Customer Reviews
Excellent resource - By: Eb, 03 Jun 2008 
It is a shame the reviewer above trashes the book because of one perceived inaccuracy. There must be a hidden agenda there. In general the Penguin Book of Ghosts is a highly enjoyable, accessible & carefully researched book on a fascinating subject. It was written by two of the most trusted experts on the subject. Yes, it is somewhat distilled from the much larger, broader tome The Lore of the Land, which should mean it appeals to readers who are interested particularly in ghosts rather than folk tales, legends, oral history & other related items. England is probably the most haunted place in the world, & this little gem of a book is the perfect place to look for information on its less tangible residents.
Ghostly Mistakes Still Appearing - By: Veritas, 27 May 2008 
This is an edited rehash of the authoresses' earlier work The Lore of the Land & while some of the gross error has been expurgated in the rewrite, some has obviously not.
Without labouring the point too much, Jacqueline Simpson's entry for the Highgate Vampire persists with earlier mistakes. For example, she writes on page 231: "He [Seán Manchester] told the Hampstead & Highgate Express on 27 February [1970] that he had seen corpses of foxes drained of blood."
No he didn't. Nor did the newspaper on that occasion make any mention of foxes, drained or otherwise.
The 6 March 1970 issue of the Hampstead & Highgate Express allluded to exsanguinated foxes but their discovery was not laid at the feet of Seán Manchester. It was, according to the newspaper report, David Farrant who found the foxes with their throats ripped out & completely drained of blood.
Simpson is fond of lumping Seán Manchester & David Farrant together & continues to repeat some of the error found in The Lore of the Land where she ought to have made corrections.
Consequently we still read about "magical duels" that did not take place & "challlenges" that were not made by the person she attributes them to, & the downplaying of one of the party's crimes to a single conviction where there were significantly more.
I have concluded that Jacqueline Simpson has an agenda which is far from impartial when it comes to hardcore supernatural history like the Highgate Vampire case. She might have been better served giving this entry a wide berth. Her readers certainly would have been better served had she done so.
