Tag Archives: fife

In which the Author has a bodysnatching review on the Spooky Isles site…

That fine institution the Spooky Isles website has just upped a nice review of my book

Scottish Bodysnatchers: A Gazetteerscribed by Fortean writer Mandy Jane Steel Collins. You can indulge your

eyeballs at the Spooky Isles site here, while the book can be reached here, and I’ve a video trailer here.

Scottish Bodysnatchers came out a couple of years ago so perhaps it’s worth a brief recap. It aims to provide a

comprehensive guide to every physical remnant of the bodysnatching era in Scotland, from mortsafes and

morthouses to watch towers and other protection devices. It tells you where to find these relics (whether in

graveyards, churches or museums), and what to look for. Many of the sites are obscure, hidden, long-forgotten or have not previously been written about. Yes, the fieldwork research was fun…

In addition, there are anecdotes and news stories from the bodysnatching era, some of which may be early

versions of urban legends. Burke and Hare of course make an appearance, but bear in mind that they were serial killers, not bodysnatchers, their murders being driven by greed for the cash being offered for fresh corpses.

Scottish Bodysnatchers - A Gazetteer

The book covers not only the well-trodden bodysnatching paths of Edinburgh and Glasgow, but sites across the

country, from Aberdeenshire and the Highlands to the Scottish Borders, Ayrshire, Perthshire, Fife, Dundee and

Stirling. Given that there really isn’t any similar book out there, a number of readers have written to me describing how useful the book is for those interested in hunting out bodysnatching sites in their area – “well-thumbed” is a

typical comment. “An invaluable reference work” was another.

Happy to be of service, fellow bodysnatching fans. And remember to wash the dirt from your hands before

handling food…

In which the author publishes another book (again)

 

My new book, Haunted St Andrews, is published today (29 June). The list of contents should give you an idea what to expect:

 

Chapter 1  – The White Lady and The Haunted Tower

 

Chapter 2 – A Haunted Cluster – the Ghosts of The Pends, St Leonard’s School and Queen Mary’s House

 

Chapter 3 – Ghosts of Castle and Cloister

 

Chapter 4 – Ghosts of Town and Gown

 

Chapter 5 – Pitmilly House – Poltergeist Manor!

 

Chapter 6 – A Pair of Poltergeists

 

Chapter 7 – Death Warnings, Dead Air and Ghost Villages

 

I will be doing a book signing at the esteemed bookshop of J & G Innes, St Andrews on Saturday 21 July. Meanwhile, there will be articles on Haunted St Andrews in the Scottish Daily Mail (Saturday 30th June) and the Glasgow Herald (Sunday 8 July). There was going to be a televised interview on BBC’s Reporting Scotland, but they cancelled at the last minute (and there was me having ironed a clean shirt and shaved my manly stubble – honestly, the sacrifices I make for my public…)

 

Haunted St Andrews is published by The History Press at £9.99, and is available from your local high street bookshop or from Amazon.