Customer Reviews

Ghosts In The Graveyard: Texas Cemetery Tales

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

 

 

I could not put this book down. Who'd think there were so many fascinating stories about these old graveyards. Instead of going to Disneyland next year, I'd grab a copy of this book and do a road trip.

I have the good fortune to be personally acquainted with Ms. Abbott and read bits and pieces of the book prior to publication. She would come back from a cemetery exploration so anxious to get to her computer she wouldn't even say 'hello.' From the orbs she saw to the glowing headstone, she shares her adventures with her audience. She didn't just check out local legends, in most cases she went right to the horse's mouth and tracked the stories on foot. A couple of places left her a bit shaken when dark fell before she'd finished exploring. All part of being a ghost hunter. Great job.

I like to read anything I can about Texas history and this book has a lot of the stories and legends that people don't write about anywhere else. It was a lot of fun to read and it helped me know more about some obscure Texas tales.

The author of this book has apparently traveled all over the Lone Star State visiting cemeteries and collecting ghostly tails. These stories include the obligatory headless ghosts, mystery lights and demonic dogs along with several other interesting types of phenomena. She also includes several chapters dealing with various aspects of the funeral traditions of Texas and these chapters are generally very good. Unfortunately, these chapters are by far the best chapters in the book.

There are a few excellent stories in this book but they are a distinct minority. These stories that contain eyewitness accounts and even some experiences that the author herself had while visiting Texas cemeteries save this book from being a total loss, but not by much. Most of the stories are simply old legends with no proper evidence of any kind presented. This is all the more inexcusable because the author has friends who are ghost hunters. These paranormal investigators provided some of the best material for this book but for some reason the author didn't use nearly enough of their stories.

The author's writing style was flippant at best and she is obviously very fond of horrible puns that are so bad that even I wouldn't use them. She basically treats her subject with so little respect that even the documented stories have very little credibility. I will admit however that she does include some very good photographs, some which contain excellent images of orbs.

This is simply not a book of "real" ghost stories as the title would lead you to believe. As a collection of folklore it isn't bad but even folklore deserves more respect than is to be found in this book. I must however give the author credit for her willingness to visit so many of the cemeteries that she writes about, especially those she visited after dark. If you are looking for little tidbits of Texas lore and legend you might find this book interesting but if true ghost stories are your goal, look elsewhere.

Much of the writing seems to be taking what could be summed up in three sentences and inflating it into three paragraphs. Sometimes she throws in literary and film comparisons that just don't fit. Some of the jokes just fall flat. The book also includes the cliche photos of "orbs" and "anomalies" that simply light leaks, reflections, and other common camera failures that appear in everyone's developed photos. There are nice black and white photos of cemeteries in the book as well.

My family is an old Kilgore family, and no one recalls hearing of the "After Dark" ghost with the lantern in the Pirtle cemetery. Now the mention of the green glow on the grave of the lady who died of radiation poisoning and was buried in the Danville cemetery rings a bell. I don't believe in the green glow however, and a lot of members of my family are buried in that cemetery.

This book is a waste of money. Although the subtitle is "Texas Cemetery Tales", the book would be better entitled "My Boring Roadtrip". Although the author includes some descriptions of the purported hauntings and although she specifically describes herself as a storyteller, what this book utterly lacks is stories. The book begins with a description of the author's drive to one of the cemeteries, followed by a description of her drive to another. Although both cemeteries are "haunted", she doesn't actually describe the experience of the graveyard from her own perspective, the story behind the supposed haunting, or the reported experiences of others. In short, she tells us that she went to a cemetery that might be haunted and leaves us with nothing to actually enjoy about that fact.

I would recommend that you not only don't purchase this book, but it is so poor that I would be hesitant to buy any books in its vicinity!