BOOK REVIEW: The Haunted Heart of America by Logan Corelli
BOOK REVIEW: The Haunted Heart of America by Logan Corelli
Llewellyn Publications
April 2018
Paperback, $16.99 USD
Reviewed by Steph O’Connell
Non-Fiction / Hauntings / Ghosts / Paranormal Investigations
60% Rocking
IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATIONS OF THE VILLISCA AX MURDER HOUSE, MYRTLES PLANTATION & OTHER FRIGHTFUL SITES
Experience the Heartland’s Most Memorable and Thrilling Paranormal Cases
You find yourself headed down a long hallway. Suddenly, you hear feet dragging across carpet. Arctic air blows past as you see a massive, shadowy figure standing next to you. You spin to confront your attacker, only to find no one is there.
In the heartland, tales of grisly deaths and unsolved murders abound—and the spirits of the dead are often left behind. Join Logan Corelli and his teams as they explore some of the creepiest haunted locations in America, where spirits and entities terrify even the most experienced investigators.
The Haunted Heart of America provides tantalizing evidence of realms of existence beyond our own. Featuring firsthand investigations of famous paranormal hotspots like Waverly Hills, Myrtles Plantation, and the St. James Hotel—as well as many lesser-known though equally fascinating locations—this riveting book shares spine-chilling stories, hair-raising experiences, and fascinating physical evidence.
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Corelli feels like an open and honest reporter of events, and at times this means a whole investigation might go by with very little worth mentioning. While this does lend credence to his honesty, and while this assures readers he’s not likely to sensationalise things just for the sake of making a more interesting story, this does occasionally make for a less than engaging read.
This book will, at times, have you checking over your shoulder to make sure you’re not being watched by something otherworldly, but at other times you may have to push through because it can be a little less than thrilling. Part of this problem is caused by the feeling that these are just the author’s notes from the time of investigation… more akin to a report for one’s own memory than an anecdote or recounting for events for those not present at the time.
The writing is at times rather clunky and wooden, and someone definitely needed to edit this book more thoroughly. There were so many grammatical and spelling errors, but also way too many instances of the reader being given too much information where it wasn’t needed, and other information was not given any context for readers who were not there at the time of the investigation or less in the know about what might be of use in paranormal investigations.
I’m also not sure this title lives up to its sub-heading of “In-Depth Investigations” as each felt like a brief rundown rather than an in-depth exploration… especially as some of these locations warranted only one or two visits (including one of the famous locations named in the title).
Despite the issues, the content here is engaging and enjoyable, and Logan’s seemingly very honest and not over-sensationalised account is much more appreciated than the over-the-to literary gesticulating one might find in some other paranormal books.
There are no investigations here beyond 2008, and perhaps this is in an attempt to sell a second book, which this reviewer would probably read… especially with the additional technology that is bound to have been made more readily available for ghost-hunting investigations since the most recent of the accounts published in this title.
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Category: Book Reviews