Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items

by J.W. Ocker

Beware...this book is cursed! These strange but true stories of the world’s most infamous items will appeal to true believers as well as history buffs, horror fans, and anyone who loves a good spine-tingling tale. They’re lurking in museums, graveyards, and private homes. Their often tragic and always bizarre stories have inspired countless horror movies, reality TV shows, novels, and campfire tales. They’re cursed objects, and all they need to unleash a wave of misfortune is . . . you. Many of these unfortunate items have intersected with some of the most notable events and people in history, leaving death and destruction in their wake. But never before have the true stories of these eerie oddities been compiled into a fascinating and chilling volume. Inside, readers will learn    • Annabelle the Doll, a Raggedy Ann doll that featured in the horror franchise The Conjuring   • The Unlucky Mummy, which is rumored to have sunk the Titanic and kick-started World War I      • The Dybbuk box, which was sold on eBay and spawned the horror film The Possession     • The Conjured Chest, which has been blamed for fifteen deaths within a single family     • The Ring of Silvianus, a Roman artifact believed to have inspired J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit      • And many more! 

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Horror, Paranormal, Audiobook, Supernatural, Adult

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2020

Reviews

[Zain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some Crawling Creepiness!

Our narrator informs us about the experiences he has had with cursed objects. He divides the book into chapters with each chapter talking about a cursed object.

The type of cursed objects cover just about everything that you can think of. Furniture, paintings, jewelry, ceramics, wooden statues, books, dolls-lots of dolls-and lots of many other things are mentioned in this book.

The author, himself, has a cursed paperweight of a bulldog. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the bulldog has never done anything negative to him.

This is a fantastic book. Very interesting and filled with lots of fascinating chapters of cursed objects.

Good enough for four stars. ✨✨✨✨

[Carl Bluesy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really a fun short book. It tells the lore and history of mini cursed objects, both of which are popular in pop culture and some that had never heard of. The book doesn’t try to exaggerate anything. It just tells the facts and tells the stories as they are. I enjoyed hearing the history and storage behind many cursed objects that I have read about books and have seen featured in movies. I think this is a great addition to any horror book reader.

[Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cursed Objects is a strange delight largely due to J. W. Ocker's wry humor. Ocker mostly works to debunk or discredit the origin stories for cursed items, but he often concludes excerpts on individual items with something along the lines of: "This object isn't really cursed, but then again, it could be." Good times.

Now, more than objects can be cursed. People can. Places can. But for the purposes of this journey, I'm interested in objects that are cursed. I generally followed the terrifying maxim, "Could I inadvertently pick it up at a flea market or an antiques store and bring it into my home?" or, "Could I brush up against it in a museum and be forever damned?" And, with a handful of notable exceptions, that's exactly what is included in this book.

So, beware. Because it's not just ancient artifacts looted from old coffins buried deep in exotic climes that will ruin your life. It could also be the "I Hate Mondays" coffee mug on your desk that your mom bought you at a garage sale.

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The love and research that went into this book is obvious. It truly is a labor of love. I think the biggest issue I had was that I really wanted to see actual pictures of the objects instead of cartoon illustrations. Perhaps there were legalities or similar obstacles that us readers aren't aware of. The book is a fascinating funhouse for anyone intrigued by the supernatural or macabre. I will be looking up more by this author.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that would appeal to almost everyone I know. Who isn't fascinated by oddities and/or stories of strange, unusual, unexplained phenomena? CURSED OBJECTS is the careful gathering of infamous cursed objects and their stories. It is fully illustrated and broken up into sections.

The author, J. W. Ocker has a podcast called "Odd Things I've Seen"-a travelogue of Ocker traveling to locations with weird or haunted histories so he's no stranger to this topic. However, Ocker doesn't approach his storytelling from a place of fully buying into all the hoopla surrounding these objects. I mean, truth be told, some of the "facts" are just too outlandish to be believed. I found Ocker's sense of humor and posture of skepticism refreshing. Last year, I read J. W. Ocker's 12 NIGHTS AT ROTTER HOUSE. The main character travelogues his experiences with supposed haunted houses and paranormal activity with an air of similar skepticism and objectivity (if you like Ocker's voice in CURSED OBJECTS).

