Francis Thompson (2) (1931–)

A well-researched, owl's-eye view into the ancient folklore and beliefs of the Scottish Highlands and Hebrides. Refreshingly, the author doesn't ride on the smug, underlying assumption that it's all just quaint superstition or worse, New Age Pollyanna; instead, he presents this culture's beliefs in the supernatural as rich, complex and alive. The writing itself can get tedious, but after a while, I found even that gave the work flavor and authenticity.

Couldn't put this book down. A very interesting account of the lives of the crofters of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Describes the hardship these people went through at the hands of evil landlords and factors, famines and the "clearances" when many were dispossessed of the land that rightly was theirs but held in trust by their clan chiefs. This is an enlightened insight into their culture, their houses, their food and medicine but more importantly their psyche and spirit. If you show more think you've ever had it hard reading this book might put things into perspective. show less

The introduction by Francis Thomson is overly long and meandering. A story from Gaelic mythology is clumsily translated, and the author spends too much print on his own classification scheme for ghosts.

Some of the stories in this book appear to be incompletely edited--In the chapter on "Strange Happenings", the author quotes at length from a friend who encountered a ghostly piper, and it seemed to me as though his story was copied from a letter whose pages were jumbled together in the wrong show more order. One moment the friend is strolling along the burn, the next moment he is roused from his bed by the sound of a ghostly piper.
Also, many of the stories in "Ghosts Spritis and Spectres of Scotland" have been told elsewhere, most notably in James Robertson's "Scottish Ghost Stories".

Definitely read "Ghosts Spirits and Spectres of Scotland" if you like frightening stories with a Gaelic twist. There are enough ghostly pipers in this book to entertain even the most ardent admirer of Scottish lore. show less