Customer Reviews

Ghost Stories of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County

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

 

 

The author admits that she is from "the other side of the state" in the Forward to the book. And having read it I did get the feeling that the stories being told were just be relayed by someone. The tales are all well written and entertaining, but they are missing that Pittsburgher feel.

While the stories are interesting and do take place in Pittsburgh, I couldn't shake the feeling that these were generic ghost stories that could have the names and places changed to fit any city. I was looking for a book that captured some of the uniqueness of being from Pittsburgh. I was even hoping to see some of the stories I grew up hearing immortalized in print. This book didn't have any of that.

If you are interested in reading some ghost stories that care be retold over a campfire then buy this book. If you are a homesick Pittsburgh native trying to connect to your city then skip this book.

The main reason I give this book a four instead of the three I would've otherwise granted is because I bought it for a dollar. Even if it had been awful, I'm not going to complain too much about my lost dollar.

All in all the stories are alright. Some are pretty good, actually. Another reviewer here commented that the stories are too brief. Most barely making their way to a fourth page. And while I'll have to agree to that, I am also glad that the writer did not go overboard and scribble a bunch of superflous stuff about "atmasphere" and other such snares that tie-up many a book about ghosts.

Obviously, if you live (or have lived) in Pittsburgh, this book will be more appealing for you. If you don't, then the locations will mean little to you, but some of the stories will creep you a bit. It's a good book to lay on the couch with on a snowy/rainy day. Which, I'd like to point out, is when book's are at their best.

I had this book when it came out in '94 when I was 15 and it really freaked me out! Another review doubted the validity of the tales...but I actually attended clases at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and know quite a few people that experienced these real life stories first hand! That place is definatly haunted! Another tale about a flower shoppe I know to be real... a friend of mine knows the owners and she too has felt strange things! I felt the book really told the each story vividly and kept the creepiness like a warm body with personal experience quotes from interviewees and, at least for a Pittsburgher, the locations were too close to home!

There is a ghost at the University of Pittsburgh that the author didn't mention. It is a male ghost that inhabits the Cathedral of Learning. I sensed its presence 2 times there on separate occasions. I later read about the ghost (I think they called him Charlie) in the "Pitt News", the local rag. The ghost was a nice one, thankfully. I had this happen two times, the first time I thought it was a fluke. I walked into my English class early one morning-I always scheduled my classes as early as possible because I commuted to the city-to avoid traffic and parking problems. I went into the classroom and the lights turned on. I thought they had installed one of those 'automatic lights' in the room at first. I saw that the light switch that was across the room was flipped up. I went over and turned it off and went to catch a few z's.

The next time this happened I was in one of the Nationality rooms. I had a spanish 3 class early in the morning. Same thing happened, I was the first one in the room, and as I open the door, the lights go on! I said "thanks!" and went to turn off the lights. I didn't get a bad feeling, the ghost must be a nice one. Later after this happened I read in the Pitt News about the ghost. I think he was a janitor who used to work in the building.

The rest of the book is a good read, the one story about the guy painting the ceiling of the church especially piqued my interest. The guy related that before the apparition would appear, he would get this totally awful feeling, he said it was 'beyond fear', something that had happened to me when I was at home (yes, I lived in a haunted house).

There are many interesting ghost stories in this book, she covers much of the region. I also loved the strange story of the house that used to be on the North Side. I just wished that there was more information about what had happened there.

Guess what---the story about McKees Rocks involved my house. The author turned out to be a rather lousy writer, and got several details wrong. But with God as my witness, the story is substantially true. Can't say if the others in the book are true, but there was definitely SOMETHING going on wierd in my house for a while. All is quiet now---March 2005.

These could be interesting stories if they were more fleshed out. Most of the stories are only 2-4 pages and simply contain a paranormal story told by one person with no supporting facts, evidence, back-up accounts, etc. Each story reads like a paper done for a high school assignment where the task was to interview a person you know about a paranormal experience and write a short paper.

These could be interesting stories if they were more fleshed out. Most of the stories are only 2-4 pages and simply contain a paranormal story told by one person with no supporting facts, evidence, back-up accounts, etc. Each story reads like a paper done for a high school assignment where the task was to interview a person you know about a paranormal experience and write a short paper.

This book is just a pure hoax, using people's stupidity to make them believe in anything! None of those stories are true (I personally visited and investigated 90% of those places and I haven't noticed the slightest "paranormal" thing). If you want to waste your money then buy this book.