For as long as I can remember I have always loved ghost stories and legends. From Greek mythology to Edgar Allan Poe, I'm often on the edge of my seat with the feeling that there's somebody standing behind me ready to pounce.
Uncanny is the perfect book for those looking for an exploration into the paranormal, and why people have these scary experiences that are so out of the ordinary for everyday life. From hauntings to UFOs, Danny Robins explores stories from real people who've had very real experiences, or, at least, for those more cynical, what they truly believe to be very real experiences.
What sets Uncanny apart from other books in the same genre is the balance between belief and scepticism. Each case isn't just told, it is held up against the light and torn to pieces, then presented with both reasons to believe and reasons to doubt, neither being treated as more important than the other.
As a non-believer in the paranormal, it was so interesting to explore why people believe and to be presented with questions in which I can't claim to know the answer. Danny does the perfect job in presenting all of his reasonings in a way that make believers and sceptics alike feel respected. There were many points in the believer's section that actually had me pause and think; even if not a ghost, there's only so many times you can blame a recurrent knock on the wind. If ghosts do not exist, then what are people actually seeing?
If there were to be changes made in this book, I could have done without some of Danny's personal stories. It's not that his own quips were unwelcome, many actually made sense in context, I enjoyed his telling of moments that he has found himself or his family to have become overwhelmed to the point of misinterpretation, but some stories felt rather repetitive. For example, I could have done with just one of 'The Backyard Killer' or 'The Ever Beeping Fire Alarm' stories, as both came to the same point, adding the same narrative purpose. I think another famous example of misinterpretation would have served more of a purpose, therefore expanding the point of how easy fear can overwhelm outwardly from his own world. The 1954 Gorbals Vampire Panic was touched upon in the extra chapter at the end of the book, but I would have loved for it to have been built into the main narrative.
As I listened to the audio book, a part of the experience I will commend is how captivating of a storyteller Danny is. His adlibs and genuine love of the subject make for an intriguing listen. So often, when read by a narrator perhaps not too connected to the words, an audio book can become background noise; this never happens with Uncanny.
So, if you are in search of a read for the forth coming autumn, I highly recommend this book. Whether you believe, do not, or are simply looking for a good spook, Uncanny is the book for you.
Writings Of A Queer Mind 