Carol's Haunted Treasure Box you never know what you're going to find!
Have you read these Ghost Books? Got one I should add?
Ghostly: a collection of ghost stories by Audrey Niffenegger, 2015
Collected and introduced by the bestselling author of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry—including her own fabulous new illustrations for each piece, and a new story by Niffenegger—this is a unique and haunting anthology of some of the best ghost stories of all time.
From Edgar Allen Poe to Kelly Link, M.R. James to Neil Gaiman, H. H. Munro to Audrey Niffenegger herself, Ghostly reveals the evolution of the ghost story genre with tales going back to the eighteenth century and into the modern era, ranging across styles from Gothic Horror to Victorian, with a particular bent toward stories about haunting—haunted children, animals, houses. Every story is introduced by Audrey Niffenegger, an acclaimed master of the craft, with some words on its background and why she chose to include it.
Lone Star Spooks: Searching for Ghosts in Texas
by Nate Riddle, 2011
Not your typical haunted places entry style book, this is more a physical and intellectual exploration by the author regarding the nature and existence of ghosts. He has a chapter at the beginning of the book where he interviews a professor of parapsychology, and then a later chapter where he interviews a skeptic. Both are very interesting and raise questions for the author (and hopefully the reader as well). While I could have done without the lengthy chapter on an urban legend style local haunting, I liked his account of his stay at the Menger Hotel with his wife and his brother. It was not just about paranormal experiences, but he recounts much of his stay as if he were talking to you at a barbecue, telling you about the whole trip. One problem I did have with this book is the chapter where he consults a psychic. He has given her some questions ahead of time, and though she gets no answers correct and gives him "cold reading" guesses that I could have come up with (eg name of a family cat, "I'm getting the word 'scat' in connection with it..." and never came up with a name close to a real name) Mr. Riddle writes that she had been "unusually accurate." Okay, I won't get started on this aspect... Other than that chapter I liked this book for its different style and approach where the author "thinks out loud" about the issues involved in believing or disbelieving in ghosts.
The Loveliest Dead Ray Garton, 2009
David and Jenna Kellar are trying to cope with the death of their younger son when an opportunity comes to move to a house left to Jenna by her father, whom she never knew. As you might assume, once there, things start going bump in the night. At the same time, a psychic in a nearby town starts having visions about a family in serious danger from the paranormal. While I found David and Jenna's characters a little hard to warm up to, the other characters and the plot kept me reading. I must admit I was amused by Garton's unflattering portrayal of a fictional older couple from CT who are demonologists and are extremely media hungry.
The Supernaturals by David L. Golemon
I love the traditional haunted house tale with real suspense and atmosphere. This book definitely met my high standards with everything from creepy setting, good characters, and spooky happenings. A professor/paranormal investigator and some of his students explore Summer Place estate with disastrous results. Abandoning all things supernatural Prof. Gabriel Kennedy has never fully recovered from the trauma of that visit. Years later a TV network decides to do a live Halloween special at Summer Place and Kennedy is coerced into returning there for the event. His stipulation is that he has his own group of investigators that he hand selects. They are a motley and interesting crew who are at odds with the TV people. The Haunting of Hill House meets Ghost Hunters would best describe the plot. It moved right along with the suspense steadily ratcheting up. The preface should definitely not be skipped - I found it as creepy as the rest of the book!
Floating Staircase
Ronald Malfi, 2011
Travis Glascow is haunted by the traumatic death of his younger brother when Travis was 13 years old. When he and his wife Jodie move from London to Maryland to live near his brother Adam, the psychological ghost of his brother Kyle is joined by what seems to be a true haunting in their new home. This novel is as much about obsession and a mystery thriller as it is about paranormal events. The writing style and the fact that the main character is an introspective writer remind me a lot of Stephen King's works. It took me quite a while (about 130 pages of skimming) to get into this book, but it did keep me reading to the end to find out what happens. I don't know if the reader is supposed to feel sympathetic toward Travis but I found him irritating and not very likable. If you like Stephen King's style and books that are as psychologically explorative as they are plot driven, you will enjoy reading this novel.
Haunted Inns of the Southeast by Sheila Turnage, 2001
This is one of those guide books that is not only very helpful to find a haunted inn to visit but is fun just to read or browse through. Each entry is not long but is interesting and the author includes many, many places. Her region covers from Louisiana/Miss. over to Florida, and up north to Virginia and Tennessee. 228 pp, includes photos and a nicely done index.
