Title: Ghosts of the British Museum

Author: Noah Angell

Genre: Nonfiction

Publisher: Octopus

Publication Date: 11th April 2024

Cover:

Summary:

What if the British Museum isn’t a carefully ordered cross section of history but is in instead a palatial trophy cabinet of colonial loot – swarming with volatile and errant spirits?

When artist and writer Noah Angell first heard murmurs of ghostly sightings at the British Museum he had to find out more. What started as a trickle soon became a deluge as staff old and new – from overnight security to respected curators – brought him testimonies of their supernatural encounters.

It became clear that the source of the disturbances was related to the Museum’s contents – unquiet objects, holy plunder, and restless human remains protesting their enforced stay within the colonial collection’s cabinets and deep underground vaults. According to those who have worked there, the institution is heaving with profound spectral disorder.

Ghosts of the British Museum fuses storytelling, folklore and history, digs deep into our imperial past and unmasks the world’s oldest national museum as a site of ongoing conflict, where restless objects are held against their will.

It now appears that the objects are fighting back.

Review:

I was incredibly intrigued by the concept of Ghosts of the British Museum, curious about how the fusion of history and the supernatural would work. By and large, I have to say I found it really interesting, it was fascinating to read about aspects of the museum I had genuinely no idea about, such as the vast storage areas and what exactly may be encased within its walls. I also found the social and historical context deeply compelling and, of course, often disturbing. The author clearly has a very firmly held belief about the negative impact of places like The British Museum, which is admittedly full of objects taken in Britain’s colonial past. He certainly has a valid point in my view, however I do think a little more balance on whether museums could offer some kind of opportunity to learn and improve would have made the book slightly less one note. Overall, however, I think Ghosts of the British Museum is the sort of book that will provoke conversation and encourage discussion around these extremely important and timely topics, which can only be a good thing. It is revelatory with regard to what darkness lurks behind the provenance of many of the objects held within it and is definitely worth reading to form your own opinion on a place that has always courted controversy.

Thank you so much to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for inviting me on this tour and organising it. I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

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