Spooky South: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore by S. E. Schlosser

by S.E. Schlosser

Pull up a chair and gather round the campfire and get ready for thirty creepy tales of ghostly hauntings, eerie happenings, and other strange occurrences from times past. Set in small, southern towns, hard to reach islands, and sparsely populated backwoods, the stories in this entertaining and compelling collection will have you looking over your shoulder again and again.
Southern folklore traditions are kept alive in these expert retellings by master storyteller S. E. Schlosser, and in artist Paul Hoffman's evocative illustrations. You'll meet ghosts and witches, hear things that go bump in the night, and feel an icy wind on the back of your neck on a warm summer evening. Whether read around the campfire on a dark and stormy night or from the backseat of the family van on the way to grandma's, this is a collection to treasure.

Genres: Paranormal, Folklore, Nonfiction, Horror, Ghosts, Short Stories, Mythology

Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Author S.E. Schlosser has been telling stories since she was a child, when games of "let's pretend" quickly built themselves into full-length stories. A graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature and Rutgers University, she also created and maintains the website AmericanFolklore.net, where she shares a wealth of stories from all 50 states, some dating back to the origins of America.

(source: Amazon)

Reviews

[Dona's Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one took me a long time to finish!

Review to come.

[Katie Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining. But not what I expected.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that the stories are all from the Southern US, but most of them are more silly than spooky.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly enough, these are not well-known ghost stories. The Bell Witch is familiar to me, but not this particular version. And I've heard of Plat-Eyes and Wampus Cats, but these tales are new twists, too. The book was just okay, not as detailed as I was expecting. I believe the author mainly got her information from books, instead of enlisting local color, which is a shame. Stories come to life when recited by someone who was raised on them. Oh well. At least I didn't invest much time in the reading of it. I won't be wasting my time reading any of the others. The second half is more believable than the first half, maybe just because the devil always seems so close. My favorite tale was probably the one about the fiddler, though.
Oh, and the map is wrong. They have Maryville listed as West of Knoxville, and Knoxville too far North. Shoddy job. How do books like this get printed? There's a whole series of them!

[Fatts · Rating 2 out of 5]

its fun to listen to ghost stories or to watch ghost story shows, but its very hard to get that creepy feeling from reading ghost stories and i cant figure out why. to this day, i have never found a book of true ghost stories that creeped me out when i read it. im starting to think that its impossible to get that scary feeling from reading true ghost stories. i hope im wrong but this book had some horrible stories and some ok stories. this would be a good one to read to children on a rainy night but other than that, it didnt do much for me.

[Charlotte Ehney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has 30 short spooky tales from the south. The author presents these tales as fictionalized stories (some in first person, some in third person). These are all based on local stories or folklore from different areas in the south and the author does include a bibliography so the original tales can be researched. While this is an oft used method of telling ghost stories or scary stories, I prefer when they are presented in a non-fiction retelling of the history and experiences of real people.

[Jolene Layne · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was kind of neat reading about old haunts & stuff. I really hope to find more books like this down at my library ;)

[A. Mickey Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several good stories, several boring stories. Like most anthologies. But the good ones outnumber the bad ones, so definitely worth the read. Especially Wiley and the Hairy Man.

[Kaylaisapple13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the stories were just meh in my opinion, but there were also some I really enjoyed like "The Fiddler's Dram" was a good one.

[Guerrilla808]

This book sucks.

[Melissa Loucks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This are fun quick reads for paranormal enthusiasts. I'm reading ones of areas I've been too and considering I live in NC this one was great I've been close to if not actually to these places.

[Sydney Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite boring. It didn’t keep my attention for long. I excepted something different when I saw this on the shelf. 😬

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

"He wasn't afraid of no ghosts."

Really hokey. Happy Halloween...? I did like the Andrew Jackson story, though. The rest are lame.

[Ashley (ashleysbookthoughts) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. A couple of the stories are decent, but most are pretty underwhelming. Lots of not so subtle Christian moralizing and anti-cat propaganda (why is the dog lobby so powerful 😂). There are better spooky story collections out there. Don’t bother with this one.

CW: anti-indigenous sentiment, gruesome deaths, animal cruelty, sexism

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is exactly what I look for when I look for a book of ghostly tales. There were some classics and some new ones, and all were told as if they're the absolute truth from the mouth of a bonafide country storyteller. "Wait Til Emmett Comes" has always been one of my favorites stories, and it's retold very well here. I also really enjoyed some of the stories about the devil himself that come from down south, because we don't have many stories like that here. For example, I love how the story "Christmas Gift" starts: "Now the devil, he was just plumb bored one day, back when the world was a bit younger than it is today. He'd started a war, corrupted a politician, and ruined an emperor's birthday party. But he was still feeling restless." Amazing. I marked the best stories so that I can whip them out and read them aloud anytime someone asks for a good ghost story. Definitely check this one out!

[Gabriel Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a nonfiction I hope.
The purpose was to entertain the reader and perhaps to inform the reader about different cultures in the south.
The author achieved this well because I laughed a lot through the book and I learned about different cultures.
The books weakness was that there were some parts where I scratched my head because I was confused on some stories.
The strengths is that it was well written and it helped inform me about some of the ghost stories I have never heard.
My favorite quote had to be; "'I got him' Tabb cried. 'But he got me too!' pg 31.
Yes I would recommend this book to others because there are some good stories in this book to tell around a campfire with friends.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories were really fun and succeeded in having a very southern atmosphere. I liked some of the geographic elements in the stories: living on the Mississippi River (hey, spelled it right on the first try!) exploring the swamps of Louisiana, and in dense forest wilderness. Many of them were told in ways that could be easily adapted to campfire settings, if anyone needed ideas for Scout trips and stuff.

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Within these pages, you will find intriguing ghost stories, folklore, and much more from the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. This book is a gem of a find for those looking a great read to add to their folklore and ghost stories shelves of their library. Kudos!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one I remember clearly. It was a souvenir store find in Charleston, SC back in 2013, and I read it quickly on the way back home from that vacation. This is the kind of ghost book that I love. It doesn't bother with personal stories and instead dives into really neat old ghost stories and other folklore from the southeastern United States. This book is a highly entertaining little read.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is amazing. Every story is beautifully written with lots of detail, vivid descriptions, and wonderful suspense; however, the author does this without making the stories too long or dragging them on. If you like ghost stories than this is a must read for you!!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great sampling of the longtime folk tales that have been told from the time the South was settled. And told in great story-telling style as well. Take a step back in time to the tales told around the fireplace on Halloween.

[MaryLeauna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/3 stars

[Isaiah]

this was the best book ever read

[Darla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and interesting tales of spooks of all kinds. Had a very fable/fairy tale feel about it.

[Carolyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of stories that really helps portray a piece of the south with each telling.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read about Southern folklore. Wonderful little stories that I really enjoyed reading.