Chilling with Ghosts by Insha Fitzpatrick

Welcome Back, Booklovers! The cool thing about field guides is they give you so much information. I had seen the previous published Hanging with Vampires in this same series and liked the idea of a nonfiction guide with facts, urban legends, and activities for the curious young reader. Quirk Books gave me the chance to review Chilling with Ghosts which only the second book in what I hope becomes a long series.

This book is a great intro to horror and ghost tales. I like how Insha Fitzpatrick has this broken down into chapters. Ghosts 101 give you all the quick facts you need. It has how to identify ghosts, different types of ghosts, and even provides you with the Top 10 signs you're being haunted. 

Ghost stories referenced in this guide include everything from the Baily School Kids Ghosts Don't Eat Potato Chips to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. From classics to modern day middle grade stories readers interested in expanding their reading list can turn to this book. 

Crafts, snacks, and other activities and featured in each chapter. There's everything from how to build a Ghastly Ghostly Tool Kit to How to Make Your Own Haunted House. I liked the Ultimate Ghost Story Game. It could be a fun and interactive activity for a class around Halloween time because it gives just enough pieces to give everyone a starting point to craft a  spooky short story of their own.

Even for a reader like me who enjoys a good horror from time to time but wouldn't consider myself a horror aficionado this was an enjoyable guide. The different facts about ghosts along with celebrations and superstitions from different parts of the world was very interesting. The illustrations were great and it was nice to see some diversity in imagery. I would've liked to see some more examples from countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. This did stick to the more popular and well known places in media. There's lots of humor and numerous pop culture references ranging from present to modern day. But this guide is a good starting point to jump into further exploration. Looking forward to the next Totally Factual Field Guide to the Supernatural and hoping it's witches.