I will say that I had hoped this would be darker...more creepy or scary but these expectations didn't steal from my enjoyment. I'm pretty happy and content with a book full of illustrations and factoids about weird stuff. I'm an easy sell. It's my recommendation that horror fans that maybe don't read a lot of non-fiction books (me) apart from maybe True Crime books, might find this book to be something to read in between all the stabby, bloody fiction stories for a nice change of pace but still on brand. It would make a great gift for readers who have everything and are hard to buy for ;)

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, this book is bloody gorgeous from front cover to back cover and everything in between! The endpapers are just STUNNING, the illustrations are drool worthy and even the end of chapters have cute little illustrations. Basically the only reason you need to buy this book is it’s beauty. Kidding, obvious because the actual contents of the book are just as captivating as it’s looks! I was absolutely fascinated by every single page of this book, each story is more interesting than the next and I just couldn’t get enough of it. I mean, who doesn’t love stories about cursed objects and the myths surrounding them?! My favourite part was definitely the little section on Annabelle and the Warrens because I’m absolutely obsessed with the Annabelle and Conjuring movies. Getting to know the real story behind them was truly a treat and my only regret is that that section wasn’t nearly long enough! I absolutely loved this from start to finish and highly recommend to any horror or history fan, this is a fantastic little blend of both that will satisfy lovers of both genres.

[_och_man_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trochę nie rozumiem tych wszystkich negatywnych opinii, definiujących wyjątkowo mierną średnią. Autor zaserwował dokładnie to, czego oczekiwałabym od każdego tytułu w podobnym klimacie. Mamy krótkie anegdotki, jako taką klasyfikację, wszystko okraszone nieco prześmiewczym tonem. No i puenty sprowadzające się do szczepionkowego klasyka - "może i potrącił go samochód, ale 2 dni wcześniej dał się pokłuć; niesmak pozostał". Nie narzekam też na oprawę graficzną, choć jest nieco myląca. Naprawdę gotowa byłam sądzić, że jest to książka skierowana do młodszych koneserów grozy, gdyby nie kilka "penisów" i "seksów".

Co kto lubi, oddani wyznawcy faktycznie mogą poczuć przykry niedosyt.

PS: o jedno "i OCZYWIŚCIE lalki" za dużo i książka nauczyłaby się latać. Zostawcie te biedne lalki w spokoju. Później dziwnie patrzą na moją kolekcję Monster High. A hipotetyczna adopcja jakiejś wiktoriańskiej piękności od zawsze wiązała się z widmem eksmisji. Jak żyć?

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book about cursed objects, but there was no scare factor here.

I was thinking that the book would have some scare parts to it with the curses, but really the book was more with information about different things in the world that has curses attached to them.

The most interesting story out of all of them was the curse of the Ring of Silvianus, which some believe to have inspired J. R. R. Tolkien on his stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I found that story fascinating as I am big Lord of the Rings fan.

All in all it was a good book, but nothing to give it more than three stars.

[Cameron Chaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since this is such a visual book, I stuck with just a video review for this one. Check it out! This is the most beautiful book I've seen in a while. A must buy for the Halloween season!

[Coos Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estaba con ganas de leer algo de este estilo, así que me vino genial. Es una guía bastante completa de objetos malditos/embrujados alrededor del mundo. Algunos bastante conocidos, como es el caso de la muñeca Annabelle, y otros más escondidos. No ahonda demasiado en cada uno de los casos, pero eso permite que sean más. Disfruté mucho la redacción, toda la recolección de datos y su parte histórica, con ciertos comentarios personales del autor. Recomiendo a quienes estén interesados en este tipo de lecturas sobre el mundo sobrenatural.

[Amalia (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es la guía más completa sobre objetos malditos que encontraréis.
.
It is the most complete guide on cursed objects that you will find.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

From cursed dolls to legendary gems, J.W. Ocker tells the tale of many a scary, supposedly cursed, item in his book Cursed Objects. He recounts the legends, adds in other tidbits, cracks more than a few jokes.... He makes the stories entertaining, more than scary or creepy. And....he doesn't take the legends too seriously. If there is any factual information that the stories might be hinky or fake in any way, he shares that information, too.

There were some items in this collection of stories that I was already familiar with -- the Hope Diamond, Annabelle the cursed doll, a cursed chair nobody can sit in -- but many were new to me.

