The title of this non-fiction story is a really compelling one as it works to explore the notion of both hauntings and being haunted. Summerscale’s narrative and research centres around the life of Alma Fielding, a 1930s housewife who claims to be the subject of the attentions of a poltergeist. Her home and its inhabitants are in a state of disarray. Various household items are in thrown about with abandon, creatures appear on Alma that have no reason to be there. Individuals in the house begin to acquire bruises and injuries due to what appears to be a vindictive presence. The strange occurrences attract the attention of Nandor Fodor, a chief ghost hunter for the International Institute for Psychical Research. Fodor is fervent in his desire to explore and develop knowledge of the supernatural: Alma Fielding’s case draws him in, compelled to seek the truth the reader soon discovers this case is far more complex than was originally thought.

The book’s title again becomes significant, as interspersed throughout the text is the exploration of the rise of Fascism in Europe alongside the ominous foreshadowing of a world about to go to war. It is often said that a society increasingly experiences more hauntings alongside social and cultural upheaval and the time period of the setting of the book certainly works to augment this idea. Indeed, the investigation becomes more unsettled as more elaborate and invasive procedures are used by Fodor to prove to the world that the case is genuine. Alma the person becomes replaced more by the idea of what she represents, a key to prove the existence of the supernatural, rather than an individual who may need support and help.

Undoubtedly Alma Fielding herself is a complicated individual, who proves a challenge to work alongside. Summerscale deftly explores Fielding’s preoccupations and anxieties but much like Fodor, we as readers, never really get to the bottom of her character. If we were hoping for a straightforward ghost story we might be left feeling a bit frustrated however long after the book is read you are left thinking about notions of trauma and loss and how the events that happen in our lives shape us indelibly and irrevocably.

"The Haunting of Alma Fielding" by Kate Summerscale is a captivating exploration of a series of paranormal events that took place in 1930s England. Summerscale's writing is engrossing and she skillfully weaves together the perspectives of the various individuals involved in the case, including the titular Alma Fielding and the investigating journalist Nandor Fodor. The book is well-researched and provides a fascinating insight into the cultural and social context of the time. However, some readers may find the book's focus on the perspectives of the male investigators and journalists to be somewhat limiting. Overall, "The Haunting of Alma Fielding" is an excellent read for anyone interested in paranormal phenomena or social history. A solid four-star review.

Really interesting real-life story of Alma Fielding, who's story of being 'possessed' baffles the scientists and psychics who study her. Perhaps went on a bit long but it mostly kept me riveted.

A fascinating true story of trauma, spiritualism, psychology, and national fear. I really enjoyed this look into the 1930's obsession with supposed hauntings, and why people were so desperate to believe in the existence of life after life at this time (and beyond). Summerscale does a great job of setting the scene, showing a nation on the verge of war and how current events influenced the interest in the paranormal.

I really enjoyed the quirky cast of characters, from Fodor, a Jewish-Hungarian refugee and devoted parapsychologist who's desperate to prove that Fielding's case is a true haunting, to Alma herself, a housewife with a dark past who may or may not be faking her experiences. Summerscale depicts their strange relationship and how they fed off of each other, with Fodor's obsession with Alma's increasingly strange case growing.

I love stories of the supernatural and The Haunting of Alma Fielding is a fascinating look at a poltergeist haunting drawn from the investigator's own notes. I'd highly recommend the audiobook for this one, the narrator does a great job.

i've been reading and watching a lot of horrors recently and i finally got around to reading this one that ticks all current interests! this was fine. it was interesting as it's about a real life haunting, where so much of it seems unexplainable, but it didn't hold my interest the entire way through. maybe i'm full up of ghosts!

Loved Kate Summerscales Suspicions of Mr Whicher so was very excited for The Haunting of Alma Fielding. Summerscale expertly guides you though the chilling events in pre war London. She didn't disappoint, a fascinating story that I couldn't put down.

