Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Case in point: Nina Shandler’s THE STRANGE CASE OF HELLISH NELL: THE STORY OF HELEN DUNCAN AND THE WITCH TRIAL OF WORLD WAR II. We all read about the Salem witch trials in our youth, but how about similar proceedings during WWII? Yes, leave it to the British to go through such a huge ordeal just so they can revel in their own pomposity.

This is the well-researched story of one Helen Duncan, a Scottish women who seems to have the power to channel the spirit of a deceased man named Albert. Early on, we’re privy to her backstory, that she’s been psychic all her life, with people even inspecting her nude before a séance to make sure she was not using any sort of tricks.

Helen lived her life in relative peace until one séance in particular – one which proved that a British war ship indeed had been sunk by the Germans, but was being covered up by the British government until reinforcements could be dispatched. The powers that be felt that Helen might be a spy in disguise, so they decided to make an example of “Hellish Nell” (as she was dubbed), in order to expose her as a public-duping charlatan.

Shandler weaves a story based on court documents and previous accounts surrounding the affair. You get the feeling that you’re sitting at the defense table with Nell as her trial unfolds. Was Helen a fake? That’s really up to the reader. Since I’m more of a skeptic, I get the feeling people will believe what they want to believe, but Shandler more than makes her case. Unlike other history tomes, this book flies by like a spitfire in a dogfight. It’s well worth the all-afternoon reading time it needs. –Bruce Grossman

Buy it at Amazon.
Discuss it in our forums.