Got any Ghostbuster gear? No slime in sight, but many creepy tales about hitchhiking through British Columbia ghost towns and taking note of subtle sightings. In showing there is more to the west than Jeff Wall, writer Reece Steinberg hits up the rural towns of Ghost Valley, Dawson City and Cresto (and includes ghosts on the centerfold map–ones that are not unlike Pac Man ghastlies). In this 32-page photocopied zine, one shall receive a) a token brown indie pin of a ghost house, b) stories about hitchhiking conversations and c) notes on a lengthy trip to more than 15 obscure ghost towns. One thing must be noted: after reading all the creepy tales from the adventurous rural explorations, it is somehow miraculous Steinberg was not harmed in any way by either the a) ghosts or b) traveling from town to town hitchhiking. One thing sums it up: photos of retrograde signage are somehow disturbingly undisturbed, like one up in Coalmont, B.C., which reads: “Warning to all doorstepsalesmen–especially those selling magazines, encyclopedias and fire-bells–your safe passage is not guaranteed in this village. Women beware! There is a predominance of bachelors living here.” (Nadja Sayej)
Travel zine, Reece Steinberg, $2 CDN, 2-1670 E. 10th Ave., Vancouver, BC, V5N 1X5, [email protected]