A Ghost in My Suitcase
by Mitchel Whitington, 2005
This is a refreshing and delightful book written by someone who is obviously as intrigued by ghosts as many of us "ghost aficionados"! He spent much time and money traveling to every state in the country to visit a haunted location- most of them inns or hotels. Mr. Whitington's chapters convey his enjoyment and enthusiasm and make this a fun read as well as a travel resource. I guess if I had to come up with some shortcoming, my only nit-picky one would be that I would have liked more photos, especially since he visited each site in person. 241pp., a small photo for most entries.
Haunted Highways: the Spirits of Route 66
by Ellen Robson and Dianne Halicki, 1999
If you're even thinking of traveling along Rte. 66, this book is for you. It has (not coincidentally?) 66 listings of spooky stops you can make as you travel. This guide has great maps, both general of the whole Route, and for each state so you have a very good idea of where these sites are. Each ghostly entry is 2-3 pages, with a good photo, description and directions. The book is paperback, 190p including an index.
Haunted Canada: True Ghost Stories, 2003
by Pat Hancock
This chilling collection of ghost stories from Canada's past stalks the land from coast to coast. A perfectly terrifying way for young readers to absorb a little of our country's amazing history and geography.
Ghost Hunting
by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, 2007
This book is by the co-founders of TAPS which is the paranormal investigation group featured on SciFi Channel's show "Ghost Hunters." Jason does most of the writing while at the end of each chapter is a short "Grant's Take." How TAPS came into existence is covered, as well as many of their earliest investigations before the TV show started. Even the chapters that cover the investigations seen on the show are interesting to read and revisit. The book moves quickly and has an informal, easy going feel to it. I do wish there had been more "behind the scenes" stuff but would still recommend this book. It is in paperback, 273 pages with a photo insert in the center.
Haunted Places by Patrick Zakhm, 2010
As a Paranormal Investigator and a Sensitive the author shares with the reader what his investigations of haunted buildings over the years have taught him about ghosts. The book touches many topics from life to death to spirits and ghosts. His experiences have brought him the light to understand other phenomenons in life that are understood superficially and taken for granted. Ever been saved by a voice that guided you into safety? What is a gut feeling? What are Chakras? What is meditation and how can we meditate properly? What is temporary sleep paralysis that some people experience sometimes right after waking up? What are panic attacks? What are phobias? What are Orbs? What is a Psychic? What is a Sensitive? What is a Medium? What are ghosts? What are spirit guides and do we all have them? Why are some people sensitive to ghosts and others not? And is death the end? Do we really just vanish when we die?
Weird Encounters: True Tales of Haunted Places
Compiled by Joanne Austin, 2010
Scarier and stranger than any multiplex horror movie, Weird Encounters features more than 75 supernatural stories contributed by writers from across the country. Compiled by Joanne M. Austin, editor of the hugely successful Weird Hauntings, this chilling anthology tells of “Historic Haunts,” and “Hostel Environments” and conjures up a host of phantasms, paranormal pranksters, and devilishly destructive spirits -like the deceased owner of an Illinois inn. whose ghost gets fresh with his female patrons and the bridge in Mississippi that's haunted by a serial murderer and his victims.
Ghost Hunters Research Guide
by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox, 2011
Until now, ghost hunters relied on modern equipment and high-tech gadgetry to hunt spirits and then attempt in-depth background research by plodding through low-tech methods and tedious trips to libraries, historical societies and archives. No more plodding! Now, computer friendly, in-depth research can be accomplished on a 24/7 basis, because the Ghost Hunters Research Guide to Free Internet Sources provides exact Internet addresses and precise tutorials for using dozens of free, legal and public Internet sites that have the information paranormal investigators need: When and where a person died. Locate graves and cemeteries. Find nicknames, abbreviations, name translations and origins. Communicate in the vocabulary of the ghost. Read and date old-style handwriting. Research shipwrecks and natural disasters. Access the life of a ghost in the U.S. Census: 1790 to 1940. Ghosts that are African, Slave, Freedmen, Immigrant and Indentured Servant. Lumberjack, Pirate, Waiter or Witch? Occupations and associations. Get the facts about haunted or stigmatized property. Determine a ghost's wealth and lifestyle. Apparition or Hallucination?
The Man in the Picture
by Susan Hill, 2008
An extraordinary ghost story from a modern master. In the apartment of Oliver's old professor at Cambridge, there is a painting on the wall, a mysterious depiction of masked revelers at the Venice carnival. On this cold winter's night, the old professor has decided to reveal the painting's eerie secret. The dark art of the Venetian scene, instead of imitating life, has the power to entrap it. To stare into the painting is to play dangerously with the unseen demons it hides, and become the victim of its macabre beauty.
