A Ghost in the Room: Supernatural adventures in Historic Houses

by Ann McDougall

256 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2025

About the author

Ann McDougall is a writer, actor, and graphic designer living in Toronto. With nearly 20 years of experience working in historic house museums, she is passionate about historic spaces and the strange and wonderful ways in which they shape our modern lives. Her writing has appeared in The National Post and was longlisted for the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize.

Reviews

[Kate McDougall Sackler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: my sister wrote this 📖book and obviously I am extremely biased.
That being said, I think I read enough to be able to tell a great 📖book from a terrible one. This is a great 📖book. The author seamlessly weaves historical fact, Canadian history, and museum experience, her own adventures and experimentations into the supernatural. It’s is a fascinating and humorous account of trying to communicate with the other side.


Here’s To Fears reading challenge -fear for one’s life (a 📖book involving death)
Wheels10 team reading challenge

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: I am friend of the author and I accompanied her on several of the outings discussed in this book.

What I appreciate the most about Ann's book is the mix of history and science as well as talk of ghosts, mediums and Ouji boards. I feel that is a balanced approach to the questions she poses. Ann includes a lot of personal thoughts and experiences in her observations and stories. It never dips into the sensational.

You get a good history of spiritualism and the curiosity of ghosts as well and interesting tidbits about Toronto museums. It's a love letter to museums. I look forward to reading about whatever topic she decides to investigate next.

[Christine Estima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly engaging, what a book, what research into such an interesting topic about the charlatans that populate the ghostly nether-regions and also how ghosts are actually so real for so many people. Loved it

[Heather Babcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ann McDougall is the best kind of nonfiction writer: she’s extremely knowledgeable and informative and at the same time her tone is fun and conversational. This makes for very enjoyable reading. I am loving this book.

[Erin Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! A great dive into all things supernatural and why we continue to believe in ghosts. The author has a wonderful, easy writing style the allows for the reader to understand both sides of the debate. Love the emphasis on Canadian & Toronto specific content. Perfect vacation read.