The title of this book misleads the reader into believing they are about to read a work of narrative non-fiction about a woman, Alma Fielding and the haunting she endured. What the reader receives is a dry, staunchly factual account of a woman traumatised by possible sexual assault as a child, the loss of one, perhaps two of her own children, an unhappy marriage and a desire to escape the mundane. To be honest, I'm not sure this is a story that needed to be told. We gain nothing from the telling except the unpleasant experience of being a voyeur into the private life of a stranger. Perhaps my own reaction to this book is caused by a realisation that women have never not been seen as important because of what they provide for others. To contradict myself, I will say stories about women need to be told in all their brutal honesty, however, Summerscale gave too much focus to the men of the story when it was a story needing to be told by the women.

Once again Kate Summerscale blends history and fiction to bring us an evocative portrait of past events which questions the accepted narrative.

Summerscale presents a flawlessly researched tale, filled with the right period details that create a totally authentic world. The characters (some of whom we enter the story feeling we should already know) are believable, and the relationships between them are explored with great care.

The subject of the supernatural and its investigation, especially in this particular time period, has been profusely written about, but this book didn't feel like it was going over old ground. It was hugely readable.

Thank you Bloomsbury Publishing PLC and Netgalley and apologies for the delay
Another great read by Kate, I loved it and my husband read it too
We love Kate's style of writing and her books really grip you - now we want the next one.

I’ve had mixed experiences with Kate Summerscale’s books so far: I loved The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, liked The Wicked Boy and gave up on Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace after a few chapters. I didn’t know what to expect from The Haunting of Alma Fielding, then, but I hoped it would be another good one!

Like Summerscale’s others, this is a non-fiction book based on a true story, in this case the story of an ordinary thirty-four-year-old woman, Alma Fielding, who becomes the centre of paranormal activity in her London home. The book follows Nandor Fodor of the International Institute for Psychical Research as he investigates Alma’s claims, desperately hoping that this time – after being disappointed by a long line of frauds – he has finally come across a genuine haunting.

At first, having witnessed for himself the smashed glasses, spinning teacups, moving furniture and broken eggs, Fodor is convinced that a poltergeist is at work in the Fielding household. The more he learns about Alma’s abilities, which include producing live animals out of thin air and transporting herself from one area of London to another, the more intrigued he becomes…until, eventually, he begins to have doubts. Is this a real paranormal phenomenon he is investigating or is Alma haunted by something very different?

I found some parts of this book fascinating. Although I was sure Alma must have been involved in some sort of elaborate hoax and that there must have been logical explanations for the things she claimed were happening to her, I didn’t know exactly what she was doing or how she was doing it. I was amazed to see the lengths Alma went to in her efforts to prove that her psychic abilities were real and the lengths Fodor and the other ghost hunters went to in their efforts to verify them. Some of the methods they used to investigate Alma’s claims were quite harmless, such as conducting word association tests, but others were intrusive and cruel, and although I didn’t like Alma it made me uncomfortable to read about the way she was treated – particularly as Fodor believed that her powers were the products of various traumas she had suffered earlier in life.

At times, Summerscale widens the scope of the book to put Alma’s story into historical context, to discuss the influence of novels and films of that period, and to look at some of the other things going on in society at that time. The ‘haunting’ and the investigation took place in 1938, when the world was on the brink of war and Summerscale suggests that people were turning to spiritualism as a distraction:

"The ghosts of Britain, meanwhile, were livelier than ever. Almost a thousand people had written to the Pictorial to describe their encounters with wraiths and revenants, while other papers reported on a spirit vandalising a house in Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides, and on a white-draped figure seen gliding through the Hawker aircraft factory in Kingston upon Thames. The nation’s phantoms were distractions from anxiety, expressions of anxiety, symptoms of a nervous age. "

However, although I found plenty of things to interest me in this book, I did have some problems with it. I felt that it became very repetitive, with endless descriptions of Alma’s various manifestations and detailed accounts of the researchers’ experiments. I thought Summerscale also devoted too much time to anecdotes about other alleged psychics and spiritualists, which didn’t really have much to do with Alma. It seemed that Alma’s story on its own wasn’t really enough to fill a whole book, so a lot of padding was needed.

I didn’t like this book as much as Mr Whicher or The Wicked Boy, but Kate Summerscale does pick intriguing topics and I’ll look forward to seeing what she writes about next.