The boy who drew monsters by Keith Donohue
Ever since he nearly drowned in the ocean three years earlier, ten-year-old Jack Peter Keenan has been deathly afraid to leave his home in a small coastal town in Maine. Instead, Jack Peter begins to draw monsters, and when those monsters take on a life of their own, no one is safe from the terror they inspire. His mother, Holly, begins to hear strange sounds in the night coming from the ocean. When she seeks answers from the local Catholic priest and his Japanese housekeeper, they fill her head with stories of shipwrecks and ghosts. His father, Tim, wanders the beach, frantically searching for a strange apparition running wild in the dunes. And the boy's only friend, Nick, becomes helplessly entangled in the eerie power of the drawings. While those around Jack Peter are haunted by what they think they see, only he knows the truth behind the terrors that lurk in the outside world.
The Ghost Next Door
By Mark Alan Morris, 2003
The Ghost Next Door takes a revealing look into the lives of average, everyday people from across the country who have had experiences in the realm of the unexplained. Whether you're a true believer in ghosts or a hard-nosed skeptic, you're sure to get a chill or two when you read about the woman who was visited by her grandfather on the night of his funeral! Or the man who was forced to move by a troublesome spirit only to find it had followed him!
The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James, 2012
Set in England in the 1920s, Sarah Piper is an unemployed young woman who is looking for any kind of work. She is offered a temporary position as an assistant by Alistair Gellis - a very unusual position for he is a ghost hunter in need of a female aide for a specific case in a rural town. It is a good ghost story that also has a romantic subplot (though I wouldn't call it a Gothic novel). This book was well written with a good pace that escalated the mystery and eeriness, and had characters I cared about.
Weird Hauntings, True Tales of Ghostly Places
presented by Weird U.S., Compiled by Joanne Austin, 2006
Each chapter is written by a different author, some unknown to me and some that I (and you) find recognizable such as Troy Taylor and Joseph A. Citro. All kinds of hauntings are covered in sections assigned by type. There are haunted houses, eateries, hotels, schools, graveyards and many more. I thought the different "voices" and perspectives of all the authors kept the book interesting right through to the end. I read all 300+ pages without getting bored at all. Hardcover, with color photos throughout.
The Ghost in the Basement by Sue Fine, e-book 2012
Hannah Taylor returns to her home town in Ohio when she inherits her grandfather's house, but there are strange conditions attached - she has to share the house with Detective Donovan Kane and his young son for one year or else the house goes to Kane. Meanwhile, Det. Kane has received instructions from Hannah's grandfather to “find the diaries, open the house, and send the wandering spirits on their way.” This book is "gothic-lite" and reads quickly. I'd compare it to the "cozy" genre within mystery novels.
The Ghost Orchid
by Carol Goodman, 2007
Ellis Brooks is a writer invited to an artists' retreat at the long abandoned Bosco estate in the Adirondack mountains to write her first novel. Inspired by a pamphlet she fatefully discovered describing a seance that took place there in 1893, Ellis Brooks comes to Bosco to write about the tragedies that befell the Latham family and the role Corinth Blackwell, a spiritual medium, might have played. Bosco and its grounds seem to have never been able to shrug off the aura of tragedy and the past intermingles with the present to affect the people staying there now. The book travels back and forth between the past and the present. Events become more eerie and mysterious as the past seeps into the present. The pacing, dialogue and characters are all excellently done. A book I was sorry to reach the end of - a very good ghost story.
Hollywood Paranormal Films: Fact & Fiction
by Jim O'Rear, 2011
As most of you, I've seen all the movies included in this book and thought it was going to be a dry rehash of the backstories, be they based at all in fact or complete hoaxes. Not at all! The author is a talented writer who made each entry interesting. Even the chapter about The Amityville Horror, with which I am very familiar regarding its being a total fabrication was good. I had thought I'd be skimming or even skipping it, but read the whole entry. There are 10 chapters/movies which include The Exorcism of Emily Rose, An American Haunting, Amityville Horror, The Entity, Dracula, The Changeling, The Exorcist, The Haunting in Conn., The Mothman Prophecies, and Audrey Rose. I was very surprised to find that The Changeling was actually written based on events experienced by Russell Hunter, a playwright, when he rented a mansion in Colorado! This is a very well done, entertaining book. It has many photos of both scenes and posters of the movies it covers.
Five Mile House by Karen Novak, 2004
After a personal trauma, Detective Leslie Stone's husband accepts a job to undertake a restoration in a small New England town. It turns out that his project, Five Mile House, was home to a family in the 19th century in which the mother, Eleanor Bly, killed her seven children then herself. The novel parallels the stories of the two women as Leslie becomes obsessed with the former occupant and murderer and comes to believe the truth may differ from the accepted legend.
