Mark Norman’s Hallowed Ground has the distinction (in my humble opinion) of being a perfect “I’ve got a couple of minutes to read while I wait in line,” and an “I’ve got an afternoon and good pot of tea.” read. Every page, and I do mean every page, is absolutely packed with fascinating history and folklore regarding churches and churchyards.
The book is divided into seven chapters, which build on each other in terms of beginning with “The Construction and Role of the Church”, and leading all the way to superstitions, witchcraft, and pagan symbols. However, I did dip into later chapters without having quite finished the initial ones and found that I could easily begin anywhere and learn something interesting.
There are tales of the Devil either getting roped into helping build, or scared off from ruining the build, of churches. There are also interesting pieces of folklore that prove to have some interesting science behind them, for example: the soil covering the grave Reverend James McGirr is found to have a unique strain of Streptomyces, “the organism which lies at the heart of antibiotics.”, thus possibly proving true Rev. McGirr’s claim the clay that covers him will cure anything.
The tone and pace of the book is engaging, friendly, and even humourous, while also being a little bit sensible and not giving way to truly fantastic flights of fancy or wild suppositions. An intrepid reader with a desire to see the world might be compelled to make a travel itinerary of the places and sites mentioned (this would honestly be a fantastic book to tour in-person).
All in all, an enjoyable and very interesting read that anyone who enjoys folklore and strange tales would enjoy immensely.
~review by Mara McTavish
Author: Mark Norman
Crossed Crow Books, 2025
Pp.: 207, $24.95 USD
