Haunts and History

My Review of Haunted Marietta by Rhetta Akamatsu.

Do you believe in ghosts?

This question may come to mind when you pick up this book to read, but by the time you finish the last page it won’t matter.  You will have simply enjoyed an engrossing story of a town’s history, which is in turn, personal, epic, tragic and yes, ethereal.

This book is one part history lesson, one part ghost story and one part paranormal primer, stirred into a delightfully entertaining read.  The author takes you on a whirlwind tour of the town of Marietta, from its founding through the American Civil War, to contemporary day.  Along the way, the reader is treated to fascinating stories of times past, shown the diversity of the town, and regaled with tales of its citizens, living and dead.

“History is in the air all around, and it is not hard to believe that shades from the past linger here or, indeed, all around the square.”

The paranormal aspects in the book are presented in a very factual, even subdued manner; no ghosts pop out and say boo (at least until the last chapter regarding the Haunted Doll; that tale spooked me a bit).  The author documents well researched accounts of the hauntings, gives her opinions, and lays out eerie possibilities, deftly dangling the unexplained before the reader.  Certainly some of the stories gave this reader something to consider.

“It is no wonder, then, that some of these soldiers linger here in spirit, as they do at every major Civil War battlefield and no doubt countless other unsung battle locations throughout the country.”

Haunted Marietta is a wonderful look at a small slice of the Southern past, including some that may be lingering in the present.  I highly recommend it.

Haunted Marietta can be found on Amazon.com 



About the author:

Rhetta Akamatsu is a certified paranormal investigator, is a member of Ghost Hounds Paranormal Investigation Group and the national paranormal network ParaNexus.  She is a long-time resident of Marietta, Georgia and has a strong interest in history, psychology, and parapsychology.
She has also written two other books about the paranormal, Ghost to Coast, and Ghost to Coast Tours and Haunted Places, as well as the non-fiction book, T'aint Nobody's Business if I Do, about the women of blues music. 

Website:   http://www.ghosttocoast.us/