Canadian Ghost Stories, 2001
by Barbara Smith
The book's title already tells about its content -- ghost stories from Canada. A big part of the book are narratives about people's supernatural encounters who shared their stories with the author. In the introduction, Barbara Smith points out that people have occasionally been "so overwhelmed by their experience that they have not been able to recall all the details. " (p 9) That's understandable, yet what remains is the doubt that a thorough research of circumstances could have helped to fill the gaps. Additional to the first-hand experiences people kindly shared with Barbara Smith, the author tells some more or less spooky folklore tales from all over Canada.
Spooky Canada : Tales of Hauntings, Strange
Happenings, and Other Local Lore by S.E. Schlosser
From British Columbia to Newfoundland, the provinces have at least one thing in common: eerie things that go bump in the night and creaky haunted houses. Thirty stories will keep you looking over your shoulder for days!
The Restorer (the Graveyard Queen Series)
by Amanda Stevens 2012 pb
Amelia Grey is a graveyard restorer who lives in Charleston. She has been able to see ghosts all her life, and her father who was
a graveyard caretaker has instilled in her the need to avoid them and rules to prevent them from communicating with her since they will prey on her life force. While working in Oak Grove, a cemetery affiliated with a local university, Amelia becomes involved in a murder case when a murder victim's body is found in the cemetery. She has to deal with spirits and (no less scary) an attractive mysterious detective, John Devlin. I like this series, but Amelia's character seems like she would be more at home in
a turn-of-the-20th-century setting - she seems old-fashioned and stilted much of the time. A good choice for those who like the gothic novel style of fiction. There are two more books in the series (as of summer 2013).
Haunted : The Incredible True Story of a Canadian Family's Experience Living in a Haunted House.
by Dorah L. Williams
It was an irrational decision. Despite having just moved into a beautiful new house, the Williams family gave in to an odd, overwhelming desire to purchase and move into a Victorian home they had come upon by chance. They were curious, of course, as to why the house had, in the past, had such a high vacancy rate - no one ever seemed to live in it for a long period of time. But that curiosity didn't last long, because shortly after moving in, strange things began to happen. It became abundantly clear that the home's past owners had all had a reason for leaving: fear. The Williams' new home was haunted.
A Ghost meets an Angel by Elizabeth Eagan-Cox
As the right spot for Grub, Spirits, and Conjuring, it's an entertainment venue that's a re-invention of an Old-West Saloon in California's historic mountain town of Julian. The Spotted Coyote is more than what Shannon bargained for when she discovers the century-old murder of little Sarah Morgan. Sarah's ghost refuses to be denied, leaving Shannon no choice but to pursue haunting clues that pair jumping rope rhymes with rare books, treasure lore with a ghostly angel and an uncanny connection to the Scottish paranormal author, Robert Louis Stevenson.
The complete ghost hunter by Cody Polston, Bob Carter
Cody Polston and Bob Carter are the president and vice president of the Southwest Ghost Hunter's Association. They combine their background in science and logic with a deep and abiding love of things that go bump in the night to provide a fresh and unique look at ghost hunting. The Complete Ghost Hunter is a sound, logical approach to the science and techniques used by successful ghost hunters. Here you can learn the methods, critical thinking skills, and theories necessary to be a successful paranormal investigator, as well as advanced tips and tricks for such powerful tools as software image analysis and camera hardware modification. Written by ghost hunters, for ghost hunters by the leaders of the Southwest Ghost Hunter's Association, this book will provide a solid foundation for anyone who wishes to learn more about this fascinating realm of inquiry. Whether you are a fan of things that go bump in the night, a skeptic seeking scientifically feasible theories to explain a haunted location, or a field investigator looking to expand your expertise, this book has something for everyone.
The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing
by Sheila Turnage, 2014
When Miss Lana makes an Accidental Bid at the Tupelo auction and winds up the mortified owner of an old inn, she doesn't realize there's a ghost in the fine print. Naturally, Desperado Detective Agency (aka Mo and Dale) opens a paranormal division to solve the mystery of the ghost's identity. They've got to figure out who the ghost is so they can interview it for their history assignment (extra credit). But Mo and Dale start to realize that the Inn isn't the only haunted place in Tupelo Landing. People can also be haunted by their own past. As Mo and Dale handily track down the truth about the ghost (with some help from the new kid in town), they discover the truth about a great many other people, too.A laugh out loud, ghostly, Southern mystery that can be enjoyed by readers visiting Tupelo Landing for the first time, as well as those who are old friends of Mo and Dale.
Hunting the Ghost Hunters: An Introspective Guide into Ghost Research, 2010