THE GHOSTS OF BELCOURT CASTLE

Tinney recounts Gilded Age–ghost stories associated with Belcourt Castle in Newport, Rhode Island.  

Belcourt Castle, part of a once-glittering string of opulent homes, originally belonged to the Belmont family. For 15 years it stood abandoned (gathering more urban legends, as abandoned mansions do), and in the mid-20th century, it came into the possession of Tinney’s family. Tinney herself often led guided tours of the house for visitors, which honed her ability to tell these spooky stories—and that ability is on full display in these pages. Readers are treated to all the spine-tingling staples from the Belcourt repertoire: blood-curdling screams coming from dark shadows, ghosts at a corporate Christmas party, Girl Scouts screaming at sounds coming from inside a suit of armor, and even the wandering apparition of a hooded monk, always manifesting in proximity to a carved statue of the same (“the statue was in the center of the ballroom,” we’re told, “when our tour guide heard ‘Get out’ ”). Aided by the historical research of Virginia Smith, Tinney tells these haunted-house tales with exactly the kind of old-fashioned rococo relish that they require (“a third scream pierced the silence with debilitating effect”). The book includes uncredited photographs of the castle’s creepiest and most evocative locations and artifacts, but the main attraction is the storytelling, presented with verve and perfect pacing. Almost all old or picturesque houses sport some tales like these, and although Belcourt Castle has since passed out of Tinney family ownership, all the best of the lore is preserved here, both for readers who’ve visited the place and for those who never will.

A spirited, frightfully enjoyable collection.