Title: The Ghosts of Belcourt Castle
Author: Harle H. Tinney
Publisher: Urlink Print & Media, LLC
ISBN: ‎ 978-1-64753-725-8
Pages: 108
Genre: History
Reviewed by: Dan MacIntosh

Read Book Review

The ghost stories relayed in The Ghosts of Belcourt Castle may not fit your expectations of similar spooky tales. Modern horror lore oftentimes includes plenty of gratuitous blood and gore. Such houses are many times the abodes of violent, murderous ghouls. This makes for intriguing literature and entertaining cinema, but one won’t find crime stories like these in this book. Nevertheless, its various remembrances make a strong case for at least accepting the possibility of a paranormal realm out there somewhere.

Our house in question is the Belcourt Castle, located in Newport, Rhode Island. It’s a famous mansion, filled with plenty of antique furniture. In many cases, these furnishings are said to be haunted or at least causes of the hauntings. These stories are told from the perspective of Harle H. Tinney (maiden name Hanson), who married Donald Harold Tinney. Tinney, his parents and great aunt bought Belcourt and restored it while also furnishing it with plenty of treasured antiques.

Many of these stories revolve around the experiences of Virginia Smith, who became a Belcourt tour guide. The book’s preface explains how “Miss Smith researched and discovered evidence of ghosts, mostly attached to antiques in the Belcourt collection. She began to remove the stigma associated with seeing ghosts, in her popular slide lectures, which benefited Belcourt’s preservation.” Mrs. Tinney’s first edition of the book was published in 2010, and now this third edition adds new stories from the house’s history. Smith’s forward to the book states, “Harle claims she is still skeptical of ghosts. But they were there, of course.” It’s up to the reader to decide just how “real” these ghosts were and are. No matter what side you come out on, though, this book is packed with some intriguing recollections.

Some of these stories are funny, as well as scary. With most all of these chapters detailing specific paranormal experiences, a few of these sections concern a character referred to as The Monk. This man was seen walking into – of all things – the ladies’ room. However, when Don went in to investigate this sighting, he reported, “There was nobody there.” Perhaps having a male ghost visiting the ladies’ room is even more terrifying than spotting a normal male intruder. (We won’t even begin to speculate about why The Monk went there).

This monk is a bit of a recurring character, as he was heard by a sensitive college girl to “get out” of the ballroom. He was also spotted by one visitor’s boyfriend who described him as “an old guy.” He further told of how “he had on a long coat – brown. And he was wearing a hat, kind of an odd-looking hat. I didn’t see his face, though.” In an episode that reads like a humorous scene from either The Addams Family or The Munsters TV shows, he immediately steered clear of the house. “That was the last we saw him,” Tinney recalls.

No, you probably shouldn’t expect a TV show, let alone a movie to be made about these ghosts of Belcourt. However, these remembrances have attracted the interest of modern-day ghost hunters. They’ve brought their various electronic tools to investigate the various beings said to be inhabiting the grand abode.

What makes these stories more believable than most are the first-person narriatives of encounters. If ghosts were only seen once or twice, one might be skeptical and explain the experience(s) away. Then again, one might still be inclined to explain away the instances in this book. However, there are so many, and so many varied accounts, it may just make even the most hardened skeptic soften a bit about the subject. It’s written in such a breezy, un-spooky manner, you won’t need to read it with all the lights in the house on. It’s far more interesting and thought-provoking than scary.