Friday, September 25, 2009

Book Review: "Night Stalks The Mansion" by Constance Westbie and Harold Cameron



When looking up Haunted Pennsylvania. Heilbron Mansion comes up on the south east corner of the state. Sixteen miles south of Philly. The mansion was at one time called Edwards Mansion.
Let me clear one thing up right now. This is a simple ghost story. Very simple. Not really "spooky" at all. And, I believe, there was a lot of poetic license taken on Mr. Cameron's part. And, that's ok.
Did I like the book, yes. But, for a personal reason. My son lives in Media, PA. Where the story is based (in the book he calls the place Wynne which is really Elwyn, part of Media). And, me, from NYC originally. It gives me insight to how me and Mr. Cameron view "the area". It has it's vibes. Believe me when I say this. You can drive around and it can give you really creepy chills. I've been in old towns in Upstate NY and MA and never get that feel. Mr. Cameron is originally from CA. And, this book was based around the early '60's. But, still very much the same.
But, the story itself? No different from many ghost stories you hear around these parts. Do I recommend to read it? It's a good ghost story for those who don't like to be scare out of their minds. And, young teens.
He made changes of where the house is located. Like I said above, the town is Media, PA on the corner of Painter Road and Rose Tree Road. The creek he mentions is Ridley Creek.
You cannot see the original home. It's been burnt down twice. But the foundation is the same for both houses. A third has been built since then. The outer area have been made into housing developments. So, very little of what was there is gone.
http://www.nstm.net/

2 comments:

  1. The house at the cross roads was Providence and Rose Tree Road and has been redone and turned into a tourist place and moved off the road. I feel bad about what happened to Enoch in the story.
    I grew up on State Road, so my high school bus went by this place every day. A friend of my brother's did a photo documentary of the mansion in the early 80s. I believe there is a plane of existence we don't understand. The part about the injured woman was rather scary to me and how Cameron's dogs reacted to her.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice to meet you Dianne. My son lives in Media. So I am familar to the area. The story is quite interesting, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete