Clearly impeccably researched, by an accomplished and passionate author…but I just found it really dry, and it was a real chore to plough through. Maybe I should try it again some time, but it really didn’t click for me.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

Haunted States is structured around Corcoran's journey across the United States, delving into locations that epitomize various forms of American Gothic, such as ghostly New England, the vampire-infused Southern Gothic, atomic influences in New Mexico and Nevada, and Hollywood-focused California, with a unique look at Midwestern Gothic as well. Corcoran's exploration is deeply rooted in historical context, examining how past horrors continue to influence the national consciousness. She interweaves this historical analysis with examinations of literature and film, providing a nuanced understanding of how these mediums reflect and shape the American Gothic tradition. The book does more than just recount ghost stories; it's a thoughtful consideration of how geography and history converge in the cultural imagination to create uniquely American tales of horror. "Haunted States" is accessible for broad audiences, both avid or academic readers. A compelling read for those interested in American history, horror, and how these elements interlace within the American Gothic framework. Recommended!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Miranda Corcoran’s “Haunted States: An American Gothic Guidebook” is a fascinating blend of travel literature and cultural criticism that delves into the eerie and often unsettling history of the United States. This guidebook is a journey through haunted locations and an exploration of the dark narratives that have shaped American consciousness.

The book is structured around Corcoran’s travels across the United States during the summer of 2022. Each chapter focuses on a different location, from the infamous Salem, Massachusetts, to the haunted plantations of the South. Corcoran investigates how historical events, such as witch trials, slavery, and genocide, have left an indelible stain on the places where these tragic miscarriages of justice occur.

Corcoran’s writing is engaging and informative, striking a perfect balance between storytelling and analysis. Her vivid descriptions bring each location to life, while her insightful commentary provides a deeper understanding of the cultural and historical contexts that contribute to the haunting atmosphere. The narrative contains anecdotes and personal reflections, making it a compelling read for both history and supernatural fans.

“Haunted States” explores themes of memory, trauma, and the lingering effects of past atrocities. Corcoran examines how these dark histories continue to influence contemporary American society and culture. This book delves into the concept of the Gothic as a means to view and understand these haunted landscapes, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of places and narratives.

“Haunted States” blends travelogue with cultural criticism. Corcoran addresses the uncomfortable truths about America’s past, and her analysis is thought-provoking and enlightening. She skillfully connects the dots between historical events and their representation in Gothic fiction and film, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of how these stories impact societal views and fears.

“Haunted States: An American Gothic Guidebook” is a must-read for anyone interested in the darker side of American history and culture. Miranda Corcoran has crafted a book that is informative and captivating, offering readers a unique journey through the haunted heart of the United States.

Whether you’re a fan of Gothic literature, a history enthusiast, or simply someone who enjoys a good ghost story, this guidebook is sure to leave a lasting impression.

Miranda Corcoran’s Haunted States offers a compelling blend of travelogue and cultural criticism, bringing together history, geography, and Gothic horror to explore the dark undercurrents of the American landscape. The book is not your typical guide to haunted houses or ghost stories; it dives much deeper, revealing how the terrifying parts of America’s past—witch trials, slavery, genocide—continue to cast shadows over the nation’s collective consciousness and cultural productions.

Corcoran’s journey across the United States in the summer of 2022 becomes the lens through which she explores the relationship between real historical horrors and the fictional Gothic traditions of American literature and film. The book’s structure weaves together personal travel narrative with historical context, seamlessly integrating interviews and observations about specific locations. These include places that have inspired famous works of Gothic fiction and horror cinema, such as New England, the South, and the West, where each region’s unique landscape has shaped its distinct Gothic tradition.

What sets Haunted States apart is its exploration of how the physical geography of America informs the horror genres that emerge from each region. Corcoran shows how the desolate expanses of the West give rise to tales of isolation and madness, while the South’s tangled history of slavery and racial violence fuels a distinctly Southern Gothic, filled with haunting specters of the past. Her insights into how the landscape shapes horror are thought-provoking and often eerie, making readers look at familiar genres in a new light.

The book also critically examines how America’s Gothic imagination is tied to the country’s darkest histories of oppression, violence, and colonialism. Corcoran doesn’t shy away from confronting how horrors like slavery and the displacement of Indigenous peoples have left their mark on the national psyche. These historical traumas are revealed as the true ghosts that continue to haunt America, often more terrifying than any fictional monsters.

