Tales from Brookgreen: Gardens, Folklore, Ghost Stories, and Gullah Folktales in the South Carolina Lowcountry [Paperback]

Lynn Michelsohn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 16, 2009

History, Mystery, and Romance in the Carolina Lowcountry! 

  ~ A haunted necklace . . .
  ~ A trickster rabbit . . .
  ~ An ingenious slave . . .
  ~ A shrieking droll . . .
  ~ A fiancé returned from the dead . . . 
 
      . . . all come to life in Lynn Michelsohn's charming collection of ghost stories and folklore.

Each of these enchanting folktales is tied to specific locations and events from the four historic rice plantations that make up Brookgreen Gardens--South Carolina's popular tourist attraction near Myrtle Beach. Many of these tales come out of the rich Gullah culture that once flourished along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts.
 
Enrich your enjoyment of the Carolina Lowcountry whether you are a tourist, an armchair traveler, or a devotee of ghost stories and folklore . . .
 
Enjoy Tales from Brookgreen!

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Lynn Michelsohn, a tenth generation Carolinian, engages readers in characters and folkways unique to the Carolina Lowcountry in her charming retelling of these sometimes-eerie, sometimes-sad, sometimes-humorous tales from South Carolina's Brookgreen Gardens.

About the Author

Lynn Michelsohn, a tenth generation Carolinian, is clearly drawn to history, mystery, and romance wherever she finds it, as her previous book, Roswell, Your Travel Guide to the UFO Capital of the World! explores intrigues of a different kind. Now, in Tales from Brookgreen her charming retelling of these sometimes-eerie, sometimes-sad, sometimes-humorous tales engages readers in characters and folkways unique to the Carolina Lowcountry.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Cleanan Press, Inc. (August 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977161455
• ISBN-13: 978-0977161454
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #942,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I write non-fiction, primarily about travel and folklore, which often come together in my books. Ghost stories associated with particular historical places especially interest me, as do quirky facts about places I love and the fascinating characters that once lived there.

I write for three rather selfish reasons. First of all, it's fun. Secondly, it keeps my brain alive and functioning and learning new things. Finally, and probably most importantly, it keeps me out of my sons' hair (I just know I could manage their lives better than they do, if only they would let me!).

In 2008, I closed my long-time New Mexico practice in clinical and forensic psychology to devote more time to writing--and beachcombing. My husband, a former attorney, and I divide our time between Santa Fe and West Palm Beach where our two adult sons visit us regularly (but not often enough).

Wow! This writing (and beachcombing) is really great! I recommend it to all of you who have ever thought about starting that memoir or novel or article. Kindle makes publishing incredibly easy, and who knows, you might even sell a couple of hundred thousand copies (I haven't yet)!

After years of living in Roswell with its sometimes offbeat attractions and history--the Roswell Incident, for example--writing "Roswell, Your Travel Guide to the UFO Capital of the World!" gave me the chance to share these interests with visitors to the Land of Enchantment. I have also published a shorter selection from it, "Roswell, NM: The Ten Best Free Things To Do," on Kindle.

Next I wrote a book about a distinctly different region, one I have loved since my childhood spent knee-deep in the marshes and saltwater creeks of the South Carolina coast. "Tales from Brookgreen: Folklore, Ghost Stories, and Gullah Folktales in the South Carolina Lowcountry" recounts stories from Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina's popular tourist attraction just south of Myrtle Beach. I am happy to see that the three shorter collections of stories from this longer work are quite popular on Kindle: "Lowcountry Ghosts," "Gullah Ghosts," and "Crab Boy's Ghost." I hope to get back to work on more lowcountry ghost stories soon.

Did you know that Herman Melville, of "Moby-Dick" fame, wrote a series of articles describing the Galapagos Islands? Neither did I until recently. My latest project has been to put Melville's articles together with wonderful photographs taken by my son Moses in the Galapagos Islands, and writing introductory material to create a book for the modern visitor to the place Melville called "The Encantadas." We call the book "In the Galapagos Islands with Herman Melville" and hope this glimpse into the "Enchanted Isles," written over 150 years ago, will enrich the visits of today's travelers. I've also put two shorter ebooks from it on Kindle that feature even more of Moses' great photos: "Galapagos Islands Birds" and "Galapagos Islands Landscapes."

Recently I've gotten interested in researching the famous New Mexico outlaw Billy the Kid, especially the time he spent in Santa Fe. Did you know that more movies have been made about him over the years than about ANY OTHER individual? I have already completed one short ebook for Kindle, "Billy the Kid's Jail," with more to come. It's hard not to avoid detouring into writing more about Santa Fe in the 1870s and 1880s. I get lost in reading Santa Fe newspapers from that era. So many fascinating details!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Marvelous Read !, June 3, 2011

By 

CEdward - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales from Brookgreen: Gardens, Folklore, Ghost Stories, and Gullah Folktales in the South Carolina Lowcountry (Paperback)

Beautifully written stories by an author obviously familiar with the charm that is the Old South. If you desire a comforting respite during the heat of a summer's day, then do make this a must read !

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome read, February 7, 2012

By 

Shieka Doctor - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales from Brookgreen: Gardens, Folklore, Ghost Stories, and Gullah Folktales in the South Carolina Lowcountry (Kindle Edition)

Bravo to Mrs Michelsohn for a lovely book. I loved this book. It is the perfect mix of history and foklore told in a lovely style. As a fellow Lowcountry person I fell in love with the stories told throughout this book. I found myself laughing at some parts of the story as it felt like I was listening to my grandma or aunts telling me another one of the many stories they have heard over the years. The style of writing with it being told through little short stories told over the years was brillant. I loved learning more untold history that I didn't already know. It was amazing hearing about a lot of the famous events in history by way of stories. I really think this is a must read for history buffs,foklore lovers and those that just love to hear old stories. I am tipping my southern belle hat off to the writer. She brought the old world of the south out in this book tenfold. Overall I loved this book and would recommend it to others.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brookgreen Gardens legends are fun, informative, September 8, 2009

By 

nm201 (New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tales from Brookgreen: Gardens, Folklore, Ghost Stories, and Gullah Folktales in the South Carolina Lowcountry (Paperback)

This is a great book if you like getting to know more about the people, history, legends and culture of places you visit. It contains fun and informative stories from one particular tourist destination, Brookgreen Gardens on the South Carolina coast, from Colonial times thru the 20th Century.

Lynn Michelsohn's retelling of stories told by Hostesses at Brookgreen Gardens captures the spirit of the Lowcountry while her black and white images recreate its mysterious atmosphere. Interesting characters, some famous and some not, populate the tales. Those about ghosts are eerie but not scary, more like visits with old friends.

The book itself is a mixture of storytelling and guidebook elements such as locations and local history. It can get a little heavy on the history for a book of tales and legends, but many of those parts are set off from the main text so you can skip them if you want.

While some of the stories are already familiar if you know the Lowcountry, the storytellers include their own connections to them so they take on a more personal dimension.

Read this book if you plan to visit Brookgreen Gardens or the Carolina Lowcountry.