!

[Milla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Frankly, I had never heard of Megan Coles until today, when one of her instagram reels was randomly pushed onto my timeline. It was a series of 'creative' descriptions of her reactions to seeing various objects from the life of Arthur Wellesley, 1st. Duke of Wellington (and she seems to do this sort of content about him often), and I'm not going to judge someone for embracing their sexuality or talking about their gooch and the 'snail trail' they'd like to leave on the museum floor on main - you go girl! - but when I posted a comment questioning this sort of uncritical adulation specifically of someone who was a central part of Britain's colonial project in India (Arthur Wellesley participated in the campaign to uphold Company rule on the subcontinent, you can read all about him drowning five thousand Indian people in a river (this is literally how he himself put it) on the internet), she replied to me saying (and I quote) "shut it, g*mp" (uncensored, of course). I personally simply love being called a r***rd, but I'm sure every reader or potential reader of this book can decide for themselves how this reflects on Megan Coles as an individual, her integrity as a historian, or her general attitude toward history, and if you continue to have faith in her examination of history and are still interested in supporting her work after reading this, that's your choice! Very cool lmao

[Ieva Valentinavičiūtė · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very interesting, and I really enjoyed reading it! However, I wish more of the ghost sightings had been explored in more depth, as most descriptions were only about half a page to a page and a half long. I would have loved to learn more about the people who are said to haunt different places in London, including details of their lives before they died. It also would have been great to see longer interviews or firsthand accounts from those who experienced the hauntings, where they could explain in more detail what they saw and how it made them feel.

That said, I really liked how the book was laid out, with different places organized into clear sections, and how historical facts were woven into the ghost stories. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I would love to see a similar book about other cities and their ghost stories.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about spooky haunted locations in London, some of the information is a little bit vague about haunted locations and what happened at the locations, some places in London were spooky and creepy to read about.
Highgate Cemetery is one of my favourite haunted places in London and a lot of creepy things have happened there.
I read this book awhile ago and I did forget to update my reading progress.
If you are interested in the paranormal, haunted locations, hauntings that can't be explained and you are interested in London then this book is perfect for you to read.

[Milly Hornsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had really high hopes for this book after seeing the author advertising it by reading extracts on social media! Unfortunately I’m really let down :( I think it was really rushed and there was so much information about hundred of different places. I think the amount of places should have been halved but spoken about in at least twice as much detail. You hardly get any information within each of the sub chapters. It got to a point where it just got boring for me.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, the stories were fascinating although I didn't agree with calling Arthur Miller and T.S Elliot lesser-known playwrights. I understand that as an index of stories it is expected that each entry would be brief, however I found at some points it would really benefit from having more detail, in both history and ghostly sightings.

[Meghan-Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

i loved the history side and learning about all the places and what happened there, but i feel that my just absolute non-belief in ghosts really ruined half of the point of this book lmao. but i would 10000% read another history book from this author!!

[Nicki Thoirs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really quick read that I very much enjoyed! I never realised how haunted London is! I really enjoyed how each chapter was split up, by Tube station, pub, etc.
I'd love another style book like this for other haunted cities!

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

love megan as a content creator. well written , concise and informative.

[Trauermaerchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun dive into the darker aspects of the history of London.

[C P · Rating 1 out of 5]

Riddled with inaccuracies