Customer Reviews

Haunted Northern New York: True, Chilling Tales of Ghosts in the North Country

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great book on the supernatural with amazing photos, especially those contributed by Chris Sharlow (his photos are amazing - he should have his own book)! I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever had any interest at all in, or who has ever questioned, what lives beyond. If the stories don't put a chill down your spine, the photos of Chris Sharlow surely will. I look forward to the next book and set of photos. Get this book!

This is a hauntingly good collection of creepy North Country ghost stories, and each one is non-fiction (which makes them all the more creepier!) I was especially intrigued by the story of the "White Lady" who haunts the Tau Epsilon Phi frat house located in my hometown of Potsdam, and also the story of the witchcraft author Gerina Dunwich and her eerie Victorian house in Fort Covington.
This 132-page softcover book is a must for anyone who lives in the region and likes reading about these true tales of hauntings. You will also enjoy it even if you don't live in Northern NY! 5 stars from Patti *****

I love the intriguing way the author wrote these real-life stories centered in Northern NY. And of course the ghosts are great! Excellent pictures too. If you are a ghost buff, this book is for you.

I picked up this book in the bookstore becuase i live in Norfolk...part of the wonderful north country. I have always known that there are ghosts and the north counry is full of them. Its nice to see the north country in print...can't wait for the next book by Revai.

This book is written so differently from any ghost books I've read, the author has a wonderful gift of story telling. Once you open up this book and start reading, you won't be able to put it down until your done!

I have a deep love for history. More than just the fact, it's the lore - the oral lore that is woven through it. To me history always surrounded me, the curiosity of what a place was, what had happened there, who had owned it was like a big mystery waiting to be unraveled. It surprised me so many people dislike history, or see it as a dry list of dates and events. Britain was loaded with castles, duns, brochs, and stone rings. Layers of the people who inhabited the lands, not just The Picts, Scots, Gaels, Brits, Angles, but the Roman invaders. I found the South of the US was loaded with intriguing history. So many homes were touched by the War Between the States. Beautiful antebellum giants that survived the era, all carrying colorful tales. That is why I really enjoyed this book by Cheri Revai. Obviously, Revai loves history around her and sees it as a living thing reaching out to those curious enough to want to know the secrets.

She has an easy writing style and does a good job of portraying events, researching this history and the lore of places believed to be haunted. Every time I pass some structure I always wanted to know what happened there. If someone says a place is haunted, it drives me to want the facts behind the tales. Revai does this. She gives you the roots of the tale, but then very thoroughly checks with the various owners to see the experiences - or not - of the different owners. She also tells
you when a site is "by invitation only" so you know beforehand if you can actually visit the place.

The book is a fascinating, spine-tingling collection of about 30 tales covering northern New York - Jefferson County, St. Lawrence County, Franklin County and Clinton County. So those of you planning a leisurely tour of the area to see the fall colors might wish to have this little guide to give your trip even more excitement. For writers, there is a wealth of tales to spur your imagination, so I highly recommend this wonderful book.

P.S. It might interest you to know Cheri Revai is the sister of bestselling Sci-Fi Romance writer C. J. Barry!

i'm from massena ny, and i have actually been to some of these places....quite bone chilling knowing all these things occur espically when you are from that place.

Scared the living HELL outta me. Excellent, well prosed stories from the bottom of the heart.

I am slightly surprised by the 5-star reviews here, so I wanted to offer a contrasting opinion. I have lived in Northern New York and I love a good paranormal story, so I was very disappointed after looking forward to reading this book only to discover the actual content. If you're looking for any kind of investigation into possible hauntings, you should skip this book. None of the vignettes include the author -- or anyone -- actually checking out the tales of things going bump in the night. Instead we're just regaled with second-hand story after second-hand story of someone "seeing an apparition" or "feeling a presence". The writing style is rather simplistic and the tone varies wildly, making the book reminiscent of little kids telling stories around a campfire. The author interjects a lot of cutesy tongue-in-cheek comments throughout the stories, but there's really nothing here you couldn't produce yourself by spending a couple nights in neighbourhood bars and then rehashing the spooky stories told by other patrons. I might recommend this for kids or tweens, but I think better books exist for grown-ups interested in the paranormal. I guess you could say this book is a lot like the ghosts it mentions: lots of mist, no substance.

This book is great! Can't wait for the next one.