The Ghost That Haunted Itself: The Story of the McKenzie Poltergeist [Paperback]

Jan-Andrew Henderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2001

Greyfriar’s Cemetery in Edinburgh has a centuries-old reputation for being haunted. Its gruesome history includes witchcraft, body-snatching, desecration, corpse dumping, and live burial. In 1998, something new and inexplicable began occurring in the graveyard. Visitors encountered “cold spots,” strange smells, and banging noises. They found themselves overcome by nausea, or cut and bruised by something they couldn’t see. Over a period of two years, 24 people were knocked unconscious. Homes next to the graveyard were plagued by smashing crockery, moving objects, and unidentified laughter. Witnesses to these incidents ran into the hundreds. The section of Greyfriars where the attacks occurred is now chained shut, but the poltergeist still grows stronger.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Greyfriar’s Cemetery in Edinburgh has a centuries–old reputation for being haunted. Its gruesome history includes witchcraft, body–snatching, desecration, corpse dumping, and live burial. In 1998, something new and inexplicable began occurring in the graveyard. Visitors encountered “cold spots,” strange smells, and banging noises. They found themselves overcome by nausea, or cut and bruised by something they couldn’t see. Over a period of two years, 24 people were knocked unconscious. Homes next to the graveyard were plagued by smashing crockery, moving objects, and unidentified laughter. Witnesses to these incidents ran into the hundreds. The section of Greyfriars where the attacks occurred is now chained shut, but the poltergeist still grows stronger…

About the Author

Jan-Andrew Henderson is the director of Black Hart Storytellers and is the author of The Emperor's New Kilt: Two Secret Histories of Scotland and The Town Below the Ground: Edinburgh's Legendary Underground City. He lives in Edinburgh and is the visitor services manager at St Giles' Cathedral.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Mainstream Publishing; 1st ed edition (July 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840184825
• ISBN-13: 978-1840184822
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,096,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, November 2, 2004

By 

Reader (Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ghost That Haunted Itself: The Story of the McKenzie Poltergeist (Paperback)

I've been on the City of The Dead tour twice and it's everything this book describes it to be. I got this book after my second outing to greyfriar's because I find it so interesting.

The book tells the history of the Kirkyard, the history of Mckenzie and a (dramatised) account of what the guides encountered. by dramatised I mean it's told in story form as opposed to a basic statement. However, Henderson's way of telling his story is comical and I found his comments about his guides (and incidentally the ones who took me on the tours) highly amusing. I like the bit where one visitor had his new leather coat ripped in the Black Mausoleum by something he didn't see or feel. Henserson went on to tell us how alarmed the guides were to hear this. Not because of the cuts bruises and collpses, but because they all wear long leather coats as part of ther uniform.

There are also statements from the guides themselves, and visitors who experienced collpases and injuries in the tomb. I remember City of The Dead being on the news, in the papers and even featured on GMTV because of what they found.

Another good point about this book is that there is absolutely no attempt made to prove the existance of the ghost. It's not as if Henderson is trying to sell his tour by exaggerating everything. He makes it clear that he is not sure what is there. If it's a ghost or not. There is something, but what it is he can't explain. There are theories put forward, both scientific and those of the guides, but none put words in the readers mouths. We are presented with what happened on the tours, and we can make up our own minds.

All I can suggest is that those who haven't done the tour do so. Even if nothing happens (nothing weird happened on either of my tours by the way) it's still a hugely enjoyable night and the book is the perfect addition.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read!, July 3, 2002

By 

Eileen (Hampshire, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ghost That Haunted Itself: The Story of the McKenzie Poltergeist (Paperback)

Being from Edinburgh I thought I would be a little disappointed that this book would be "another old Edinburgh ghost book". Wrong! Greyfriars kirkyard can be quite scary in the daytime even when the sun is shining and this book certainly enhanced that view and made any contemplated visit at night seem both terrifying - and inviting! It was simply one I could not put down. It is written in an almost documentary-style way which made for easy reading. An excellent read which I was sorry to finish.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great ghost story!, January 22, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ghost That Haunted Itself: The Story of the McKenzie Poltergeist (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book so much, that I've read it twice. If you are into the paranormal, you'll find this information very interesting. I'm dying to go to Scotland to check out the tour!