While Haunted States deals with weighty historical and cultural issues, Corcoran’s writing is accessible and engaging. Her first-person narrative, filled with vivid descriptions of her travels and the places she visits, adds a personal dimension that makes the history feel immediate and relevant. The supplemental interviews with locals, historians, and cultural critics provide additional perspectives, enriching the book’s analysis.

One of the strengths of Haunted States is its ability to speak to both academic readers interested in cultural studies and casual readers drawn to the American Gothic and horror genres. It invites readers to reconsider the landscapes they know and reflect on the unsettling realities beneath the surface of American history.

In conclusion, Haunted States is a hauntingly insightful work that combines travel writing with cultural critique, offering a fresh and critical look at how the horrors of the past continue to influence American art, culture, and identity. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the intersection of history, geography, and the Gothic, as well as those who want to understand how America’s landscapes are as haunted by real history as they are by fictional horrors.

This book is fantastic. It is a thorough exploration (and guide) to different areas of the vast US, searching for the creepy stories that shaped our nation and the intricate relationships between landscape, history and local lore. From the green forest of Vermont and the birth of spiritualism , to the arid desert of New Mexico with its almost Martian geography , going through the revenants who inhabits the Deep South bayous, and much more, this book makes you want to pack and start the ultimate American road trip. A real treat of a book!

Thank you for this one! I love it so much! I might buy a copy. I love our ghosts. USA has the best ghosts.

Wasn’t my favorite, dragged a bit but full of interesting facts about interesting places.
If you’re into nonfiction about spooky places give it a shot.

Part travel log, part local histories, and cultural criticism. I’ve said for a long time, if you dig into local lore and ghost stories you will find some facinating history. While I liked the format of this book, it was dry and I struggled to finish it. I had such high hopes.

Thank you NetGalley and Repeater. #HauntedStates #NetGalley.

A fusion of travel literature and cultural criticism investigating the dark history of the US and exploring how past horrors – from witch trials to slavery and genocide – continue to haunt the national consciousness.

This is an interesting guide book of some of America's darker history. Not all of it,mind you, but a good portion.

Corcoran visits the East, South,and west of the United States.
In the East she tackles what you would expect,the Gothic history of Massachusetts and Main. Limited iny opinion considering how much haunted and tragic history is in the surrounding states like New York, Pennsylvania,and even New Jersey. She goes the typical route and visits Salem and gives her commentary on the witch trials.
I'm not sure she painted Salem, Massachusetts in a very good light, making it seem like a cheesy tourist fleecing place thena spot of historic significance.

From here she heads south to Richmond, Virginia and gives a very interesting speech about Edgar Allen Poe and slavery.
The horror of slavery will always be present in the south no matter how hard they try to white-wash that history but I was expecting stories of haunted locations.

In the West, California and Vegas with and the lore and scandals there. Very interesting stories of the days of nuclear test and their legacy as well as how they lead to classic horror movies such as The Hills have Eyes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Again not was I was hoping for but interesting nonetheless.

It's a very well written book by an obviously intelligent writer who did her research. You can tell she is an educator as the book takes on the feel of a college text book.

But if your expecting Halloween scares to share around a fire you won't find them here. This is not your typical
Haunted tales reference book.
Not sure how I feel about that but I can't deny this was a interesting read.

Recommended for those wanting more educational than titillating.

Thanks to @netgalley and Repeater Books for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I love books like this because I learn something new about my state every time. Its so much fun. thank you netgalley,

This book traces the history of the United States in its geographical landscapes & how these have influenced its culture. The Gothic genre found in British novels is different to American Gothic, & the author posits that America is haunted by its own past & history, even if these take very different regional forms. Travelling from the East coast to the West, from Lily Dale, NY, to LA & San Francisco, Corcoran explores the origins of Spiritualism, the witch trials, & the legends of vampires & zombies. Discussing the works of authors such as Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, to Anne Rice, the author asks the reader to examine the America beneath the surface.

