Customer Reviews

Civil War Ghost Stories and Legends

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished watching 1951s "The Tall Target" about an assassination plot on the life of Abram Lincoln aboard a moving train. Abram Lincoln and the train got me thinking about a story I had once read. And then I remembered it. It was from Nancy Roberts' "Civil War Ghost Stories & Legends." I pulled the book from the shelf and there it was. Being a Civil War buff I bought this book several years ago attracted and intrigued by the title. It had never occurred to me that with all the horrors, suffering and death on America's battlefields during the Civil War that the emergence of ghosts and related supernatural haunts would come to surface. The particular story that I remember most strikingly was "The Night Train Passes." It is all about the reappearance of Abram Lincoln's funeral train. It is spooky. This entire book is spooky. There is something about the images of the Civil War that makes this collection of stories so intriguing, personally haunting yet poignant. I highly recommend this book.

I have done vast research on Civil War Battlefields and sites. I have seen many Ghostly Spirits on Va. Battlefields also at Gettysburg ,PA. They really do exsist. While exciting to see, it is also scary.This was a good book to read.

Found this book to be interesting with the ability to hold ones attention. In addition, it was thought provoking and the material supports many held beliefs regarding the civil war.

A great book. Very easy reading and very informative. Great account of battles of the civil war and ghost stories surrounding it. I would highly recomend this book to anyone interested in ghost stories and the civil war.

This book is an excellent read. Fast paced and chalk-full of interesting history. Nothing boring about it.

I loved this book ! It kept me on edge. I had it all read in a couple
days. If you love haunted Civil war history and legends you would love this book !
I highly recommend this book !

Gift for my husband. He really liked it! The cover was a little messed up, but it looked like this was from the post-office because the envelope was a little messed up too. Overall, great purchase.

The stories are good, but they are long. I was looking for some short stories to tell at a Halloween story telling event. The service provided by the vendor was very good.

I truly enjoyed this book. Anyone who is interested in the history of our country during one of it's tragic eras can learn more than expected by reading this. One of my true interests is the paranormal. I expected to find a few gems from our past but I found much more than that. Not only do you find ghost stories here but you learn about many of our countries hidden heros. Wonderful reading and I plan to purchase more of this writer's works based on this book. Great read!

My 8th grade son decided to do a history project on haunted battlefields of the Civil War, and I purchased four books on the topic. After his project was finished, I read the books myself. I have no prejudice that there is no such thing as ghosts. But as these books don't bill themselves as fiction, I do have standards for nonfiction writing, against which I'll measure the four books:
1. Ghosts of Gettysburg, by Mark Nesbitt (the 1st of 5 by him, I believe), rated 5 stars
2. Civil War Ghost Stories & Legends, by Nancy Roberts, rated 3 1/2 stars, rounded up to 4
3. Civil War Ghosts, by Daniel Cohen, rated 4 stars, targeted at the younger reader
4. Ghosts and Haunts of the Civil War, by Christopher K. Coleman, rated 4 stars

Don't get me wrong, I didn't give Nancy Roberts 3 1/2 stars because she doesn't know how to write. Her writing is lively and reading this book was fun. It's just that, compared to the other books I read, she does a lot of novelization, making up conversations, etc. You don't have to do that to write an entertaining book, as my reviews of the the other books attest. What her embellishments do is make her book feel more like fiction story-telling. The best of the books make you want to visit the sites to see if you just might possibly see a ghost yourself. Roberts' book reads more like good ghost stories. She does include "Legends" in her title, though, so, to give her her due, her purpose in this book probably is just to reel good yarns!

There is one exception. That is her chapter on "Richmond's Union Heroine". This sighting is taken from Roberts' original conversations with a tour guide, who cites from a diary and family conversations. The whole story rings true, and is the best in the book. Not to mention heartbreaking. I figured I'd only keep the highest rated books and give away the others. But, because of this one story, I am keeping Nancy Roberts' book for my library.

There is no bibliography, and fewer direct references and dates than in other books. To me, this was a drawback. But it may not feel that way to someone just looking for a good tale.