Customer Reviews

Civil War GHOSTS at Fort Delaware

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Ed Okonowicz has become the foremost authority on ghosts and haunts of the Delmarva area and it is obvious from his writing that he loves this area and his subject very much. He has written several very good books about the ghosts of this area and this book covers a field where he is especially knowledgeable because he has for several years led ghost tours of this old fort.

Fort Delaware was built as part of America's coastal defenses but during the Civil War it became a POW camp housing thousands of Confederate soldiers as well as a few of the Lincoln administration's political prisoners, many of which died in captivity. I can't think of a more perfect place to hunt ghosts and in this case the author has actually had an experience of his own.

Unfortunately many of the stories in this book have little or nothing to do with ghosts and some of those that do are rather shallow. There are however some real gems to be found in this book and they contain everything a good ghost story should. There is a history of the haunt and interviews have been conducted with those who have experienced the haunt. As is the case with some of this author's other books there is also a rating given to many of the haunts by a group of local paranormal investigators, a handy dandy feature if you ask me.

Normally I wouldn't be at all happy that stories that do not relate to ghosts have been included in this type of book but in this case the stories in question are so good that I really can't complain much. For instance there is a story about a portrait of Zachary Taylor that hangs in the old fort and a picture of this portrait is included. At first glance it looks like an ordinary painting but if one squints just right another image emerges and an eerie image it is. This picture is so amazing that it alone is well worth the price of the book.

The book concludes with a rather long story that also has nothing to do with ghosts but it is one of the most fascinating stories that I have come across in a long time. It involves secret escape tunnels, government denials, spies and lost Confederate gold. Need I say more?

This may not be strictly speaking the best book of ghost stories you will ever come across but it is certainly a very good ghost book. Add to the very good ghost stories a strong visual effect and a few other extraordinary tales told by a superb storyteller and the end result is a book that I can highly recommend.