The World's Most Haunted House by William J. Hall

I borrowed this because it sounded pretty interesting, although I had no idea what I was getting into. Also, I've never heard of the house on Lindley Street so this was all new to me. Basically, this is about a haunting that took place on Lindley Street in Bridgeport. The book purports to be an objective account and analysis of the affair, but it's quite clearly on the side of "this is real".

This haunted house revolved around the Goodin family - Gerald (nicknamed Jerry), Laura, and the little girl they adopted, Marcia. Jerry and Laura had a little boy, who tragically passed away. Because of that, they were overprotective of Marcia. And then one day, weird stuff started happening. Things were moved, first small, and then large. And eventually, even the couch moved in the presence of eyewitnesses. In their attempt to get help, the Goodins called in quite a few people, but after a while the case was dismissed as a hoax.

The book starts with an account of the case, and then it gives information such as witness interviews, interview transcripts with the Goodins, etc. There are also a lot of photos but the quality isn't good and they seem to be there more for atmosphere than to illustrate a point (or maybe it was just my ecopy?).

While the book repeatedly mentions that the media called this a hoax, it never really goes into detail why or gives the other side. The most I can tell is that because Marcia admitted to faking some things, they assumed everything was faked. The book takes the stance that some things (the stuff that was admitted) was faked but there were actual paranormal phenomena involved.

I thought this was a fascinating read, but I would have much preferred to see the other side of the story as well and be allowed to make up my own mind instead of being told this was an objective account and that I should believe it. And this is another personal preference, but I would prefer the research to be woven into the narrative rather than be a separate part.