Paranormal Cumbria (Darren Mann – Paranormal Database) –

http://www.paranormaldatabase.com/

The History Press is back on top form, recently rolling out three new books on the supernatural – Haunted Dundee and Paranormal Cumbria (both authored by Geoff Holder), and Haunted Southend (Dee Gordon). As always, the History Press production values are high, with good quality print and each of the books containing dozens of photographs and illustrations.

Although the subject matter in Paranormal Cumbria is slightly different, Holder approaches his topics with the same passion and research as with Dundee. The author opens with one of my favourite paranormal stories that the UK has to offer – the Croglin Vampire – and dissects the story back to its possible origins, which will no doubt upset diehard fans of the undead. Other areas investigated include the Cursing Stone of Carlisle (which made national news around ten years ago, and again late last year when the councillor who called for the stone to be destroyed died), fairies, witchcraft, and cryptozoological reports. Each paranormal field is written about in an honest, no nonsense style that applies an Occam’s razor approach – many paranormal writers could learn from this.