Critique de Cursed Objects par Josh

This book delivers on the promise of its title. It is a series of anecdotes or folk tales about cursed objects.

Examples: * Busby's Chair: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busby%27s_stoop_chair * The Curse of the Pharaohs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_pharaohs * The Conjured chest: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42054787-the-conjured-chest * The drummers of Spinal Tap: https://youtu.be/tZrqC5LL_oo (not discussed in the book, but a fine example of the genre).

The book is divided into seven chapters with ~six tales in each.

The author is a skeptic about cursed objects and frequently points out when facts contradict folklore, or curses seem to be more a series of misfortunes being blamed on an inanimate object.

Despite his skepticism, Ocker acknowledges that many tales of curses are unfalsifiable. A medical examiner may be able to determine that a person died of a heart attack, but there's just no way to tell if that heart attack was brought about by conventional biological causes or by a curse. You can't dust for curses.

This is why curses can only be identified by people with a special eye for such things. Identifying cursed objects doesn't exactly require special training - universities rarely teach the skill anymore. Rather, it's generally more a matter of believing in curses and being constantly on the lookout. For example, as Ocker notes, not all families that suffer misfortunes would suspect that the cause was an old cursed chest sitting in their attic. You need to be vigilant.

I don't know that there are any other lessons to be gleaned from this book, but it's a pleasant enough halloween read.