Spooky Ohio: 13 Traditional Tales

by Chris Woodyard, Jessica Wiesel (Illustrator)

Thirteen terrifying traditional ghost tales from Ohio for storytelling around the campfire. Written by the author of the popular Haunted Ohio series. A headless horseman, the vengeful ghost of a jilted bride, the Devil disguised as a black dog, and a sad little girl ghost are only a few of the terrors that roam these pages. These are the perfect source material for readers interested in folklore or storytellers looking for new scary tales. The chilling black-and-white illustrations will keep readers up at night!

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction, Short Stories

Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

Reviews

[Chandra Marcoux · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute little collection of short stories from Ohio that I chose to read because of a reading challenge prompt (local legends). I would never have picked this book up of my own accord. This is why I do reading challenges! This book is really aimed for kids (probably middle-school aged, I would say) so they weren't startlingly scary (a plus in my book!). Most of the stories were from the late 1800s and early 1900s and only a few pages long. They felt very much like the stories counselors told us around the fire at summer camp! It was just a really fun, spooky read to get me feeling the Halloween vibe!

[Debbie De steno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fun to read

[Jennie Shook · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little book filled with spooky stories for children.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure if your youngster is ready for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark? Give 'em Spooky Ohio as a test run. Its illustrations are creepy but not as creepy as Gammell's in Scary Stories.

I appreciated Woodyard including notes about the stories at the end as well as a bibliography, so kids whose interest in folklore was piqued during reading have other books to look up.

[Amy the book-bat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is much like the Haunted Ohio books by the same author. The main difference is that the stories are geared toward children. Some of the stories are retellings of the ones in the Haunted Ohio series. A couple of the stories didn't really have anything to identify them as being from Ohio. Not a bad little book, but not spectacular either.

[Pam Simones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Woodyard is the author of several Haunted Ohio books as well as other collections of ghost stories. This is an easy read and would be a great place to start for anyone who wanted to tell ghost stories. Bibliography as well.

[Shyla Colt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining short scary tales linked into local legends.

[Laura Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love spooky tales you will love this

[Megan Esposito]

💀🖤

[Emmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the stories were creepier than others, but the only thing making my skin break out in goosebumps was the air-conditioner blowing on my legs while I was reading. I really wanted to like this collection, but it was just lackluster. I've gotten more thrills and chills from the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series by Alvin Schwartz than I have from anything by Woodyard. I guess I was hoping that this would be a bit better than the Haunted Ohio series, and while it was marginally better (I was actually able to finish it), I wasn't that impressed.

[Landree Rennpage · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are excellent stories. They are written for campfire stories and as spooky stories to tell to kids, but you can still get scared by them as an adult. Highly recommend to fans of Chris Woodyard's Haunted Ohio books. If you like well told creepy stories, this is the book for you.

[Stephanie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any Ohioan who loves scary tales. The Rag Doll was my personal favorite.