Book Reviews Perceptions Magazine, January 2020
The Spirit of Cornwall: A Haunted Legacy, Volume One
By Mark Anthony Wyatt
Leviathan Media Productions
2019, 199 pages, US $14.99 Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-5272-4860-1
Reviewed by Brent Raynes
Back on October 19th, in music city Nashville, at the first Strange Realities conference sponsored and organized by Adam Sayne’s Conspirinormal Podcast team, I had the distinct pleasure of listening to a presentation given by this author and getting to briefly meet and chat with him as well.
After all of that, and then doing an interview with him [posted in the last issue] and reading his book The Spirit of Cornwall, I must confess I’m ready to pack my bags and catch a flight over there! Though the book has some nice pictures in it, the author’s word pictures convey so much more. He introduces each character and location so well it’s almost like a third eye synesthesia has been opened up and the printed words on each page are so masterfully written in the grand tradition and style of an effective storyteller that you almost begin to see, feel, smell, taste and hear what’s described, and the stories themselves, constructed from personal interviews [and from time to time actual first-hand experiences, which he’s had his share] are quite mesmerizing – especially if you have an interest in wickedly weird stories of true encounters with UFOs, ghosts, poltergiests, hauntings, sea monsters – even mermaids and unusually big owls, including one that rocked his car as it flew by him [say what?] late one night. Mark truly brings the people, so much of the history, and the “supernatural” stories of Cornwall to life for his readers.
The Spirit of Cornwall: A Haunted Legacy, Vol. 2
By Mark Anthony Wyatt
Leviathan Media Productions
2019, 172 pages, US $14.99 Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-9162-85200
Reviewed by Brent Raynes
Volume 2 of course consists of more literary goodies from Cornwall! With such chapters entitled The Green Fingered Ghosts of Heligan, The Legend of the Lost Land of Lyonesse, Four Phantom Cyclists, and Malicious Mermaids and the Abduction Experience, to name but a few, the reader is guaranteed a spine tingling, entertaining reading experience. A chapter titled The Black Hound of Rosewall describes a personal experience Mark had at age 17, with another young friend, when they encountered a mysterious “black hound” with eyes that were “like two fiery lumps of coal,” that seemed to give off an uncanny and menacing vibe. A third volume of The Spirt of Cornwall will be released soon, providing even more wicked weird “supernatural” stories from this enchanted region of England. For now though, these two page-turning volumes will keep readers quite mesmerized till then.
