07 - Kate Summerscale and the Shoplifting Poltergeist

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Kate Summerscale is our first guest working in the realms of non-fiction. Her back-catalogue proves that the real world is every bit as dark and terrifying as the inside of Stephen King’s head. She’s covered murder in the famous The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (2008) and now she’s back with a more spiritual crisis in The Haunting of Alma Fielding. 

The book examines a very odd case of poltergeist activity in the London suburbs between the wars. Famous ghost hunters get involved, much crockery is thrown, jewellery is stolen (all by ghosts honestly!) and terrapins are manifested out of thin air. If all that sounds truly bizarre to you, then trust me, it’s the tip of a very spooky iceberg.

Kate is definitely the one to take us through the story. Her research is meticulous, and her historical contextualisation paints a compelling portrait of a nation, a household, and a woman under threat of attack. 

Books mentioned in this episode include:

• “Chemical”, in Shocks, by Algernon Blackwood (1935)
• Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places, by Colin Dickey (2017)
• The Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and our Obsession with the Unexplained, by Colin Dickey (2020)
• The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson (1959)

Come talk books with us on Twitter @talkscaredpod or email direct to [email protected].

Thanks to Terry Smith Audio for sound editing.

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