I listened to the audio version of this book. Narrated by Tim Campbell, the audio runs just over 5 hours long. Easy listening length. Campbell reads in a fun, upbeat way, bringing out the humor Ocker interjects while still sharing the creepy backstories of all sorts of items. The writing style, and Campbell's entertaining narration, made it easy to get through 5 hours of back to back tales of reported curses.

Very entertaining audio book! Ocker obviously did a lot of research and spent a lot of time gathering so much information on so many cursed objects. I had fun listening to all of the stories!

This book is not heavy on spookiness or dark foreboding...Ocker interjects fun into the topic of legendary items that come with a blood price of some sort. For those who want a completely serious look at the cursed tales, then another book might be a better choice. But for readers who want to know a well-rounded story about the curse legends (like the supposed curse on King Tut's tomb being fabricated by reporters after one media source was granted exclusive rights to the real story of the tomb's discovery) and enjoy a bit of humor thrown in the mix, this is a great trek through historical objects that might come with added hellish baggage.

Full stars from me! Very entertaining!

**I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this audio book from Tantor Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own. This review is not cursed in any way..... or..... is it? (insert ominous music stab here...da dahhhhhhhh da) **

[Mel (Epic Reading) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited to get this book. A whole plethora of cursed objects, yes please! And the blurb indicates many famous ones are in here; including the Annabelle doll, Hope Diamond, and the box sold on eBay. Sadly in each instance of the more famous cursed items there wasn’t an iota of information I didn’t already know, had heard, or expanded on my intrigue for the item. Now maybe that is because I’m quite taken with haunted items. But I am far from obsessed, and no ghost hunter. This to me says that 95% of what is in this book is easily read on Wikipedia and the like online. In fact some of the mini snippets about objects were shorter than the Wikipedia article for the same object.

While the research is obviously well put together. The annoying one liners at the end of each piece, the really poor illustrations, and overall lack of new detail made this book fall flat for me. I really wanted actual pictures of items over illustrations and some new tangible tidbits to really salivate over. Unfortunately neither is present.

There is one group this book might be good for. Pre-teens or teens just getting into the paranormal or with a heightened interest in curses. These tidbit articles all make decent introductions to the idea of cursed items and their role in history. Although this book would only be useful for the convenience of not needing a device to search for info online, and because it’s all in one place.

If this book is cursed (as it claims a couple times) then that curse is that it wasted a bunch of reading time better spent on something else, literally anything else. It also had me near bored to tears at moments. With dozens of objects in the narrative there is only so many times I can read a one-liner variation of “or is it...?”

[Flybyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

To steal this book,
If you should try,
It’s by the throat
You’ll hang high.
And ravens then
Will gather ‘bout
To find your eyes
And pull them out.
And when you’re
Screaming “oh, oh oh!”
Remember, you
Deserved this woe.
Beware, this book you’re holding is a potentially cursed object.
Well, at least I’d like to think it is as it contains many of the world’s most famous and not so heard-of cursed objects of the world.
I am absolutely fascinated. It could not have been more informative or hilarious and I loved every single page of it. This well-researched little book contains objects of curiosity that inflict curses or unleash hell upon people who own them. Believe it or not, you have to admit it’s a concept of wonder how we attribute such meanings and power to objects. I had no idea what to expect from it when I requested to read it but I found it thoroughly interesting, learnt that even simple everyday objects such as chairs can come to be known as a cursed item. One note on the author’s style: It’s exceptionally good. I laughed so hard and loved his casual and candid style. A great, informative, fun page-turner recommended for those chasing the supernatural.

(I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

[Stephanie (Books in the Freezer) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was everything I wanted. It had little illustrations and histories for each item. There were some I was aware of, like Annabelle and Robert the Doll, that were featured. I feel inspired to take a spooky road trip and see some of these things!

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't believe in curses, but I do believe that some do; that doesn't mean that I would take any chances with something purporting to be cursed!

This is a look at a few of these, and thankfully the narrator does not take the subject too seriously.

A fun listen.

[Shainlock · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5-4
Some of these things were very interesting and well researched. The author would mention other things and say, “well, we aren’t here to talk about items that aren’t cursed,” ; and then literally does so for almost an entire chapter.
I have already read about some of these cursed objects but I had gotten entirely different information. So, that was interesting.
The main thing that was missing here were pictures of the items. Some of them might be hard to come by; so in that case I would include a sketch like he did with some of them.
But… To only include a sketch with just some of these made this feel incomplete. One of the reasons you want to read a book about cursed objects is to see them and then learn about them.
Maybe this should have been called Cursed Objects and objects that should be cursed?

