After producing well over fifty titles it's odd to think that the late Peter Underwood’s writing days are over. Haunted Farnham, one of his last, draws on research conducted over several decades, despite which it has a cursory feel, clocking in at fewer than 90 pages. Its strength is that Underwood was a local resident for many years and has a clear love for Farnham and its surroundings, with good reason as it is a lovely part of the world.
He begins his tour at Farnham Castle before moving on to Castle Street and Castle Hill, including the old Castle Theatre. Then he ranges more generally over ghosts associated with Farnham’s pubs, hotels and other buildings (often left unspecified to preserve the occupants’ privacy). After that he looks at places in the vicinity of the town, including the house he once lived in – The White House at Bentley – just outside Farnham. Throughout he is erudite on matters historical, even when the actual ghost stories feel flimsy. Some of the accounts are based on personal interviews, but unfortunately he is cavalier about saying when the interviews took place, and the lack of a date reduces their value as a historical record. Hopefully Underwood’s papers will be donated to a suitable repository, and the primary records with fuller information will be available to researchers.
Like all of the History Press volumes Haunted Farnham is well illustrated with black and white photographs, many of which include Underwood himself more than modesty should allow. Quite a few feel unnecessary and are there to pad out the book’s length. The reader may be puzzled by snaps of a group described as belonging to ‘The original Ghost Club’, as the reason it has been labelled original is not explained – the Ghost Club has gone through a number of manifestations, but the ‘original’ Club was formed in the 1860s, so it is a confusing description. You would need to know about Underwood’s acrimonious break with the Club in 1993 after 30-odd years as its President, and his formation of the Ghost Club Society, for his idiosyncratic use of the term original to make sense: in his mind the Ghost Club Society was merely the new Ghost Club, as opposed to the ‘original’ one of which he had been President for so long.
Underwood’s books are always readable, and his clubbable persona was ideally suited to gain his interviewees’ confidence. It is a surprise on to learn that Farnham has been claimed (who by Underwood does not say) as Britain’s most haunted town, to which he would add that Bentley is possibly the most haunted village. This kind of ranking is always open to dispute, but on the evidence here Farnham seems no more haunted than many an English market town is alleged to be. Tributes following Underwood’s death noted how influential his books have been in introducing people to the subject, and while it is wonderful that Underwood was still writing at his great age, Haunted Farnham is not among his finest work.
The Little Book of Ghosts, by Paul Adams
Paul Adams is well known for his books on ghosts, some in collaboration with Peter Underwood, such as The Borley Rectory Companion andShadows in the Nave. His latest is a compilation of ‘true’ ghosts stories (with a few that he concedes are not, but are entertaining anyway) aimed at the Christmas stocking market, and many of the anecdotes in it are of the type that often crop up in the sorts of regional ghost guides that publishers like The History Press produce.
Despite the ‘little’ in its title, the book covers a lot of ground geographically, overseas as well as in Britain. We meet different types of ghosts and some iconic hauntings, albeit briefly; little time is spent on any one account but that allows space for a large number, showing how flexible, and context-determined, the ghost is. There are ghostly animals and haunted objects as well as ghostly figures, and Adams includes poltergeists as a species of ‘violent ghost’. The stories are drawn from a variety of sources, historical, folklore, and recent ‘it happened to me’ narratives. Some of the most notable ghost researchers make an appearance: Harry Price of course, but other significant figures in the field too, and coming more up to date some who have appeared on shows like Most Haunted and TAPS, though they may find their fame to be more ephemeral than that of the greats of the past.
The blurb tries hard to sell the collection as ‘spine-chilling’, but truth is that it is most unlikely that anyone will experience any kind of frisson from these tales, in the way they might from a carefully crafted horror story, if only because there is no opportunity to build up tension. However, the book may encourage the reader who picks it up because of a vague interest to delve further in the subject. To assist any such aim, Adams has included a lengthy bibliography and a chapter on the major organisations involved with the subject, including the SPR. From such small beginnings great interest, and the potential to contribute to the subject, may develop.
Anyway, it turns out that ghosts might not always attract researchers because of a desire to address serious issues surrounding life after death. Adams notes that ‘Sightings of a blonde female figure wearing a white dress that vanishes in mysterious circumstances have been reported with some regularity.’ Well, a ghost whose dress vanishes in any circumstances would be a definite draw for a certain kind of ‘ghost hunter’.