"Haunted Houses" is a short, pleasant way to pass the time on a plane flight, which is exactly when I read it.
Seemingly aimed at a younger audience (and, interestingly, published by Xerox, the photo copy company), I picked up a used copy because the cover caught my eye. In short, the 94 page book summarizes some of the most famous reported ghosts and poltergeists.
While author Kettelkamp does mention folklore and urban legends from time to time, he chose to focus his attention on only those reports that were recorded or corroborated in some official capacity. For example, one story was documented in an official British court martial. Other stories were included in police reports or University studies. In other words, he does NOT pay attention to stories of simple hearsay.
I found the book enjoyable and interesting. Again, the prose and illustrations felt aimed at younger readers, but this did not detract from my reading pleasure. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is its flimsy "conclusions" in the epilogue. Said conclusions were so "Your guess is as good as mine," the book might have been stronger without them.
Still, if you have an hour or two to kill, see if your local used book store might have a copy. It's worth your time.