[destiny ♡ howling libraries]

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Paloma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review in English | Reseña en Español

I expected more from this book. The title caught my eye immediately, because it reminded me of a show from Discovery Channel that was, precisely, about cursed objects, and the program was SCARY AF. And I was looking for something similar: a book that was creepy, that made me scared of reading it at all times. Unfortunately, the book was everything but this. It is not bad book and in fact, it is an interesting, fast-paced read, with a solid historical research on the objects presented and some interesting facts. What I did not like was the author’s tone and perspective, which seemed to be quite sarcastic and skeptic. It was as if he was trying to show why these objects were not really that scary at all rather than rescue gruesome stories about why they are deemed as such. This, in itself, is not bad, but I felt then the title is misleading, because while many cursed objects are listed and background is provided, in the end the author tried to show everything is just in people’s imagination. He might be right, but then, if I was interested in the truth of these objects, I would have picked up another book.
____
La verdad esperaba un poco más del libro. Cuando encontré este título que trata sobre objetos malditos, inmediatamente recordé un programa de televisión de Discovery, de un título simular, que era espeluznante. Y eso estaba buscando: algo que me diera terror, que me enchinara la piel del miedo. Y pues no. No es un libro malo, y de hecho, la lectura es sumamente amena, con un buen trabajo de investigación histórico sobre los objetos que se presentan y sí se aprenden dos o tres cosas interesantes. Lo que no me gustó fue el tono del autor, que creo que fue bastante sarcástico y escéptico: como si en vez de intentar documentar un catálogo de objetos malditos y rescatar las historias que las han dado esa fama, más bien buscara probar por qué realmente su fama puede que sea inmerecida. Lo cual, en sí mismo, no está mal, pero, entonces lo que si no me parece es que den un título que prometo mucho y de hecho, va en el sentido opuesto a lo que un “objeto maldito” representa.

[Anabel Samani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Los objetos malditos nos llaman la atención. Aunque nuestro pensamiento sea de lo más lógico y científico, la cantidad de leyendas y desgracias que los rodean nos parece mágica. En este libro, el autor nos habla de algunos de estos objetos.

El libro, escrito con un estilo informal y con un poco de humor, para nada excesivo, comienza con un parte en la que el autor explica qué son los objetos malditos y por qué nos fascinan.

Los objetos malditos han sido testigos silenciosos de más tragedias que otros artículos, por lo que luego se convierten en artefactos que hacen que se recuerden esas historias y que ofrecen la oportunidad de reescribirlas.

Después encontraremos los objetos clasificados en varias secciones: Objetos malditos en vitrinas, Objetos malditos en el cementerio, Objetos malditos en el desván, Objetos malditos de piedra, El negocio de los objetos malditos, ¿Por qué estos objetos malditos no están malditos? y tecnología maldita.

Al final, el maleficio de la tumba del rey Tutankamón ha crecido porque tiene sentido como relato. ¿Qué esperas que pase si profanas a los muertos y sacas unos tesoros que están destinados al más allá y pertenecen a una cultura obsesionada con la muerte y la eternidad? Si hay algo maldito en el mundo debe de ser la tumba egipcia de un rey.

Descubriremos objetos muy diversos. Desde algunos pequeños, como un hermoso diamante, hasta piedras de cuatro metros de altura; desde algunos muy famosos (e incluso llevados al cine), como la muñeca Annabelle o la tumba de Tutankamón, hasta otros más desconocidos (al menos para mí), como el anillo de Silviano o un pilar maldito ¡que se maldijo a sí mismo! Al final, al hacer un repaso de todos los objetos, se puede concluir que cualquier cosa puede estar maldita. Eso sí, las figuritas y las muñecas parecen propensas a este mal.

La historia de cada objeto se lee en cinco minutos, o menos, lo suficiente para conocerlos, pero sin ser una descripción minuciosa o tediosa de cada uno; en mi opinión, una extensión perfecta. Lo que más he echado de menos son fotos de los objetos tratados.

[Bookaholic__Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was easily one of the most interesting AND entertaining books I have had the pleasure of listening to this year. I really enjoyed this is book in audio format but I think this is just one of those books that NEED to be held in your hand and I cant wait to buy my own copy!

