IF your teenagers are built of stern stuff, then this ghoulish book may well appeal to them. Designed to look like the kind of historical tome you see soon-to-be doomed actors blowing the cobwebs off in horror movies, it runs the whole gamut of the paranormal.

From ghosts and poltergeists, to psychic powers and witchcraft, vampires and zombies to alien abduction and curses, it is essentially an encyclopedia of all that is terrifying.

Aimed at young teenagers, it thankfully steers clear of blood lust and adopts an academic approach to things that go bump in the night. Introduced by Dr Doubt, the reader’s inner sceptic whose thoughts also appear at the foot of each page, it puts the information out there and lets the reader decide whether or not it is true.

While not for the faint-hearted, this is an informative and entertaining approach to the subject.