Over the years working in a bookstore I’ve stocked and sold
many titles that are brought in for the Halloween season:
books on ghosts, witches, and eerie events in Massachusetts
and New England. It’s amazing how many books are out there
dealing with such topics for every part of the country. I have
to confess that since my genealogy bug bit me I tend to look
through these books to see if any of my ancestors or their
relatives are mentioned.
Try this: take the name of your state, put the word haunted in
front of it and then google the phrase. Then try the same thing
using the name of a major city in your state and the words
"Ghosts of”. You should find many titles, usually put out by
a regional press and written by local authors.
I’ll try to list some of these over the next few weeks and
occasionally comment on some of the stories in them. But if
you are looking for a book that has stories from all over the
country, I’d recommend the books by Michael Norman
and Beth Scott, such as their Haunted Heartland and others
which are published by larger companies and may be easier
to find quickly.
One of the popular books in my local interest section is
Cheri Revai’s Haunted Massachusetts. This is published
by Stackpole Books and is one of 11 in a series that covers
Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states ((All of them are paperback
and priced at $9.95)). This doesn’t surprise me as it’s one of
the two books in the store that mentions the Bridgewater
Triangle(which on this end of the Triangle is sometimes
called the Abington Triangle). Many of the stories are
familiar ones but if you haven’t explored the supernatural
in Massachusetts, this is a good introduction that’s an easy
read.
I might note that Stackpole doesn’t have a book as yet on
haunted New Hampshire or Rhode Island, so maybe you
can do the New Hampshire book, Janice!
Oh, and I’d like to urge you all to patronize your local
bookstores, large or small, in shopping for any of the
books I mention. Online shopping is nice but it’s taking a
toll on brick and mortar stores, especially the smaller local
stores.
Haunt a bookstore for Halloween!
2 comments:
There aren't any ghosts in New Hampshire--only stone throwing devils and glowing sea serpents :D
Janice
You guys need to come South. We've got ghosts to spare! No home is complete without at least one in the basement and another in the attic. And how can one, pray tell, identify a Southern ghost? Listen to it "Boo" and if you hear a Dixie Cup sound, you know it is a true Southern ghost! LOL!
I followed Bill's suggestions. We have a population of 2.92 million. "Ghosts Mississippi" on Google produces 1.19 million hits. I though to refine my search and entered "Ghosts Mississippi + books" and got 1.89 million hits! And the phrase "haunted Mississippi" produces 1.2 million!
Yes, we have ghosts in Mississippi.
TERRY THORNTON
Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi
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