This was a really interesting read - I'd never heard of Lily Dale before & it sounds a fascinating place. I also really enjoyed the sections on Sleepy Hollow, Poe, & LA, but I must be honest, I didn't think that the chapter on Texas & Nevada & the atomic legacy worked as well as the others. To me it seemed slightly incongruous alongside the other topics. Overall though it was very informative & gives the reader a lot to think about. 3.5 stars (rounded up)

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Repeater Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Definitely not for anyone clinging to notions of America as synonymous with freedom and a chance at the good life. America as witnessed by academic Miranda Corcoran leans more towards read-it-and-weep, despite the odd flash of fragile optimism. Corcoran’s compelling, accessible blend of travel memoir and cultural analysis revolves around the American Gothic. For Corcoran American Gothic isn’t fixed but metamorphic, responsive to places and histories. She leaves Ireland for America to test out theories about its shifting forms, from its influence in literature to cinema and TV. She’s fascinated by relations between context and content, changing landscapes replete with their own brand of insidious anxiety: fleshy monsters formed in Southern swamplands; the conjurings of mediums and restless ghosts pervading New England; the mutated forms crawling forth from deserts scarred by nuclear testing.

Corcoran visits Lily Dale centre for American spiritualism where ghosts often had positive meanings. Women who channelled them, like the Fox sisters, the first to enter public speaking in 19th century America, the spirits they claimed to represent stirred up hope for a vibrant afterlife. A belief that Corcoran views as bound up with the area’s status as frontier region, attracting people in search of a brighter future. In contrast Hudson Valley’s revenants testify to legacies of war, the abuses of the past. Known for its diverse settlers bringing with them a rich store of European folklore and legend; its weather, its eerie mists, suggest weird things lurking in the shadows. Some are possibly remnants of half-submerged guilt stemming from the brutal colonisation and extermination of Indigenous peoples. In Salem Corcoran’s confronted by bizarre juxtapositions, solemn memorials to those who died during its infamous witch trials jostle with shops hawking witch-y merchandise. It's a tourist spot made popular by fans of Bewitched a kitschy show about a suburban mother with magical powers. But it also inspired Hawthorne and laid the foundations for Lovecraft’s sinister Arkham.

Wanderings through Vermont highlight the peculiar nature of American hauntings, an emphasis on domestic spaces, the houses integral to achieving the “American Dream.” Brickwork that oozes with desire and malevolence outlined in Shirley Jackson’s Bennington-based fiction - written when home for many American women was equivalent to a prison. Jackson was all too aware of Bennington's reputation for the unexplained: from vanishings to cryptids, even carnivorous stones. For Corcoran Virginia’s associated with tangible, visceral beings, Poe’s prematurely-buried women, vampires and undead weighed down by history. Many festering and reeking in its swamps and wetlands. References to the oral cultures of the enslaved detected in Poe’s work then direct Corcoran to Eatonville. A small town founded by emancipated slaves, where Zora Neale Hurston once lived, it highlights America’s violent divides. Here the swamp’s a site of resistance, hiding place and sanctuary. Resistance is paramount in New Orleans’s embrace of so-called “voodoo.” Vilified in white narratives, for its followers it symbolised a refusal to abandon their heritage. In New Orleans, Corcoran reflects too on the work of Jewelle Gomez and Anne Rice. Fiction whose messages counter the lament for the Antebellum South found in Charlaine Harris’s vampire novels.

Demons, devilry, and denial mark out California and the iconic Midwest. Corcoran’s travels through Texas, Nevada and New Mexico construct a persuasive account of techno-militaristic policies that birthed monsters and mushroom clouds. Entering Texas, Corcoran’s struck by the fact that meat is everywhere: highways festooned with animal skulls, flashes of pastureland where cows wait for death. Inevitably, Corcoran connects these images to Tobe Hooper’s seminal horror The Texas Chainsaw Massacre a vision of America descending into chaos, disinterring its hastily-buried dead, exposing the rotting flesh beneath its shiny surfaces. In keeping with a state that’s essentially a scab formed over histories of extensive ethnic cleansing. Nevada and nearby deserts tell stories of devastated environments, shattered ecologies, Indigenous and Hispanic communities forcibly uprooted to make way for nuclear testing. Events that led to the oddly-beguiling, 1950s atom-age “bug” movies; and later Wes Craven’s arresting cannibal horror The Hills Have Eyes. Craven’s film highlights class injustices, sanctioned versus unsanctioned brutality. The all-American Carter family are the acceptable face of American perversity – the father delights in the vicious policing of people of colour - pitted against a mutated clan forged out of poverty and toxic waste.

