Customer Reviews

Ghost Dogs of the South

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This is such a wonderful book; it is just precious (a word I rarely use). Ghost lovers, dog lovers, folktale lovers--this is your book. The stories are wonderfully tongue-in-cheek, folksy tales that capture much of the oral traditions from whence they assuredly came. This is in no way, I should say, a parapsychological study of ghosts; in a couple of stories, a ghost is only briefly mentioned. This is all about the story and the story-telling. We are treated to the internal thoughts of the characters, including the dogs, which might sound silly but works wonderfully. Seeing things from the eyes of the dogs provides a lot of unique perspectives and leads to many smiles and laughs, and it strikes me that we can learn more about human nature (at least the good part of it) from dogs than from many people. My favorite stories involve heroic actions performed by beloved dogs for their masters and even for strangers. The dog who saved a child from getting run over by a car and who returns each Halloween to watch over trick-or-treaters is incredibly touching. There are also some sad, even heartbreaking aspects to some stories--even the bravest, most loyal dogs sometimes pay the ultimate price for their devotion, and some are brutally and senselessly hurt and killed (as are other poor animals). Any dog lover will tell you that the bond between a dog and that dog's human is stronger than death; those who scoff at such a thing will not enjoy this book.

I know all dog lovers are wonderful wherever they live, but the fact that these stories take place in the South certainly made them much more meaningful to me as a Southerner. These are our stories; several of them come from places "just up the road a spell" from where I live. Each tale features a tidbit of Southern history I was not aware of. You certainly don't have to be a Southerner to enjoy this book, but those of us from Dixie will feel a little closer to these stories than others might. You may notice that the term "Civil War" is never used in these pages; old-timers (and some of us younger folks) know to refer to that tragic period as the War Between the States. There are a lot of little things like this that help make this book so special to me. As an added bonus, you will learn the difference between ghost dogs and dog ghosts, and you will even get to find out why dogs' lips are black and why dogs chase cats.

Finally, this book is a work of art. The care and effort that went into the production of this book deserve some kind of award. Besides the touching cover photo of a boy and his dog, there are old-time photos of men and women, girls and boys, blacks and whites and their dogs interspersed throughout the book. These pictures are not pictures of the dogs whose tales are told in these pages, but they give the book a wonderful, personal touch that evokes the kinds of feelings that are only understood by dog lovers the world over.

This book has received an Award of Merit from the 2001 Southern Books Competition. "Ghost Dogs of the South presents itself to us through an evocative hand-colored photograph of a boy and his dog in times of old. And it just gets better. Wonderful photographs in interesting faded-edge shapes change from chapter to chapter. The book is hand-sized, almost a prayer-book testimonial to the dogs in our lives. The designer has created a book begging to be read." Congratulations to the authors, book jacket designer Debra Long Hampton and publisher John F. Blair.

Ghost Dogs of the South is full of tales that come straight from the south of the United States. With tales such as trick or treating and a ghost dog saving you ("Trick or Treat") and a tale about magical dog teeth ("The Silver Locket"), you will find every kind of dog, person, and tale to fit a perfect collection of stories. Randy Russell and Janet Barnett have out done themselves with finding these tales of southern folklore. With 20 stories of amazing encounters to downright spooky stuff, Ghost Dogs of the South can leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Although not perfect, this book comes very close. Twenty stories from all over the south, from Texas to Georgia, it makes up for the few mistakes made. Some mistakes include nothing about the authors and a confusing forward. But other than that, this collection is very highly recommended for reading.

If you love dogs, and good, rousing ghost stories, then you need to read this book. I read it in two nights, it was very hard to put the book down. These are not all tales of the "dawn of the dog-dead" variety; there are stories of dogs' loyalties to their former guardians; tales about canines who continue to protect their humans from the "other side"; and also tales that I am sure we have all heard in one form or other: the black dogs that haunt and harass. The best part of this book is the rich southern flavor, and being able to identify the cultural cross-overs in these stories. I highly recommend it as a good solid read, and food for thought about our relationships with our canine companions!

A collection of stories that are generally more interesting and strange than chilling, but always entertaining.

