I’m so excited to share an incredible book with you today: Atlas of Paranormal Places: A Journey to the World's Most Supernatural Places. Written by Evelyn Hollow, this book offers a uniquely dark armchair journey to the shocking supernatural events, ghosts, and unexplained phenomena that have captivated humankind for as long as we have told stories to each other, looked to the skies, and wondered whether we really are alone…

I love haunted things. Maybe it was Scooby-Doo, but anything strange and unexpected draws my eye, but oftentimes I feel I’ve heard the same few stories about the same few places over and over. I was so refreshed when I saw that this book has places from across the whole world, in varying degrees of supernatural.  

So when I sat down on my couch on a rainy night, and finally picked up a book I’d been waiting for the right time to read, I was delighted to find new things I’d never heard of, alongside some more well-known places with information maybe not even the most well-versed would know. 

What I love about this book is that it is well-curated, and nothing is undercooked. If I was looking for more information on a spooky place, and I knew it was in this book, I would pick up the book first, before going to Google and Wiki, which is saying a lot from this Gen-Zer. 

My favorite touch is the map of each supernatural area, which perfectly painted a picture alongside the beautifully-evocative writings to create something that truly gave an informational and thrilling read. 

Chapters include haunted places, witchcraft, sacred sites, myths & legends, strange nature, and cryptids & creatures. In addition to the maps, there are a plethora of photos so you can perfectly visualize being there. 

This cursed collection covers these sites in all their mysterious glory, and recounts what happened, what continues to happen, and what may explain these phenomena. Hauntings, aliens, moving rocks, and all manner of paranormal activity are covered, in man made as well as natural surroundings.

Highly recommended!

Evelyn Hollow is a double Academy Award-winning Scottish writer and paranormal psychologist. She was a resident author at Esoterica Zine for more than four years, was the recipient of the 2015 Lonely Planet Travel Writing Scholarship, the occult columnist for Corvid Culture, and has taught writing classes at everywhere from universities to arts festivals. She has also been featured in exhibitions at ESAF and is the creator of The Baer Archive. She is a former psychology lecturer and holds a Master of Research degree in Paranormal Psychology. She now consults as a paranormal psychologist and expert for various TV shows and podcasts including The Battersea Poltergeist, Uncanny, and Spooked Scotland. Evelyn gives guest talks on paranormal history and the quantum physics of anomalous phenomena.

We were lucky enough to talk with Hollow and ask her about the book! Here’s what she had to say…

Once I finished your book, my immediate thought was that it was the most well-curated paranormal piece I’d seen. Were there any places that you left out, and why may they not have made it into the book?
I didn’t want there to be too many tourist dense places in the book, the more unusual a location the higher chance I had of including it. 

There are several paranormal locations I consider to be fraudulent or unethical and so I stayed clear of those — any locations I consider to have no paranormal ties but a rich history I did include, however, I stated my professional assessment of them clearly. 
There are a few places in the Oceania region I would have loved to include but it would have been at the expense of excluding whole countries from the list. The entire continent of Asia is so fast I had great difficulty narrowing it down there too. I believe the area most excluded from the book, unfortunately, is Russia.

Are there any places on this list you would recommend to visit for people just getting into paranormal history?
The Celtic nations are particularly saturated with paranormal stories and history. Scotland & Ireland are always a good place to start.

What's up next for you? 
More books! I have three manuscripts optioned. Otherwise I’m filming the second season of the Uncanny TV adaptation for the BBC and recording new episodes for radio shows.

How can people find your work?
www.evelynhollow.com
@_EvelynHollow on Twitter/X.
@evelynhollow on Instagram & TikTok.

Lillie Forteau is the Music, Arts, and Culture Editor for Wandering Educators