"Ley lines" by Danny Sullivan

 A 'ley' is a line on the landscape joining points of interest, often involving religion of superstition. Originally 'discovered' by Alfred Watkins in his classic book The Old Straight Track and thought by him to be neolithic trading routes, there is considerable debate around whether they are any more than coincidental alignments and, if they are, what their function is. This book offers theories and evaluates them without seeming to come to a definite conclusion. 

For example, the author debunks the 'trading routes' hypothesis by observing that ley lines often travel through inhospitable terrain when, presumably, a trader would take a detour. He also shows that some alleged long distance lines are artefacts of mapping that don't take into account the curvature of the earth. He then considers hypotheses such as that ley lines join navigation beacons for UFOs, and that they are associated with supernatural activity, such as sightings of ghosts and death-foretelling Black Dogs. If he comes to any conclusion it is that “The ley ... is not responsible for paranormal events" but that mysterious underground earth forces, possibly related to (presumably straight line) geological faulting and seismic activity and possibly having electromagnetic effects might be responsible for "causing hallucinations, time slips and unconsciousness" and therefore causing 'sightings' of ghosts and UFOs. (Ch 6)

The arguments are mostly reasonable with the occasional lapse into rhetoric, eg when discussing Jacob's dream of a ladder going up to heaven,  “the fact that he used a rock as a pillow cannot be mere coincidence” (Ch 4; my highlight). There is a useful chapter on how to go hunting for your own ley lines and an appendix detailing some of the most well known.

Selected quotes 

• "When the brain is exposed to strong electromagnetic fields, a form of epileptic attack can be triggered and various symptoms can be experienced including hallucinations, seeing odd lights, a feeling of being watched and of paralysis. The person who undergoes these bizarre ‘attacks’ can be completely convinced the events were entirely real and physical.” (Ch 4)
• “The Indo-European root-words reg and rect mean ‘movement in a straight line’ ... The same root words also surface in ... right, righteous and rectitude, regal ... and ruler.” (Ch 5)
• "The wind blowing over the feet of the corpses on its way to the houses of the doomed.” (Ch 6)
• “The souls of the dead fly close to the ground and will not tolerate any obstructions that stand higher than an ell.” (Ch 6)

April 2022

This review was written by the author of Motherdarling  and The Kids of God