I found Corcoran’s book’s incredibly readable, her imagery, her depiction of her encounters along the road, are lucid, inventive and insightful. Atmospheric, well-researched, engaged and occasionally provocative, highly recommended.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I found the introduction very dry and similar to reading a textbook. I kept reading, because I had high hopes for this book, however I did not enjoy the first chapter any more than the introduction. I felt like this was way more about the travel and history of the area discussed that anything Gothic or horror related. I was not enjoying this one, so I decided not to finish it.

This is a great read. A travelogue, selected history, and cultural criticism/exploration all in one. Corcoran is from Ireland and her impressions of America are fascinating and very well written.
I expected this to be more focused on the spookier aspects of her journey across the United States, but it's so much more than ghost stories of America. Corcoran takes stock of American history and appreciates individual Americans. It's such a fun book.
Highest recommendation if this sounds like your style.
Thank you NetGalley and Repeater Books for the ARC.

This book was not what I was expecting. Instead of the traditional ghostly sightings and haunted places, this was more of a detailed history of dark places and events in the United States. This made this book unique, and a bit of a gothic travel guide companion. The research put into this is astounding, and the writing is top notch.

Some parts I found to be more interesting than others, and because the chapters are long, I did find myself skimming in some areas. I also found the author including herself in this journey so frequently was a little distracting in some cases. Personal thoughts and observations are great, but in an already long chapter, things like stepping off the bus and setting down your backpack don't need to be documented.

This is perhaps just a personal thing, but in a book geared toward history, if citations are necessary then doing them in Chicago/Turabian style would have made it not as distracting to the overall flow of information.

Those are minor points, as I found the book overall to be solid and interesting. More than anything, the unique way of putting this together by region and incorporating so much research was a pleasant surprise. This is definitely worth a read to kick off the spooky season while watching the leaves turn to fall colors.

Thank you NetGalley and Repeater Books for the great read!

There's always a desire for "spooky" stories in the school market; this goes beyond that into literary criticism that connects the scary stories of a region to its history and culture. Will purchase for older high schoolers interested in exploring these connections.

"Haunted States" is an incredibly fun take on American ghosts by an Irish woman with a good sense of humor. Divided by different locations, Corcoran is no fluff-writer; she's interested in the history behind these places as much as the ghosts, but it's her lively, engaging writing style that makes this one a nonfiction winner. I recommend this one to fans of Caitlin Doughty - it's got a similar morbid, educational, and fun vibe.

So very disappointed. Based on the cover, this was going to be a great book but it's not. It's long winded, not about ghosts or haunted anything really. An example of the writing, "A haunting might illuminate the name ways in which an individual family is implicated in systems of patriarchal oppression (as in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wall Paper), White supremacy (Toni Morrison's Beloved) or economic inequality (Edith Wharton's All Souls)." Did I mention this is a history book? Not haunting, history and history of literature. No ghosts to be found.

Thank you NetGalley Galley and Miranda corcoran for allowing me to read Haunted States.

With spooky season approaching, I love diving into the haunted history of different places. While I’m not into Ghost Adventures-style investigations (you know, the over-the-top ghost-hunting shows—I don’t mess with spirits, no thanks!), this book took a more thoughtful, intellectual approach, which I really appreciated. The research was solid, and it provided great references, sources, and even pictures, which added to the authenticity.

I was immediately drawn in because the first location featured is close to home. I know that place is haunted!

My only real critique is the chapter formatting. It would be easier to digest if the chapters were shorter, maybe broken up by region. For example, Part 1: Northern, Chapter 1: City 1, Chapter 2: City 2, and so on, and then Part 2: Southern, following the same format. This way, the information would flow more naturally.

Overall, though, this is a fantastic read, perfect for anyone interested in history with a spooky twist. Highly recommend!

I have thought extensively about the regional differences in the paranormal and hauntings. This book took every one of those thoughts and presented them in a well-researche, easy-to-follow guide. The travelogue style and conversational tone make this book very accessible and well-organized. I found the topic fascinating and the presentation engaging. This book is a little prone to tangents and wondering prose, but I did not feel that that distracted from the reading experience. I really enjoyed this book as both a historian and a paranormal enthusiast.