A fe minor complaints: Some of the stories seem so crafted that they do not seem to be from oral or storytelling tradition -- they have been given a definite narrative and don't feel as "folksy" as some ghost tales. Also, I'd love to have a little more information about the location of the tales; only the city/town is given in most, and as I live near the one set in Dinwiddie, VA, I wish I could look up the house the tale supposedly takes place in.

Very enjoyable supernatural tales for the dog lover.

I picked this book up in a local book shop and could not put it down! I got goosebumps after reading each story...but not the creepy kind. This is a heartwarming book especially for animal lovers. It goes to show that the power of our pets is something that goes beyond death. I would highly recommend this well-written and beautiful book.

"Ghost Dogs of the South" by Randy Russell and Janet Barnet is a fair collection of ghost stories relating to both human and dogs alike. It is also a collection of folklore that encompasses not only fairytales, but lycanthropy and "shape shifters" as well.

Despite the title of the book, I can speak from firsthand experience; "phantom dogs are not necessarily a unique phenomena of the Deep South". The Southwest has its own ghostly canines as well. Perhaps the best stories in this book (at least for tickling my imagination), was..."Jameson's Bell," and "The Missing Tree."

However, I applaud the authors for actually developing these tales, and addressing this very unusual subject matter. In addition, to this accumulation of ghosties stories the book is filled with magnificent old photographs of dogs and their once great masters. These ghostly images alone, will haunt you long after you put down the book.

I would recommend this book for anyone who loves dogs, and enjoys reading about the paranormal. A light, yet truly enjoyable read.

Using Southern folklore, which is passed down verbally by predominately mountain people, these twenty stores are about the shadow side of man's 'best friend.' They come in all shapes, sizes, colors and temperaments. One story has humans coming back in the shape of dogs -- large black dogs).

In 'Devil Dog' from Rich Mountain in North Carolina, it is reminiscent of the movie 'Cold Mountain,' this story takes place after the Civil War. The Yankee soldiers descend on the Confederate war widows and abuse them and their female offspring. The girl telling this story relates how she, her mother and some other women took guns to the spot where these rough-and-ready Yankees were sleeping and shot each in the head. After that, tall black ferocious dogs were seen in those woods, and one (the Devil Dog) is waiting for the grown-up girl to die.

In Tobes Creek at Turkey Knob Gap in the Smoky Mountains, a beagle named Hamblen was a most unusual dog who had a lazy master. However, Enzor discovered some bones in the caves of Tennessee and whittled a coffin to place them in, so as to let the spirits of those who had been drown rest in peace. His dog went with him to the caves and saved him from being drown. He continued to look after the old geezer.

In Knoxville, Linda was almost hit by her father as he was driving home from work and she was out in the street on her bicycle. She had a hard knock on her head and lay in a coma. Afterwards, she suffered from severe headaches, and always a tiny dog, only ten inches high with big, upright ears that looked like butterfly wings, would appear to make her feel better. It seems that at the time of the accident, some friends of a neighbor has such a dog called Papillon which had run out to save her and the car killed him.

In Nashville, out in the Belmont Hillsboro area, there lived a crazy beekeeper who owned a guard dog, Preston. He would supervise the children's trick-or-treating every Halloween. One year he died from cancer at the vet's the day before Halloween, but the woman's granddaughter had not been told. When she and her friends arrived at the house, Preston as usual accompanied them on their adventure and ran out in front of a car to save a younger child; then, his body vanished. He was already a ghost.

Ray Ross, Jr. in Tiptonville, Tennessee, had a boxer who loved to go fishing with him. At night they could catch the biggest catfish. General George jumped into a whirlpool one night and became a mermaid's ghost dog.

In the South, pets are a part of the family and treated like children. Others of these stories contain dogs from Kentucky, Georgia, and South Carolina. The writers enjoy researching these mountain stories and have written THE GRANNY CURSE AND OTHER GHOSTS AND LEGENDS OF EAST TENNESSEE and MOUNTAIN GHOST STORIES AND CURIOUS TALES OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. They live in Asheville, and the back flap photo shows them out in their yard with leashes on their invisible friends. It reminds me of tha dandified dog walker in MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL in Savannah, Georgia.