If you want to learn about some of the most infamous, creepy, and bizarre real-life cursed objects throughout history then I highly recommend you grab a copy of this book


I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Martini_tnt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Przeczytałam z zaciekawieniem. Dobre ale bez rewelacji dla miłośników takich klimatów.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️
This isn’t about curses. This is about cursed objects. The book reminded me of the time I went with my school to see the tomb of king Tut. And last year when I went with my husband to DC and crowded around the hope diamond. Both times I never once thought about the curses. Nope. I didn’t think about the cursed people and how they died. But now after finishing this I’m really intrigued. Crazy, almost unbelievable.
I gave this 5 stars because the narrator was excellent and kept me interested. It felt like a very long podcast. The format was done very well. The object, the year, and it current location. Then a description of the curses and or events. I’m definitely going to see Robert the doll in Key West, Florida, and I might by my own replica when I get there. Just saying. And I had no idea that the Annabelle movie were based on an actual real doll. Creepy.....
I highly recommend this book. If you like history then you’ll love this.


Thank you NETGALLEY and the publisher for this ARC audiobook, in exchange for my honest review.

[Deb✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this audiobook, it was not only interesting, but it was also very entertaining as well which made it a true pleasure to listen to. The narrator did a fantastic job. I enjoyed how it was told in a fun story-like format and that he had a lot of the historical information about each cursed item he talks about. He covers all the cursed objects you could possibly imagine! If you want to learn about some of the most bizarre, creepy, and down right freaky real-life cursed objects throughout all of history, then I highly recommend this book!

I would like to thank Tantor Books and #NetGalley along with the author J.W. Ocher for my advanced audio copy of this book exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. Ocker details various cursed objects and the museums of such with a sense of wonder as well as humor. There is the story about the artist who was willing to destroy his art in case it had cursed his football team. The entry about Tut is told with such fun. Ocker also presents the back story and examines the various legends.

[Greekchoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book is the exact same experience as a guided museum audio tour, but through a room full of cursed objects. I like museum tours! But if you’re expecting anything more in depth, you might be disappointed

[Sougeitu · Rating 5 out of 5]

今年第一本五星書，超愛……（雖然我發現基本每本我給了五星的書在gr上的評價都只有三星左右

標題等於讀者看到的一切，而非常讓我竊喜的一點是其實本書內容並不那麼恐怖。所以如果是衝著“我想被嚇死”去買書的朋友，可以左轉其他恐怖小說了。
書本對“詛咒物（cursed）”有具體的定義，使其可以與鬧鬼（haunted）與附身（possessed）等概念區別開來。同時每一個章節對詛咒物類別的定義也循序漸進，因此我們就可以看到與神話、民俗、歷史、人為甚至科技產品等各種不同類別的詛咒。
另一個讓我必須要打五星的地方是我很喜歡作者詼諧又帶著黑色幽默的筆觸，他的態度總是略帶嘲諷又對神秘現象展現出足夠的尊重和思考，這也使本書避開了一個名為“過度重視科學所以使事情變得非常無趣”的雷區。
最後，我認為本書的最後一個章節其實可以歸納解釋為“都市傳說詛咒”，雖然不如都市傳說類的研究文獻詳細，但提供了一個由“詛咒”解讀這些現象的視角。

從內容上來說，如果你是曾經看到過“水晶瑪雅頭骨”、“世界上最恐怖的鬼屋”、“靈探夫妻檔”這些網路傳聞的人，那麼你可以從前面的章節裡面找到這些說法的真相——沒錯，在遍地營銷文案的今天，這竟然變得很難得可貴。
此外特別值得一說的便是本書的最後一個章節，其中的內容包含“《黑色星期天》”、“詛咒信（與電郵）”、“詛咒電話號碼”等，這完全是都市傳說的範疇。而作者反復提到這些詛咒隨著科技的發展而變得“平易近人”起來，這種觀點相當有趣。

總之無論總體評分如何，我相當推薦對神秘學與都市傳說有興趣的人閱讀這本書！

[Sugar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fun read! It had a lot of info about the weirdest types of objects, and the author managed to keep it entertaining despite it being a bunch of information

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items by J. W. Ocker is a highly recommended look at several cursed items which are explained and described in an informative and sometimes hilarious way.