It’s 1938, a peak time for fake spiritualists and psychical research. When poltergeist activity starts happening in her house, Alma Fielding contacts the Sunday Pictorial newspaper. Nandor Fodor is a Jewish refugee from Hungary, a psychical researcher who has worked with the paper in the past, so he gets in on the case from the beginning. The book tells the story of Alma’s “haunting” and of Fodor’s attempts to prove her story either true or false.

I have enjoyed some of Summerscale’s previous books, but I fear this one is the exception. It’s rambly and repetitive, with far too many descriptions of various frauds perpetrated on gullible “experts” like Fodor by Alma and other mediums. I also felt that Summerscale’s research wasn’t as sound as usual – her casual mention that Alma was taking antibiotics (in 1938) set up warning flags at an early point. She also lists the many breakages of glasses and cups flying through the air at Alma’s home – I found the concept of poltergeist activity marginally less unbelievable than the idea that a working class household in the 1930s would have possessed twenty-four wine glasses and thirty-six tumblers. Not impossible, but unlikely, and I was surprised that Summerscale seemed to accept these figures without question, or even comment.

In her usual style, Summerscale ranges beyond the mere facts of Alma’s case to look more widely at the society in which they happened. She discusses the anxiety the country was experiencing as they waited for the now inevitable war to begin; the rise of spiritualism at a time when traditional religion was on the wane; poltergeist activity as a means for women to be transgressive in a restrictive society, consciously or unconsciously. Fodor, she tells us, was intrigued by Freud’s ideas, and thought that such hauntings as Alma’s may be physical manifestations of psychological frustrations. To bolster this, Summerscale suggests that the earlier death of one of her children may have been at the root of Alma’s “manifestations”. The problem with this theory is that Alma was so clearly not having manifestations, nor could her actions have been subconscious since she was deliberately making elaborate physical preparations in advance of meetings with the researchers in order to fool them. Alma was not a deluded woman, however much her loss may have affected her mental state – she was a deliberate fraud, making money out of her deception. I felt that if Summerscale wanted to make the not unreasonable case that some “hauntings” may be the result of psychological stresses, then she picked the wrong subject.

Where it is rather more interesting is in the description of the lengths gone to by the researchers to prove that manifestations were indeed true. While they would probably have argued that they were unbiased, in fact Summerscale makes it clear that they were strongly incentivised to find “real” cases – continuing publicity and contributions to funding, and hence, in Fodor’s case, his income, depended on ensuring the public remained gullible and enthusiastic about such stories, and a constant stream of proof that it was all nonsense wouldn’t have helped with this. Therefore, the researchers themselves were motivated, whether they realised it or not, to make allowances for subjects even when they caught them out in deliberate cheating. I felt the physical lengths to which the researchers went, strip-searching subjects, investigating their intimate orifices for hidden objects, pinioning their arms during sessions and so on, had a direct kinship with the old ways of testing women to see if they were witches; and I found myself angry that Fodor could believe that Alma’s case was caused by mental trauma and yet treat her so inhumanely. The fact that Alma was so clearly a fraud still didn’t justify the circus that they allowed to develop around her.

In the end, I didn’t feel there had been enough of interest in it to justify the time taken to read through the repetitive descriptions of manifestations and research methods. It might have made an interesting essay, but it needed far more substance and less waffle to make a worthwhile book. A disappointment, I’m afraid. 2½ stars for me, so rounded up.

I found this to be a really fascinating exploration of the psychic and spiritual events that were seen to happen to Alma Fielding in the late 1930s, which led to a detailed and thorough investigation into the supernatural. The book is a chronological account of events, beginning with the initial haunting of Alma, her husband and their lodger by a suspected poltergeist. Sparking the interest of the Hungarian psychical researcher, Nandor Fodor, he begins to investigate Alma as more and more events occur. Delving into Alma's past and her psyche, we unravel a dark history and the way in which the narrative unfolds is incredibly well paced, given that we follow the same emotional journey as Fodor. Kate Summerscale has clearly researched the topic very well and this is evident in the narrative, which is full of evidence-based theories and musings. She also lends a very human aspect to what could otherwise be quite a dry book, with emotional clarity and thought provoking commentary on the place of women in society, as well as the looming threat of Fascism through constantly checking in with the news of the day. Overall, I thought this was a very accomplished piece of historical non-fiction and would definitely recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“I unhesitatingly label it as supernormal”...

