Night Stalks the Mansion: A True Story of One Family's Ghostly Adventure

Though many aren't sure if this really is non-fiction, my students loved this book and the remarkable story behind the antebellum mansion on the Philadelphia main line and the early American tales that are as good as any southern literary tale like the Myrtles Plantation, which I also taught, and they loved. The history, gothic beauty, and Poe-like horror are evident in both books; believe it or not, they are beautiful tales. I Highly recommend this tale; believe me, it will give you goosebumps! This house saw the horrors of being burned to the ground with seven dead and all buried on the property under the original foundation, also being a slave hiding place, the rape/murder of a young southern belle by a black coachman, and the suicide of her mother, not to mention all the 19th and 18th-century southern-like antebellum nostalgia of that haunted space. Some unexplained parts of this mystery are right out of a Poe or Faulkner novel. Wonderful!

When you read this book, you have to keep in mind that all the events occured in the 1940's. Families were different then, as the character's interactions show. This story plays out in an almost "Ozzie and Harriet" sort of way, except for the two ghosts who inhabit the Family's newly leased rental "Estate". They will come to know each other intimately, but only a little at a time. The true story will not come out until the Family's lease is almost up, and the Estate's self-imposed Caretaker unburdens his soul. This is a great read if it's a stormy night and you're huddled up under blankets by a roaring fire. If you're looking for stuff like "Ghost Hunters", or something in the "here and now", this is not for you!

As with all books of this type, whether you believe the story or not depends upon how much credence you place in the teller. That's something you must decide for yourself. None of the reviewers, myself included, have any way of knowing whether or not Harold Cameron made up this story. However, some of us value a good tale even if we're uncertain it's a true one. With or without suspension of disbelief, the author has an old-fashioned, naively pompous, 1950s era narrative voice that sounds charmingly antiquated in a "Father Knows Best" way. His descriptions of family life are evocative of a lost world, full of innocent assumptions that most people no longer hold. This lends the book an almost fairytale quality which makes the intrusion of something otherworldly seem chillingly out of place and sinister. Be warned that these incidents are of the "Haunting of Hill House" sort rather than the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" sort: subtle, disturbing, genuinely creepy; those who are looking for blood and gore will be disappointed. My personal opinion, for what it's worth, is that the author has mixed local legend and urban myth into his own (true) experiences without making any real distinction between the two. The stories he recounts that are not his own display typical universal themes that attach themselves to any property with a reputation for being haunted. Mr. Cameron was neither an historian nor a sociologist so his wholesale acceptance of local gossip is to be expected, and I find nothing dishonest or suggestive in those blurred lines. If one wanted to follow up on this story and try to separate true from false, it would probably be impossible in view of the amount of time that's passed and the fact that the house is gone. As it is, the story is gracefully written and suitable for reading by the fire on a chilly fall evening when the rain is streaming down the windows and a knock at the door is best not answered.

I really enjoyed this book, the overall story is really unique and the book went by fast. The author created a sense of comfort for the reader through out. The incidents described were thoroughly entertaining. I was excited to find out that this book is in the process becoming a movie.

Though the book is not overly frightening, it is very well written and flows well. By the end, you truly care about the people in the story and long for more. A good, interesting read.

The house is right outside the town of media. it is still there but it has been renovated. It is the Heilbron Mansion. Now there is a development that surrounds the mansion. I know the owners of the house and have been through it. it's pretty neat. the house definitley has a weird feel to it. there a lot of little things that the owners have on display at their house. I was in it at night so it was very freaky. I believe that it partially burnt down but they restored it to be similair to what it used to be. I could be wrong there but that's what i remember growing up.