Ocker makes it clear in the introduction that you don't have to believe in cursed objects to be interested in the stories surrounding them because a large part of the curses are the stories and tragedies that surround the various objects. The stories are what gave then the reputation of being cursed and the curses are remembered through the retelling of the stories. There are so many cursed items around the world that Ocker chose the objects for this book as follows: "Could I inadvertently pick it up at a flea market or an antiques store and bring it into my home? or Could I brush up against it in a museum and be forever damned? And, with a handful of notable exceptions, that’s exactly what is included in this book."

Included with the scary stories surrounding the objects and their curses are witty, funny, and irreverent remarks that help lighten the mood, which some of us might need after reading about many cursed objects. Objects are divided up into seven different categories. The book includes illustrations of various objects, a selected bibliography and index. (The illustrations are very nice, but I couldn't help but want pictures of the objects.)
Contents include:
I. Cursed Under Glass: The Hope Diamond; Ötzi the Iceman; M-Aori Taonga; The Tomb of Tutakhamen; Muramasa Swords; The Unlucky Mummy; The Ring of Silvianus
II. Cursed in the Graveyard: The Black Aggie; The Bjorketorp Runestone; The Tomb of Timur; The Black Angel;The Gravestone of Carl Pruitt; The Bronze Lady; Shakespeare's Grave
III. Cursed in the Attic: The Crying Boy Paintings; The Baleroy Chair of Death; The Dybbuk Box; The Basano Vase; Rudolph Valentino's Ring; Robert the Doll; Busby's Stoop Chair; The Conjured Chest
IV. Cursed in Stone: The Little Mannie with his Daddy's Horns; The Cursing Stone; The monogram of Patrick Hamilton; The Cursed Pillar; The Hexham Heads; The Amber Room; The Treasure of Cahuenga Pass
V. The Business of Cursed Objects: Annabelle the Doll and the Warren Collection; John Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal; Zak Bagans's The Haunted Museum; The Traveling Museum of the
Paranormal and Occult; Cursed on Ebay
VI. Why Aren’t These Objects Cursed?: The Mummified Head of the Dusseldorf Vampire; The Mitchell-Hedges Crystall Skull; The Miniature Coffins of Arthur's Seat; The Skin Book of James Allen; The Antikythera Mechanism
VII. The Curse in the Machine: The Prague Orloj; The Hungarian Suicide Song; James Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder; 0888-888-888; The Berzerk Video Game Cabinet; Chain Emails
Plus there are extra chapters included in each section

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Quirk Books.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/0...

[Sarah B · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all the page count here on goodreads on this book is wrong. The actual number of pages to read is 257. There are a few more pages after that with a bibliography and an index, bring the page count up to 271. I read the hardcover edition that I had borrowed from my local library. Oh...and on one of the pages in here it days the book itself is cursed, if you steal it - so book thieves out there don't steal this book! Unless you actually want a cursed item - according to what I read in here lots of people do.

So I read this yesterday evening and finished it kind of late. I also read it pretty fast, as there's lots of fun illustrations in this book so the artwork takes up lots of space. The artwork is in a color scheme of blue, black and white. There are no photos of the items.

I did find the book interesting but not like super interesting. The stories about each item are indeed fun to read if you really don't have anything else to do. They sort of remind me of a few one or two page entries in those really old creepy comic books, like Weird Tales (I grew up reading old vintage comic books) and a few of the books would have this little section of text where it would tell some creepy but apparently true story. Well, this reminds me of that. Of the stories in here I had only heard one of them before so most of them were new. They just wasn't all that fascinating. A few I even found dull. I think the main problem is the tales are written in a very factual manner and there is no creepiness involved. Perhaps with a bit of flare it could have been a lot more interesting.

The tales themselves cover a vast area of cursed things from the Hope Diamond to chairs, from statues in cemeteries to the popular dolls. There seems to be a huge number of haunted or cursed dolls out there. Anyway almost any sort of item can be cursed and you could unknowingly pick one up somewhere to bring home and then all sorts of bad things will start happening! Oh and whatever you do, don't bring home rocks or things from the National Parks because you'll be cursed! The Parks don't like their rocks being stolen as souvenirs - and I believe that includes petrified wood as well.

There's also a section on some places that collect these sort of items and many people mail their items away to get rid of the bad luck from it.

And the most interesting story in here was about the clothing chest that had been in a family for ages and whoever put their clothes inside that chest soon met with ill fortune and died!