What do you think?
Rate this book
Haunted Harbour: The Looe Ghost Guide
214 pages, Paperback
Published August 22, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 3, 2026
When I saw that Jonathan Boakes had written a sort of travel guide about Looe, a Cornish port town said to be teeming with paranormal activity, I just had to buy it. Jonathan Boakes, along with his partner Matt "Bear" Clarke, also makes computer games where you go ghost hunting yourself. Apparently, they also actually go on their own searches, using all sorts of technological gadgets to try and gather evidence.
"Haunted Harbour: The Looe Ghost Guide!" I find it fascinating, but I don't believe in this stuff myself. However, the guide is quite detailed and reports on many locations where a ghost has supposedly been seen or heard—by multiple people; that was a requirement for inclusion.
What's particularly striking, and what makes it unbelievable, is how many different examples there are in such a geographically limited location. What makes this place so special and supposedly attractive to ghosts? Are there other places like this in the world? Or is this purely a tourist stunt?
Anyway, the most interesting part of this book, for me, was the nighttime group experiments that Jonathan and Matt organized. The writing is so intense, it feels like you were there yourself, and honestly, it makes me curious to join in sometime, should the opportunity arise, if only for the experience.
The only downside to this book is that, due to the author's enthusiasm, quite a few typos have crept in, which could easily have been filtered out by an extra proofreader...
In any case, I'm already looking forward to these guys' next computer game: "Lammana: The Looe Island Mystery". I have no idea when it will be released, but I'm sure I'll be a player from the first hour!
"Haunted Harbour: The Looe Ghost Guide!" I find it fascinating, but I don't believe in this stuff myself. However, the guide is quite detailed and reports on many locations where a ghost has supposedly been seen or heard—by multiple people; that was a requirement for inclusion.
What's particularly striking, and what makes it unbelievable, is how many different examples there are in such a geographically limited location. What makes this place so special and supposedly attractive to ghosts? Are there other places like this in the world? Or is this purely a tourist stunt?
Anyway, the most interesting part of this book, for me, was the nighttime group experiments that Jonathan and Matt organized. The writing is so intense, it feels like you were there yourself, and honestly, it makes me curious to join in sometime, should the opportunity arise, if only for the experience.
The only downside to this book is that, due to the author's enthusiasm, quite a few typos have crept in, which could easily have been filtered out by an extra proofreader...
In any case, I'm already looking forward to these guys' next computer game: "Lammana: The Looe Island Mystery". I have no idea when it will be released, but I'm sure I'll be a player from the first hour!
October 15, 2025
As someone who loves Cornwall and a good ghost story, this book is right up my cobbled alley!
Take a walk around the winding streets of Looe with your guides, Jonathan and Bear. As well as points of architectural and historical interest, they'll regale you with reports of supernatural goings-on, from hooded monks and spectral cats, to ethereal elephants and a mysterious skull!
(And aside from the paranormal - I need to know more about the feisty drunken women of Saint Nicholas Church!)
The book is divided into two parts. The first is a walking tour of Looe (with some extra sightseeing in the surrounding area) and the second is given over to six paranormal investigations carried out by Jonathan and Bear.
There are far too many ghostly happenings to cover in detail but the book provides more than enough to spark the imagination and give you a good starting point to do some research of your own. I loved all the photographs and diagrams, too.
That said, I would love the guys to do a deep-dive into the ghost stories themselves. With Jonathan's inviting, friendly style of writing, it would be a fantastic record of local legends.
This book is a must-have guide to the spooky side of Looe and I can't wait to leaf through it next time I'm in that beautiful part of the world.
Take a walk around the winding streets of Looe with your guides, Jonathan and Bear. As well as points of architectural and historical interest, they'll regale you with reports of supernatural goings-on, from hooded monks and spectral cats, to ethereal elephants and a mysterious skull!
(And aside from the paranormal - I need to know more about the feisty drunken women of Saint Nicholas Church!)
The book is divided into two parts. The first is a walking tour of Looe (with some extra sightseeing in the surrounding area) and the second is given over to six paranormal investigations carried out by Jonathan and Bear.
There are far too many ghostly happenings to cover in detail but the book provides more than enough to spark the imagination and give you a good starting point to do some research of your own. I loved all the photographs and diagrams, too.
That said, I would love the guys to do a deep-dive into the ghost stories themselves. With Jonathan's inviting, friendly style of writing, it would be a fantastic record of local legends.
This book is a must-have guide to the spooky side of Looe and I can't wait to leaf through it next time I'm in that beautiful part of the world.
October 10, 2025
Interesting but wasn't really what I expected, Much like a lot of other ghost stories about the area. I love Looe and have seen much of it in the games Darkling room create, so I bought this.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews