As a child of the 80s I loved going to the library. It was one of my favourite places to go as I loved reading all sorts of books including Tintin, Asterix and scary ones too.. . Yup, I was a regular child with a fascination in the scary.

The World of the Unknown series was a perennial favourite as it explored unexplained and supernatural phenomena. There were 3 in the series and they were:
The World of the Unknown: UFOs
The World of the Unknown: Monsters
The World of the Unknown: Ghosts

My favourite was always Ghosts as it was a spooky book all about those pesky phantoms and their mysterious ways. It covered a myriad of topics including some of the most well known hauntings, obvious fakes and even tools needed to investigate supernatural phenomena.

The book was beautifully illustrated with full colour artwork and a few "ghost photos". I remember always wanting to visit Pluckley, the 'most haunted town in England' in Kent. The book has remained in my mind even after all these years and when I heard that it was being re-released I knew I would have to purchase it to relive my youth and try to remember simpler times when the world looked like a wondrous place full of joy, instead of the bleak heck-hole it seems to have become. I kid of course but I'm sure there are many people who have that sentiment and look upon the past with some halcyon glow. I'm not one of those people though.

However, the book is the same as I remember except it is on glossier paper and now features a foreword by Reece Shearsmith, writer and creator of League of Gentleman and other creepy television series.

Reading it again one cold Christmas night, I found that it was just as wonderful as I remember from my youth. The pictures that were ingrained in my mind were there in all their glory and popped in their vibrancy, affirming that the book is as great as I remember and even taking away the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia, well worth a read.