Ghosts Along the Cumberland: Deathlore in the Kentucky Foothills [Paperback]

William Lynwood Montell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: University of Tennessee Press; 1 edition (June 23, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870495356
• ISBN-13: 978-0870495359
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Haunted Heart of America, May 2, 2000

By 

david burnett - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghosts Along the Cumberland: Deathlore in the Kentucky Foothills (Paperback)

This book uses first-hand interviews and anecdotes to paint a picture of the superstitious and imaginative nature of rural America, particularly that part of America which has not been touched or moved to any great degree by the hand of progress or industrialization. This is excellent bedtime reading, full of bizarre and strangely disturbing images, like scenes from a half-remembered dream, premonitions and warnings from beyond this world. A well-organized text makes this a fun and informative read, perfect for anyone with a love of American folklore and a good ghost story. Highly recommended

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scary and Informative, February 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ghosts along the Cumberland: Deathlore in the Kentucky foothills (Paperback)

Ghosts Along the Cumberland was an excellent book.It was very informative about many old traditions and folklore in Kentucky.I am from Kentucky and some of these practices and beleifs are still used today,mainly by the older people.I first read this book when i was very young and it has some really great ghost stories not to mention the history and the culture of people from this area.This is a great book for anyone who just likes a good scary ghost story or someone who has an interest in the history and culture of the people of Southern and Eastern Kentucky.I whole-heartedly recommend this book for just a campfire ghost story to someone doing research on these regions of Kentucky.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ghosts Along the Cumberland, March 7, 2007

By 

Cwn_Annwn (Copenhagen, Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghosts Along the Cumberland: Deathlore in the Kentucky Foothills (Paperback)

This book compiles "deathlore" in the isolated Pennyroyal region in south central Kentucky. It covers death omens, funeral customs and ghost stories and interactions with the spirit world. These stories are all first hand accounts compiled by the author and students of his at Western Kentucky University that were taken in the mostly taken down in the 1960's although most of these stories go much farther back than that. As an academic study on folk beliefs this was worth reading although as far as pure entertainment value I was disappointed.

I believe in omens. They are a carry over from the pagan beliefs of the British Isles but they are very personal and can often seem silly when being recounted to an outside party.

I believe in the supernatural, hauntings, ghosts or whatever you want to call this phenomenom but I also accept that in most cases people are just wrong and there is a "logical" explanation for what is happening. Also people exagerate to make the story sound better. Which is often made even worse when these stories are often told in second, third, fourth, etc person on down the line form and each person telling the story just adds more to make the story a little more entertaining. Besides that the stories are often lies from the very beginning.