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Ghosts of the British Museum
- A True Story of Colonial Loot and Restless Objects
- Narrated by: Noah Angell
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
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Ghosts of the British Museum
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Summary
'Fascinating and illuminating' - Peter Ackroyd
'Brilliantly delicate, pointed, shivery... You could read it as a guide to which galleries to avoid - or to where the push for repatriation should be most urgent.' - Erin L. Thompson, professor of art crime at the City University of New York
'Achieves a near-impossible marriage between paranormal pop-culture, folklore and hauntology' - Roger Clarke, author of A Natural History of Ghosts
'A heady cocktail of history and folklore that leaves a haunting aftertaste... Spine-tingling' - Lindsey Fitzharris, New York Times bestselling author of The Facemaker
What if the British Museum isn't a carefully ordered cross section of history but is in instead a palatial trophy cabinet of colonial loot - swarming with volatile and errant spirits?
When artist and writer Noah Angell first heard murmurs of ghostly sightings at the British Museum he had to find out more. What started as a trickle soon became a deluge as staff old and new - from overnight security to respected curators - brought him testimonies of their supernatural encounters.
It became clear that the source of the disturbances was related to the Museum's contents - unquiet objects, holy plunder, and restless human remains protesting their enforced stay within the colonial collection's cabinets and deep underground vaults. According to those who have worked there, the institution is heaving with profound spectral disorder.
Ghosts of the British Museum fuses storytelling, folklore and history, digs deep into our imperial past and unmasks the world's oldest national museum as a site of ongoing conflict, where restless objects are held against their will.
It now appears that the objects are fighting back.
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What listeners say about Ghosts of the British Museum
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 24-06-24
Interesting Facts and Thought Provoking Stories
Although I, myself, have benefited immensely from being able to visit the British Museum and gazed in wonder at the artefacts held within, I now come to understand better, the notion that these pieces should be with the people and lands that they belong to.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Campesque
- 20-05-24
Fascinating and desperately sad.
The British Museum - a misnomer if ever there was one - consists mainly of collections from other countries, much of it acquired by dubious means in past centuries. I have only been there once to see a visiting Chinese exhibition, having no great wish to see objects out of context, preferring to visit provincial museums with exhibits relevant to the area. I can see no justification in holding artefacts belonging to other countries, when the objects belong where they originated - to be appreciated in their correct cultural context. The author, who is from the US, definitely seems to agree with me, and it is very interesting to hear a non-British perspective on this most British of institutions filled with foreign loot, and an incredibly disturbing number of foreign corpses. The vast majority of these ill-gotten gains aren't even on display, but locked away unseen for literally centuries, while requests for repatriation to their countries of origin - where they have great cultural significance - are ignored. As a country that places such significance on our own history, the powers-that-be seem to have a remarkably cavalier attitude to the history of other countries. It is not surprising that tales of supernatural phenomenon abound in this repository of hoarded artefacts, many of which hold great spiritual significance in their own cultures. There is plenty here to keep lovers of the uncanny hooked, and I don't think I would like to work in the British Museum after reading it! An interesting and thought provoking book. I highly recommend it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Adelaide.Evans
- 18-04-24
Fascinating, poetic and creepy!
A fascinating and thought provoking listen, and I liked Noah reading it.
The British Museum has made me uncomfortable for years on a moral basis. I would like to see as many artifacts (and their spirits!) as possible returned to the places they were created. Even more so now I've listened to this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- rachel mewes
- 09-09-24
Engaging and entertaining
Quite fascinating, with interesting individual experiences. Worth a listen, although at first I thought I may struggle with Noahs narration, I found he tells a good story.
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- S. Mee
- 20-07-24
Really informative, well written and thought provoking
I highly recommend this book, it is outstanding. We must question what is the purpose of the British Museum in today’s society. We should discuss how British Museum has relied upon a very convenient law that prohibits the return of artifacts to their home countries, regardless of how they were plundered or misappropriated.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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- JUSTINE TAYLOR
- 05-08-24
Sermon in rightens and wrongs
Ghost stories mixed with history are fine, however the author wants to express everything wrong with what happened in the past. Should be let separate in my humble opinion and spoilt the subject for me. Could finish!
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