Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave [Paperback]

Colleen O'Connor Olson (Author), Charles Hanion (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0939748541 | ISBN-13: 978-0939748549 | Publication Date: October 29, 2009

As you enter the world's longest cave you cannot help but wonder about scary stories. Two centuries of tourists and explorers--some of whom got lost, saw or heard the unexplainable, or just wanted to tell a good tale--cannot leave a cave without stories. Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave is a collection of nineteenth and twentieth century fiction, historical and more recent first hand accounts of unusual experiences by National Park Service employees, cave explorers, and scientists.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Among the many intriguing mysteries of Mammoth Cave are sightings of ghostly figures that appear now and again along major tour routes. Perhaps they watch us through a portal in time, long separated from the physical world in which the living reside. They belong to the shadows and darkness of the cave world, and to the human mind, which catches glimpses of these denizens of the netherworld. Perhaps they are simply projections of our own fears and imaginations.

The stories in this book provide glimpses into this shadowy world of Mammoth Cave. Illumination is provided only by the flame of our desire to know what the cave itself knows.

About the Author

Colleen O'Connor Olson has been a Mammoth Cave guide since 1993, and has worked at other National Park service sites including Gulf Islands National Seashore and Grand Canyon National Park. Olson's BA in communication is from Central Washington University. Most of her writing has been directed towards improving programs for park visitors.

Charles Hanion is a career park ranger at Mammoth Cave National Park. He has also worked at Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Russell Cave National Monument. Hanion's BA in Anthropology is from University of Tennessee. His research and writing specialties include archaeology, folk history and unusual phenomena.

Product Details

• Paperback: 92 pages
• Publisher: Cave Books (October 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939748541
• ISBN-13: 978-0939748549
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Working as a guide at Mammoth Cave National Park, I heard plenty of spooky tales from my fellow cave guides and explorers (caves are a great setting for ghost stories, it's always dark). These stories were passed down orally; if all cave guides, explorers and other tellers of tall Mammoth Cave tales died, these rich stories would be lost. To avoid this, my friend and fellow cave guide Charlie Hanion and I wrote Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave. That led me to write other cave related books, including Prehistoric Cavers of Mammoth Cave and Mammoth Cave by Lantern Light (in press).

I live with my cave explorer/ecologist husband Rick in (appropriately) Cave City, Kentucky.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, July 18, 2006

By 

Michele Slack "book bean" (Lehi, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave (Paperback)

I was very disappointed in this book. A book with this kind of title & a ghost on the front should have some spooky stories. It read more like an encyclopedia. Things were listed in a boring, plain way, & most of them had nothing scary about them. I learned a few interesting things about Mammoth Cave, but could have gotten that from a book about the cave. The few stories that were at all spooky, were told in such a bland manner, just a few sentences stating the main points, that it was impossible to feel anything from them. If you're looking for Mammoth Cave knowledge, get a book on the cave. If you want scary cave stories try "Tales of Dirt, Danger & Darkness" by Paul Stewart. If this book had told the spooky things in a "story" manner, some of them might have been interesting. But most of them were too short to really be a story.

4.0 out of 5 stars Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave, September 20, 2011

By 

Larry E. Matthews (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave (Paperback)

This is a delightful little book of stories about strange and unusual or unexplained happenings in Mammoth Cave. Not only is Mammoth Cave the World's longest cave, it has been heavily visited since about 1800. The cave was also heavily visited by Native Americans, some of whom were buried in the cave and later found as mummies by the saltpeter miners.

This collection of stories recalls things that happened to the saltpeter miners during the War of 1812 and to the tourists and guides who came later. Some stories are by more recent explorers who encountered strange happening on their trips. This book provides an interesting and somewhat unusual side of the history of Mammoth Cave.

No, these stories won't keep you from going to sleep at night. Stephen King is in no danger. But, they are entertaining and I enjoyed reading them. Even better, I know some of the explorers in some of the stories !!!

Larry E. Matthews
Professional Geologist