50 Real American Ghost Stories

The majority of the ghost stories in this book take place in the 1800s, and are therefore mostly collected from newspaper and magazine articles from that particular time period. Most of these 50 19th century tales are quite short, consisting of only a scant page or two, but some are longer, more involved, and a good deal more richly detailed.More to the point, some of these "ghost stories" are spookier than others. In fact, some aren't scary at all, and are, in a few instances, related in a manner that is more than a little tongue in cheek, being imbued with that decidedly dry, wry, 19th century styled sarcastic wit; with a somewhat stale jocularity that, though a bit quaint by today's standards, should still be readily decipherable to the vast majority of 21st century readers.Perhaps more concerning is the fact that some of the stories are unfortunately not really what most readers would call "real" ghost stories (as the title clearly claims), being that they are in fact brief newspaper accounts of deliberate hoaxes, that at first caused a great deal of hysteria and fear in the communities in which they originally took place, only to have it be revealed later on that very much still living, breathing human agents were actually behind the supposed "hauntings" of long feared locales. You know, Scooby Doo type stuff. Heck! Scooby and the gang are even mentioned in the book. No kidding.So if you're looking for real scary "real" ghost stories, you may just be rather disappointed, because this book most likely wouldn't be particularly hair-raising for most veteran imbibers of occult supernatural lore. In other words, don't expect the majority of these tales to keep you awake at night. There are a couple however, that are decidedly more memorable, and even sent chills up and down the spine of this practiced, voracious (perhaps even quite jaded) ghost story reader. Other than these two (or maybe three) stories, yes, the book does get a bit dull in places - though I'd also have to concede that it's well conceived overall.Yet still, some reviews I've seen have complained that the author didn't even write the book himself (given that much of the text consists of direct quotes, taken from the publications that the stories originally appeared in), but I think that that's more than a bit of an exaggeration. In fact, author M.J. Wayland DID collect and curate all of the material in this particular book, and although he didn't compose every single word and sentence himself, he certainly deserves full credit for researching, collecting, and organizing the material. I mean, come on, folks. It ain't Wuthering Heights. Nor is it even supposed to be.In the final analysis, I found '50 Real American Ghost Stories' to be a somewhat antiquated, dusty, cobweb infested experience. Sort of like spending a dark, spooky evening alone in a creepy old library! THAT kind of thing. Ultimately though, I found it to be a rather refreshing read, a fascinating jaunt back to an all but forgotten time when the Spiritualist Movement was in full, macabre swing.Sure, there are a few typos here and there, and a smattering of perhaps awkwardly worded sentences, but overall, it's a good, solid book of arguably "real" ghost stories -most of which have not been widely seen in print for more than a century. Of course, if you're expecting anything along the lines of perennial "real" ghost story classics, such as Jay Anderson's The Amityville Horror, or William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist, you'll be sorely disappointed. So... just don't expect that. As with anything having to do with the supernatural (or, for that matter, ANY decent book worth reading in general), just bring an open, inquisitive mind as you turn those pages. And let the stories do the rest.

Nice collection of short entertaining stories from all over the country in the 19th Century. Some odd, some believable, and some a bit too bizarre and suspect. The author includes a list of his sources for the stories.

Very interesting read keeps you wanting to keep reading all the way through without stopping. Really Enjoyed this book you should read it!!!!

Since it’s October the haunting season and I love Ghost stories and Halloween is my favorite holiday, I decided to pick up this little tome on American Ghost stories - all of the stories come with references to the newspapers and other documents by which the stories have been relayed.

The book does contain a number of short stories which are interesting but really short. I would probably buy again but there is a lactic of documemation. So it could all be fictionalize which is okay. But it is entertaining. Also the book contains a few errors ex. Cincinatti pg 54 time sequence Nov 1860 came to town moved into the house March 1860.

I truly enjoyed this book of ghost stories. Very well written and look forward to reading more of this author's books.

It's a good read but I like a longer story, I like to stay with the same character longer.

My son absolutely loved this book, we read it together and it’s really good. Definitely recommend this to young adults but any ghost lover would love this too.

I really enjoyed this simple short book. The cases, culled from 19th century newspaper accounts from the USA have been selected carefully by the author for their interest, and everyone is fascinating. Of course this was a period when spoof journalism and lying contests are said to have led to much questionable material appearing in newspapers, but not being a social historian of the US I can't say how true that is. What I can say is that as someone well versed in apparitional cases of the period in the UK, I only wish the Census of Hallucinations material was half as entertaining as these absolute gems from across the pond.Whether you are an expert on psychical research, or just enjoy a fine yarn, this has some absolute crackers in it. So many books of regional spook stories become a bit samey, because let's face it most ghost stories are at the end of the day very similar. These aren't, and the skill here is not just in the exhaustive research that must have gone in to the book, but in the perfect selection of stories to scare, enthral and entertain. Some of these are just plain weird -- and all the better for it!If you like a spooky tale, buy this book. A bit short, but more fun than most ghost books I've read (or written) since i was a teen. Sheer indulgent fun, and may thrown up some interesting ideas for future research too.

I have enjoyed this book because it tells you the story without smothering the story with irrelevant info just so it fills more chapter's.The story s are concise and individual and each has its own grade I would recommend this book it does keep you interested and wanting to know more on what the book has to offer.

not as interesting as the previous books i've read from mj wayland. although these are real stories reported many years ago, they are not interesting enough for me because they are different from those i like; people's real experiences.

Rather spooky, a good read.

Leider sind diese Geistergeschichten, die MJ Wayland aus diversen alten Magazinen und Zeitungen zusammengesucht hat, allesamt sehr alt und stammen auffallenderweise aus der Zeit, als Spiritismus gerade eine absolute Modeerscheinung war, so dass sich so manche Stadt gern mit einem Poltergeist oder einem anderen Spuk schmückte.Heutzutage würde man solche Stories wohl kürzer fassen und als "Urban Legend" oder moderne Sage bezeichnen, denn gleiche Motive wiederholen sich doch auffallend (ein Geist, der an einen Gegenstand gebunden ist, Geisterbotschaften in Seancen...)Sogar die Autorin selbst gibt wiederholt ihre Zweifel ab, ob es sich hier eher um eine Sensationsstory in einem Boulevardblatt handelt oder ob sich manche der "Zeugen" nicht einfach nur Aufmerksamkeit verschaffen wollten.Insgesamt eher eines der schwächeren E-Books zu dem Thema.Hier eine Liste meiner persönlichen Favoriten: True Ghosts: Haunting Tales From the Vaults of FATE Magazine Eerie Britain Eerie Britain 2 Scottish Ghosts and Witches: Real Ghost Stories and Legends Urban Legends Uncovered - Reloaded! 100 True Ghost Stories True Stories of Ghosts: Usborne True Stories Frightfully Freaky: 50 Tales of the Strange, Unexplained and Highly Unusual Frightfully Freaky 2: 50 More Tales of the Strange, Unexplained and Highly Unusual True Ghost Stories: Jim Harold's Campfire 2 (English Edition)True Ghosts: Haunting Tales From the Vaults of FATE MagazineEerie BritainEerie Britain 2Scottish Ghosts and Witches: Real Ghost Stories and LegendsUrban Legends Uncovered - Reloaded!100 True Ghost StoriesTrue Stories of Ghosts: Usborne True StoriesFrightfully Freaky: 50 Tales of the Strange, Unexplained and Highly UnusualFrightfully Freaky 2: 50 More Tales of the Strange, Unexplained and Highly UnusualTrue Ghost Stories: Jim Harold's Campfire 2 (English Edition)