In The Haunting of Alma Fielding, Kate Summerscale delves into the long-hidden archives of Nandor Fodor, a Jewish-Hungarian refugee and chief ghost hunter for the International Institute for Psychical Research, about the suspected poltergeist that is haunting an ordinary young housewife, Alma Fielding. London 1938; as Fodor starts his scrupulous investigation, he discovers that the case is even stranger than it seems. By unravelling Alma's peculiar history, he finds a different and darker type of haunting: trauma, alienation, loss and the foreshadowing of a nation's worst fears. As the spectre of Fascism lengthens over Europe, and as Fodor's obsession with the case deepens, Alma becomes ever more disturbed.
There were some good background and references on the spiritual world and beliefs during the time of the Second World War, it seemed as a nation we believed more in this back then to what we do nowadays. It was nice to learn a bit more about séances and ghost hauntings as well around this time and how popular they were, and also that many of the mediums hired to check them out would channel through a multi-cultural assistant.
With some of the explanations given about what was being experienced, there were some long words that as a reader you possibly wouldn’t fully understand if you haven’t read too much into spirituality and ghost hauntings, but they were always broken down and explained in the same sentence which made it for easy reading.
I did find that I was expecting more from this. It felt like there was not a lot of personality in this and felt rather clinical with listing events and occurrences, but not enough spark there to bring it to life more. Because of this I did find that I got quite bored toward the end of the book and found myself skimming over the last few chapters. I must admit though, I liked that Fodor had a sceptical side to him and didn’t always trust Alma and tried to find ways to debunk her poltergeist. The beginning of the book was very well written but unfortunately for me most of the book did not follow. 2.5/5
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a thoroughly interesting look into the world of psychical research in and around the 1930s. Summerscale provides detailed historical context for the case of Alma Fielding, whilst also covering the life and career of Nandor Fodor, the man who took on the case at the time. It is a very absorbing read, at times even a sceptic like myself can question their beliefs, wondering if there is indeed ‘something in it’.

I enjoyed this book, it was a much more serious study than a book of this nature usually is. I particularly enjoyed the historical context, hearing about the release of Rebecca (a film I love) and what was going on politically at the time. I found it interesting that the investigator collaborated with Freud briefly over the case. These details made the book that extra bit special for me. Alma Fielding is an interesting and complex person so the study itself wasn't linear in its conclusions.

I talk about this book for our (myself and Liz Jones; Mail on Sunday) Halloween week podcast and recommended it as a good read.

This was a weird mix of non-fiction and fiction and i was never entirely sure where this was meant to be. I did like Summerscale's writing but I always do. The actual story was interesting and i liked what was explored but i feel like there were some deeper thematic points that could have been explored in greater detail. This was a good book but this wouldn't be the Summerscale i would recommend to start with.

This won't be much of a review as I didn't managed to finished this book, unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

The plot of The Haunting of Alma Fielding really drew me in, especially the truth to the story but I just couldn't get into it. I tried at both the beginning of Oct and again at the end of the month to give it a second chance, which is why this review is a little late.

I've read mixed reviews for this book so although on this occasion it was a DNF for me, I won't be rating it low as I wouldn't want to put anyone off when others have loved this book.

In the late 1930s Europe is on the brink of war and Britain is obsessed with the supernatural. Nandor Fodor is a Hungarian journalist who is interested in the paranormal and works for a one of a number of societies who investigate different phenomena. When he hears of a suburban housewife who is apparently tormented by a poltergeist he goes to investigate. Alma Fielding is an ordinary one to whom extraordinary things are happening, she finds that items fly across the room and smash and that possessions move around her house. As Fodor investigates further Fielding appears to be able to produce things out of thin air but he starts to become suspicious.
This book is based on Fodor's accounts of his investigation and therefore there is a very clear narrative. From being a believer at first Fodor finds that Alma wants to please and he becomes less of a believer. The book isn't always easy reading as some of the experimentation seems manipulative and humiliating but it is a powerful account of a national obsession.

I found this book fascinating. It's clear that the author did a lot of research and it was really easy and enjoyable to read. If you're interested in the supernatural world, you may enjoy it.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

A very well written and well researched book. I found it quite fascinating and really enjoyed it. Highly recommend if you enjoy supernatural non fiction