Customer Reviews

Ghosts and Haunts from the Appalachian Foothills: Stories and Legends

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

 

 

I truly adore this book and its sequel, The Cold Cold Hand. It is truly a wonderful source of stormy day, late night, or campfire chills. Growing up in a county where quite a few of these stories occur, I have grown up knowing many of the ones in this area by heart and now am delighted that a few have been recorded with all of the atmosphere owed to them. Why do I only give this book four stars out of five them? The stories, being well written and very entertaining, still have a few discrepancies. The stories have been either been altered for better reading or the authors have been mis-informed on some of the stories...I'm not sure which. I know because the guy in the "Ghost Wagon" story just died six years ago (this disproves part of that story in the book). These changes do not hurt the book, however, and sometimes add to the dramatic effect of it (which in itself is very dramatic on a dark night under your bedsheets). So if you want to immerse yourself in creepy, North Georgia folklore, this is definately the book to get you started.

This is a wonderful, sometimes eerie, and sometimes downright scary collection of stories. Told in a way that reflects the oral tradition...I bought this book on a recent trip to the mountains and it became a perfect fireside companion for cold, dark mountain nights. It kept me awake the first night because I didn't want to put it down, and the second night because I ended on a particularly scary one!

Normally, I love any book with true ghost stories. This one was just weird. The stories in the biginning were really cool. But towards the end the author just sounded despirate for a good story. I would reccomend you check it out from the library before you buy it.

A collection of traditional tall tales of ghostly subjects that will leave you wondering whether fact or fiction is being spun into your head and a shiver down your spine. It's impossible to tell where fact ends and fiction begins, but I do know for a fact that the writers did research in person...after dark... in deserted churchs and graveyards! This book, written by a collection of native (and transplanted) people to the Appalachian area of North Georgia, is already in its second printing

Marcia Wright Bonner, James V. Burchill, Peggy Kendrick, and Linda J. Crider have contributed to a book that is enough to keep you up at night, not out of shock like modern horror writers, but in an old fashioned "ghost story told around a campfire" kind of way. There is just enough there to send a pleasant chill up your spine at the appropriate moments. I loved every story, and I highly recommend this book to anyone.

This has to be ( other then the cold,cold hand ) the BEST book in my collection! I cant highly recomend it enough! Get it trust me YOU wont be able to put it down you will be HOOKED!!!!!!!!!!

Reading regional "ghost story" compilations is one way to learn light history about a place or area. The stories provide quick hits of popular folklore, geography, and even anthropology, while also providing the added benefit of a chill from a good tale. I try to pick up books like this wherever I go. This one is among the best. It's not written in the first person by a kooky self-styled medium or something like that; it's simply a collection of some real spine-tinglers from one of the best regions for such a thing in America. Well-written, with a balance of short and long, unbelieveable and compelling, old and new, and serial stories and stand-alones. A good bet for anyone interested in folklore and/or life in the Appalachians.

This is a good book to read. It's just like watching the documeneries on TLC about ghosts and haunts. Buy it. It will be worth it.

"Ghosts and Haunts from the Appalachian Foothills" is not really a book of short stories per se. Its narratives are the literary equivalent of a Grandma Moses painting: a moment of time in rural America. Most of the narratives of ghostly encounters are charming, but not very frightening, because there is no evocation of tension or suspense. The first story in the book is probably the scariest because it is one of the few that does build up to supernatural climax. One of my favorite stories is about a guardian spirit who warns his human if there is speed trap on the road ahead. Another is about an old woman who made a pact with the devil, so that she could spy on her neighbors through a flour sifter.

At any rate, although this book did not really haunt me or frighten me in any way, you may be charmed by its tales of rural Appalachia.

Most of my reviews on Amazon are five stars. That is because when I read something that isn't very good, I simply choose to say nothing at all instead of bash the book. I decided to give an honest review, share my thoughts, on this book as opposed to remain silent.
It does seem as if it is very very very hard to find good horror anthologies, old fashion ghost stories, that are entertaining to any degree, this book certainly wasn't any better than most of what is out there.
I personally feel as if the main audience it is written for is young, grade school/Christian school type children. Even middle schoolers would not be entertained by this book.
There are many stories in the book, I would say 30 or so, but so many of them are just like the others. There is no character development in any of the stories, none of the reasonings behind the "hauntings" is ever revealed (maybe 3 or 4) and OMG! did I ever get tired of each of the stories ending with , "and she never talked about what happened." or "and he never talked about what happened," or "they never talked about what happened." If you are looking for a good collection, look elsewhere, cause you won't find it here.