Review: Haunted Plantations of the South by Richard Southall

Title: Haunted Plantations of the South

Author: Richard Southall

Format: egalley

Pub. Date: June 8th 2015

Source: Llewellyn Publications



Book Description via Goodreads:

When you hear the word "plantations," most people think of grand homes with pillars and sweeping staircases. These houses of grandeur were located all through the South in the days before the Civil War, and there are some that still resonate with the loveliness they had in their heyday. These majestic homes have a long history, and some of those who lived in these homes remain today. The ghosts of soldiers, slaves, and the elite family who lived in the plantation homes still wander the halls.

Richard Southall explores gorgeous plantation homes and those that are abandoned and in decay to present a colorful history of the ghosts that linger there.

Review:

★★★

The American South holds a special place in my heart. For too short of a time, I lived in Louisiana. I immersed myself in the history and the legends, and I visited a few different plantations (among other things) in order to get a better appreciation for the stories. It is for those reasons that I was really excited to get a copy of this book. It was super informative, but not quite what I was expecting.

The book is divided into 8 chapters: Intro, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia

This book read way more like a text book than a standard nonfiction narrative. It was chock full of information, that's true enough. But it was pretty tough to get through all of the information dumping and facts. I was expecting it to be facts, but wrapped in more of a story-telling type tone, so I was pretty disappointed that it felt like reading a school book. It was interesting, just dry. I had to read it in small bursts. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and I did learn quite a bit about the legends and histories of various southern plantations. While I knew a bit about the Louisiana chapter, I didn't know much about the other ones.

I was a bit surprised that this book had no pictures. When references specific historical places and scenes that still exist in modern day in a nonfiction guide, I had just assumed that there'd be at least a couple sprinkled in. Maybe there are pictures in the final copy, but I received a digital copy in advance, so there were none in my copy at the least.

In short, there's lots of information and it's rather interesting. However, there are no pictures and it can get a bit boring, which is not something that I expected when opening a book on ghosts and hauntings. I'd recommend it to those interested in the south, history, or paranormal activity, but be prepared for the factual tone.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.