Includes bibliographical references

Foreword: In for a surprise! by John Roberto Colombo -- Preface: My life-long love affair with books, writing, and things that go bump in the night -- Acknowledgements -- Canada. The mischievous bookseller's elves -- The eerie elevator -- The hitchhiking ghost -- Haunted country bookshop -- The Runnymede ghost -- Ghosts in the attic -- Spirits of the poorhouse wretched -- The rocking chair ghost -- Haunted history books -- Inuit carving display mystery -- Go toward the light! -- The shadowy figure -- Spectres in the stacks -- The miraculous survival of the Parliamentary Library -- Goosebumps at Smithbooks -- United States of America. Kerouac's favourite haunt -- The tragic story of young Molly -- The portal -- The haunted poetry book -- Death and resurrection of The Book House -- Some browse forever -- The grieving ghost of Greene's -- Reading in the dark -- Nat the national treasure -- The ghost of Harriet Haskell -- Spellbinding stories -- The many lives of Carnegie Library -- Smile, you're on ghost camera! -- All ghosts want some peace of mind -- A ghost called Lola -- the ghost of Doctor Harris -- When I die, I'll leave you my books and my ghost -- The curse of Old Lady Gray -- When a ghost calls your name -- Not so sweet when you build on a grave -- The dedicated ghost of Ida Day -- A rowdy, hidden presence -- Millicent the muse -- Things that go ding in the night -- Have ghosts, will travel -- The ghost with a library card -- International. Ghosts of the Royal Library -- The White Lady of the haunted bookshop -- Lord Combermere's chair -- Macabre secrets of the Municipal Palace -- Sternberg's ghost -- The book-loving ghost of Felbrigg Hall -- The blue man -- Open to all -- A treasure of infinite haunts -- The hidden note in Marsh's Library -- Old Jacobus of Rammerscales -- Ghost in a dark green jacket -- The mysterious book of antiquities and curiosities -- The nun in blue -- The restless librarian -- When a book gets under your skin -- Afterword -- Further reading and additional resources for the bookish at heart -- Notes.