poliphilo

I spent an awful lot of my early teens in secondhand bookshops. Most of what I bought has gone, and this is a rare survivor. I think it probably came from Hall's Bookshop in Tunbridge Wells (on the edge of the Pantiles). It cost me 6 shillings.

The author, John H. Ingram (1842-1916) describes the book as "a geography of ghostland". My copy is the 3rd edition, published in 1886. It once belonged to W.H. Smith's Lending Library at 186 the Strand.

"Had (the editor) ever entertained any belief whatever in supernatural manifestations"- writes Ingram- "the compilation of this work would have effectively cured him of such mental weakness." - a conclusion I find baffling, because it scared me silly.