Ghost stories have been around for centuries, presenting themselves in many different forms. Some come to us in the form of urban legends questioned to be true, others are made for fun around the campfire. Either way, it does not matter if your are a believer or a sceptic we all love hearing a good ghost story.

Barbra Smith has gathered many of British Columbia's ghost stories and complied them into one book called Ghost Stories and Mysterious Creatures of British Columbia. Inside she includes everything from possessed dolls, friendly ghosts and disappearing cities. Each story is short and easy to read, making it the perfect choice for those of us who do not have the time to read a full novel in just one sitting. Besides giving us a more ghostly view of beautiful British Columbia, Smith is also able to teach us a little about its past by taking us back into the times of the Great Depression as well as the gold rush.

The book itself is very interesting and I myself enjoyed being able to read about the spooky history of towns and cities surrounding where I now live. I do wish however that that Smith had visited the destinations herself. By only actually seeing a few of the places she wrote about made me question a lot of her stories. As I read the book I was hoping to find her experience's at these sites along with their history. I was hoping for something that would give us readers a sign that these stories were credible and not made up by someone's over active imagination. I wanted something that would challenge my views and attempt at making me take a closer look at the paranormal world. Instead a lot of what I found inside reminds me of when I was a child and all the kids on the street swore that Mr. Henry was a vampire.

Ghost Stories and Mysterious Creatures of British Columbia is still a very good read. Smith was able to bring enough fact into the book to allow you to learn something without overloading it to the point that it seemed like a documentary. It is very interesting and easy to read, and I would recommend it to adults and young readers alike who have a love for spooky tales.

I will not say that this book will turn sceptics into believers, as I found myself wishing for that little bit more from each story. I was left hoping for something that would change my mind, never to find it. I admit that it is not the type of book that I normally reach for, but I will also gladly admit that I enjoyed it from beginning to end. In fact I have since been wondering what spooky occurrences happened in my home province of Nova Scotia and have been keeping a close eye out for an edition based on this.


Ghost stories and mysterious creatures of British Columbia