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Title: Adirondack Ghosts by Lynda Lee Macken ISBN: 0-9700718-1-7 Publisher: North Country Books Pub. Date: 18 August, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Scary And Real!
Comment: "Adirondack Ghosts" is a fascinating series of shorts that is several steps above camp fire ghost stories, as the writer has actual testimonies from living people. Many of the stories are handed down from generation to generation. Others are taken straight from historic sites such as Fort Ticonderoga, the Lake Placid Club and various famous local mansions and estates.
Although most of the activities seem to revolve around poltergeist activity (objects being moved about, sometimes in sight of the visitor), many are true ghost sightings. Several employees of a restaurant (The Anvil in Fort Edward) experienced objects and noises until they actually witnessed the ghost standing in a doorway. An apparition appeared over the water near Pulpit Rock in Lake Placid several times until divers found a woman's body intact thirty years after she disappeared - at the very same spot (the temperature is frigid). The most harrowing is probably the author witnessing a ghostly apparition hovering over the waters of Big Moose Lake. Grace Brown was drowned there by her lover Chester Gillette in 1906. The story has been made into a novel ("An American Tragedy") and a film ("A Place In The Sun"). This chapter is full of accounts describing odd happenings, electrical appliances not working and many other ghost sightings by employees and guests.
For a relatively short book, there is a large variety of ghost stories ranging from old folklore to modern day terror. All are interesting, but it would have been great to know more about the history of these ghosts in some cases, such as the Grace Brown murder. However, these simply made me want to study more into the history on my own. I recommend you read this by candlelight.
Rating: 4
Summary: Adirondack Ghosts
Comment: I highly recommend this pamphlet-size book for anyone interested in the basic facts of the area's ghost stories. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because it leaves the reader wanting to learn more about the stories contained therein.
Rating: 3
Summary: Provincial ghost folklore from the American Northeast
Comment: The Adirondack Mountains are considered part of the Appalachians, even though they're really geographically related to the Laurentian Highlands of Canada, and can be found in the northeast section of New York state. Considering the major lake of the area was named after a famous French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, white men have been occupying the locale since at least the 17th century and before that Native Americans found it a convenient warpath. [Interesting side note: the Indian word Adirondack ("tree-eater") was a derogatory term used by the Iroquois when referring to their "backward" neighbors.] The locals have had plenty of opportunity to cultivate their own provincial folklore and ADIRONDACK GHOSTS provides some of those stories; however, while it's intriguing learning the legends, it could be juicier.
This slim volume contains reports of 19 known hauntings in the region, told in a classic style. The stories include some details of the sightings, peppered with a bit of the history. They're also accompanied by photos, to help visualize the scenes.
The first story includes Author Lynda Lee Macken's own sighting of one of Adirondack's ghosts at Big Moose Lake, an account that was covered on a segment of NBC's UNSOLVED MYSTERIES. Her encounter is about a young man convicted of killing his pregnant lover in one of the most publicized criminal cases of the early 20th century, but Macken reports it is the the woman, as a ghost, who suffers more from his betrayal. At the Anvil Restaurant, a building that originally accommodated a blacksmith, pots and pans bang in the kitchen, radio channels change, and the line for a credit card POS terminal has been severed, all without any living person around to account for the disturbances. The Jane McCrea House was named after a young woman who was brutally murdered and scalped by Native Americans, and some of the phenomena folks have witnessed there made them believe she is still there.
The tales come off rather superficial because of their need for more background material. Sometimes they're weak for not supplying more historical details, others miss more active investigation or author analysis. One of the stories (which is actually a contribution from another writer, John Fadden), an old Native American tale of a skeleton spirit eating a living human, pushes the envelope of credibility even for believers in ghosts. On the other hand, one has to keep in mind that folklore is built on superstition, not believability.
Readers requiring magnifying glasses to read might appreciate that this 2000 book has large type, although its poor copyediting affects its readability in several places. The author occasionally slips in the wrong preposition and the use of pronouns is once or twice misleading.
Regardless, ADIRONDACK GHOSTS is an interesting read. Anyone looking for an introduction to an eclectic perspective on this part of the country should enjoy this book, but look to other sources if something with more depth is desired.
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Title: Haunted Northern New York: True, Chilling Tales of Ghosts in the North Country by Cheri Revai ISBN: 0925168459 Publisher: North Country Books Inc Pub. Date: 01 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Ghosts of the Northeast by David J. Pitkin ISBN: 0966392523 Publisher: Aurora Pubns Pub. Date: June, 2002 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Adirondack Ghosts II by Lynda Lee Macken ISBN: 0970071868 Publisher: Black Cat Pr Pub. Date: 03 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
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