SARAH BLAIR-DICKINSON reviews Paul Adam’s latest supernatural guide, Haunted Stevenage
Haunted Stevenage Review
Being from Hertfordshire, I love reading books about the haunted histories of local towns and I’ve seen Stevenage come up in many of the books I’ve read.
This book is the first dedicated entirely to Stevenage alone.
Paul Adams has put together a spooky collection of Stevenage hauntings that is very fun to read and definitely sends a chill up the spine.
This book covers all sorts of hauntings including ghostly apparitions, poltergeists and other strange stories.
Throughout the chapters are photographs and news clippings which give life to the tales.
One chapter that I particularly like is the very odd story of Henry Trigg; Stevenage’s best known haunting.
Henry was a rich businessman that requested in his will that his coffin be placed up in the rafters of his barn rather than be buried and at the mercy of grave robbers.
Henry’s ghost has been seen a few times hanging about near the barn which is now an outhouse behind a Natwest bank. I really related to Henry—I hate the thought of being buried underground. Even if I am dead I much prefer the thought of being placed up in my own attic where I’m still in the house and amongst my own things.
Aside from the ghost stories, Haunted Stevenage is a great history lesson. I’ve learned a fair bit about the town and many of the old buildings there and it’s given me a new appreciation for them. I live quite near Stevenage and have been to a few of the places mentioned in this book. Now I look forward to the next time I can go again and revisit some of the sites, especially the pubs!
All the ghost stories included in Haunted Stevenage are excellent, though this book may not the best choice for a bit of late-night reading when you’re all alone, as I did.
Bad idea unless you intend to sleep with the lights on!
Haunted Stevenage by PAUL ADAMS is now available from History Press
