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Title: Mountain Ghost Stories and Curious Tales of Western North Carolina by Randy Russell, Janet Barnett ISBN: 0-89587-064-9 Publisher: John F. Blair Publisher Pub. Date: 01 July, 1988 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (8 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Barely a ghost to be found.
Comment: There are many titles that would have been appropriate for this book but the one chosen by the authors is not one of them. Picking up this book one expects to find an abundance of ghost stories within it's pages but if that is your expectation, you will be disappointed. There are only two stories in this book that deal in any way with ghosts and one of those is the Brown Mountain lights which show up in almost any ghost book dealing at all with Western North Carolina. The rest of the book is just one old legend after another.
Don't get me wrong, some of these legends are intriguing and enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the story of Spearfinger. The writing is good and flows nicely and I ran into no editing problems. Still, this book purports to be a book of ghost stories and that is what I bought it for. A much more appropriate title would have been "Cherokee Legends of Western North Carolina" or something like that. One story doesn't even bother to deal with a legend. It is just the story of a scalawag bushwhacker that people still remember and detest.
Those who like to read about the legends and gods of the Cherokee Nation will generally enjoy this book. Do not bother with it however if you are looking for haunts and spooks for there are none to be found here. If I were a lawyer with too much time on my hands I might file a false advertising suit on this one.
Rating: 3
Summary: I Don't See Dead People
Comment: Frankly, I was somewhat disappointed by this book. I picked it up because I am interested in ghosts and because I live just east of the foothills in western North Carolina. I had also enjoyed reading the authors' book Ghost Dogs of the South. Despite the title of this book, the vast majority of the stories collected here have nothing to do with ghosts, and no story deals with a traditional type of haunting. What these stories do contain are tidbits of mountain folklore, local history, and Indian traditions and beliefs. The book is not bad in and of itself; the problem is that this reader was expecting something quite different from what he found. Peculiarities of the mountain environment are the catalysts for many of these tales, and I believe that readers unfamiliar with the North Carolina mountains will probably be more disappointed than I was. You don't need to have visited Clingman's Dome, Blowing Rock, or Grandfather Mountain to enjoy these tales, but having some personal knowledge of the area is certainly a plus for the reader.
Mountain Ghost Stories is a pretty short book, coming in at just over 100 pages. I would have loved to see pictures of some of the locations mentioned, but there are none. If you are interested in mountain folklore, Indian myths/traditions, or North Carolina history, you might find a quick wade in this pool enjoyable. If you are looking for traditional ghost stories, you would do well to bypass this little book altogether.
Rating: 3
Summary: What ghosts?
Comment: Although I somewhat enjoyed this book, I felt that the title was misleading. A more appropriate title would have been simply "Mountain Folk Tales," because many of the narratives were based on ancient Cherokee legends. The book is well written and intelligent, and appears to be historically accurate. In addition, students of Native American culture will find some great material here. However, if you are looking for a good old fashioned haunting, you will not find it in this collection of tales.
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Title: Ghosts and Haunts from the Appalachian Foothills: Stories and Legends by James V. Burchill, Linda J. Crider, Peggy Kendrick ISBN: 1558532536 Publisher: Rutledge Hill Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1993 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: Ghosts of the Carolinas by Nancy Roberts ISBN: 0872495876 Publisher: University of South Carolina Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 1988 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Bushwhackers by William R. Trotter ISBN: 0895870878 Publisher: John F. Blair Publisher Pub. Date: 01 March, 1991 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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