Haunted ships, planes, and cars

Stories of paranormal oddities and strange happenings are undeniably fascinating, and these installments in the Yikes! It's Haunted series spotlight a horde of spine-tingling legends. Haunted Ships, Planes, and Cars describes several historical disasters and the legendary tales of hauntings that circulated in their wakes, including a spooky tale of the car James Dean was driving when he died and the race-car driver who was killed while operating a vehicle containing salvaged parts from the same deadly car. Unsettling stock photos, as well as images of some of the haunted items and places mentioned in the text, fit right in with the eerie atmosphere. Appropriate to the subject matter, the stories are presented as hearsay rather than fact, and although there's not abundant historical information, there's enough to give each tale a bit of real-life context. Though there might be little in the way of nonfiction here, this will nevertheless pique the curiosity of reluctant readers, and a closing note about paranormal research (A good researcher will always look for a natural explanation first when investigating a reported haunting) and a handful of critical-thinking questions could help introduce nonfiction reading skills.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2017 Booklist

Gr 4-6-What causes a haunting? "Many people believe that when people die, especially in a violent way, their spirits sometimes stay at the location of their death." Most of the haunted locations introduced here are in the United States, with a few in other parts of the world-a closing map indicates the location of each. Brief descriptions of place, manner of ghostly activity, and cause of the figure's death (when known) intertwine with comments on popular and expert beliefs about ghosts and hauntings. Causes of death include murder, fire, shipwrecks, and other tragedies, as well as ugly means of torture in Prisons and Asylums. Paranormal investigation crops up frequently and receives uneven definition among the books. Selected photographs often depict dark and spooky scenes, some superimposed with spectral shadows or with sleeping children. VERDICT While the volumes tend to vary in coverage and accessibility, there is a decent range of subjects presented here. Consider where needed. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.