BOOK REVIEWS
Cape May Haunts: Elaine’s Haunted Mansion and Other Eerie Beach Tales
By D. P. Roseberry with Psychic Lauren Hull
Review by Scott Lefebvre, Horror Reviewer, and author of Spooky Creepy Long Island
I’ve had the fortunate accident of being acquainted with the author. Dinah is the editor of the Schiffer Books “ghost books” department, through which Schiffer releases a wide variety of regional paranormal books. I rescued a short stack of these paranormal books from their appointment with the pulper, in exchange for which I promised to read and review the books I received.
Dinah invited me to visit her office at Schiffer Books, she asked me if I had a copy of her book in the stack. When I checked, I said, “No. But I’d love to read your book.”. Dinah gave me a new copy from the book-case in her office, and asked me, half-jokingly if I was going to give her a good review.
Herein lies a frequent problem for the impartial reviewer. Sometimes you meet someone that’s a really great person and they provide you with the fruits of their creative labors. As an impartial reviewer, I have to put aside my personal opinion of the creator and allow the work to make its aesthetic impression on me.
Thankfully in this case, I really did enjoy reading her book. It’s always nice to be able to provide a positive review to someone that you have a positive personal opinion of.
The book is loosely separated into two parts.
In the first part, occupying until page one-hundred and one of the two-hundred and twenty-four page book, the author relates her long-term acquaintance with Elaine’s Haunted Mansion (Restaurant, Bed and Breakfast, Dinner Theater, and Walking Ghost Tour). The author visited the multifunctional location on her engagement and returned with a small team of paranormal investigators. The author documents, in no small detail, their investigation. Many tales of paranormal investigations rely on a single method of describing an investigation, either a highly personalized account of their reactions to the phenomenon, or a dry presentation of the observations of the investigator. Unlike many monostylistic accounts, Dinah delivers an engaging mix of personal reflection and documentation. It’s not often that investigators share their thrill at experiencing paranormal phenomenon with their readers. Dinah’s openness is truly absorbing and engaging. Her sincerity is preferable to the common practice where authors practice puns, trying to forcibly infuse their work with humor in an attempt to disarm their readers. More often than not, this is done awkwardly and is transparent and just not funny. Dinah avoids this by relating the humorous events as they naturally occur during a paranormal investigation. Although paranormal investigations are truly frightening at times, more often than not, discovery alternates with the self-conscious awareness of the seeming absurdity of creeping around playing ghost hunter. Dinah has a unique talent in her ability to integrate both sensibilities without lessening the impact of either.
The second part of the book is more representative of what one would expect from a regional paranormal book. A collection of brief stories about the miscellany of locations which have allegedly exhibited paranormal phenomenon. Dinah has had the opportunity to visit most of the locations documented in the second half of her book, and her anecdotes, derived from her personal experiences, help to bring to life this collection of ghostly tales harvested from the paranormally pregnant Cape May coast.
Ghosts of Valley Forge and Phoenixville
Interview by Lee Prosser - leep@ghostvillage.com
