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Ghosts of the British Museum

A True Story of Colonial Loot and Restless Objects

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Ghosts of the British Museum

By: Noah Angell
Narrated by: Noah Angell
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About this listen

 'An absorbingly creepy travelogue through the corridors, tunnels and basements of our most famous cultural repository. With Noah Angell as our guide, the British Museum becomes a haunted prison filled with imperial plunder and restless spirits clamouring for attention.' - Malcolm Gaskill, author of The Ruin Of All Witches

'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.©2024 Noah Angell (P)2024 Octopus Publishing Group Art Colonialism & Post-Colonialism Politics & Government Ghost Haunted Paranormal Fantasy

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All stars
Most relevant  
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.

Interesting Facts and Thought Provoking Stories

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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.

Fascinating and desperately sad.

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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.

Fascinating, poetic and creepy!

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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.

Engaging and entertaining

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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.

Really informative, well written and thought provoking

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I worked at the British Museum for many years and it’s an exciting and engaging place! The tone in which this book is read is enough to put anyone to sleep! The author himself shouldn’t have read this book! The tone is awful and miserable! While I recognise some of the stories … there are many more missed stories that would have been far more engaging. What a missed opportunity!

Such a boring boring tone!!!

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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!

Sermon in rightens and wrongs

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