Spooky Yellowstone: Tales Of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, And Other Local Lore

by S.E. Schlosser, Paul G. Hoffman

 Pull up a chair or gather round the campfire and get ready for creepy tales of ghostly hauntings, eerie happenings, and other strange occurrences under starry skies. 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: Nonfiction, Ghosts, Outdoors, Horror, Folklore

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

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

[Georgia Boggs]

I (like everyone else who marked this as read) got this on a trip to Yellowstone when I finished the book I was reading and this one the only one in the bookstore that was a guidebook of various hikes. I really liked the ghost stories section (especially the ghost in room 213) but the second half was really boring.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this on a trip to Yellowstone and was excited to have such a cool souvenir! Unfortunately, none of the stories were actually spooky or scary and some made me roll my eyes. I do wish that the approach would have been different - I was hoping for a more "factual" account of what (people thought had) happened and instead it was in the style of first-person perspective fictional stories. I did like some of the stories because I was then able to go online and google names etc. and find out more about the people and the incidents, but again, wish more would have been included in the book.

[justjulijack · Rating 1 out of 5]

meh.

[Sarah B · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I had finished reading this book a few days ago and I realized something very interesting about this book: none of these ghostly stories actually stuck in my head! They were fun while reading them - as momentary entertainment - but after that they all faded away.

And there is something else too. The focus of this book is supposed to be Yellowstone but I feel most of these tales do not actually scream "volcano"! Which is kind of odd? Some of them weren't even located in the park but more in areas outside Yellowstone. So in that regards I found it a tad disappointing.

Most of the ones in here are your typical ghost story. You know the kind I am sure. My favorite one in here was about the haunted hotel room that kept ringing a bell for service after all the guests had left. I thought the end of the story was a clever twist and that is why I had liked it. Was it creepy though? No, not really. I don't think any of the stories in here are actually scary. Expect ghostly locomotives, gold mines, card playing, etc ...

But I really don't think Yellowstone National Park has gold mines and locomotives.. and that is a problem. Because then the book is really not about Yellowstone at all but about the wider area around it... Yellowstone is bubbling mud pits and geysers of hot water and the earth rumbling and huge animal herds ... That is Yellowstone.

I think the title of this book is inaccurate.

[Alma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected this book to be about scary and weird happenings in and around Yellowstone. What I got was stories written in a style that was confusing; it was often hard to tell who the first person narrator was (this changed with each chapter) or even sometimes when the story took place. It gave the ring of fiction to most of the stories even though many are apparently from actual experiences of people. There were six pages of references at the end of the book, but it was very hard to tell which related to each story. I guess I’m of too much a scientific bent and wanted to be able to document the actual facts that were the basis of the stories and legends. I did enjoy the nice illustrations that were reminiscent of old wood cuts, and I liked the descriptions of places I have visited and loved over the years.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading Spooky Yellowstone, and finding out more about hauntings and ghosts in the park. While this was a quick, somewhat enjoyable read, I found the stories to be written as something that people would tell around the campfire. I had hoped for a more factual look at the evidence on these happenings in Yellowstone, but I felt the stories were more silly, than anything else. I did find the Headless Bride from the Old Faithful Inn to be one of the more interesting chapters in the book.

If you're going into this book and not taking anything too seriously, then this could be an entertaining read about something other than the animals and geothermal features of the park.

[Melvin Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not expecting to see this book at a Half Priced Books in Atlanta Georgia, but my mother is bloody obsessed with Yellowstone and I had been there when I was very young (young enough that I have like one memory of waiting for a geyser to erupt and being really upset because I was bored and couldn't really do anything due to youth or anything) so I picked it up.

I don't remember anyone mentioning any ghosts so all these stories were new to me and some of them were great fun and interesting. I wonder how many are true?

[Pearl Jam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well now I regret pestering my dad to get this when we were at Yellowstone. I was expecting to be haunted and spooked. I was in fact just bored and felt like this was a history lecture just going on and on. I do regret getting this, quite unfortunate. These stories were anything but scary or spooky. I read maybe the first three or five stories and just skimmed the rest. It wasn't just the stories I didn't like, the writing wasn't too good either. It was as though the author was trying too hard with the writing. It felt forced and could have been a lot better.

[Hector · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of plain old ghost stories and faith centered tales. Nothing else really. Compared to the other ones, this isn't the best. The style of writing is odd, considered they are supposed to be ghost stories told to the reader. Instead we must read a story about a guy visiting the park or a hotel and then something happens to them, then someone tells THEM the ghost story, and we read their reaction. So the ghosts are just side characters caught in the narrators path.

[Irene Cititor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy read, and it probably won't give you bad dreams because these stories aren't very scary at all. Most are "historical" but some allegedly took place in modern times. I liked that in the early pages of the book, a map is included so that you can find the locales mentioned in each story. Because I've been to Yellowstone NP, I can appreciate that aspect. If I had not been to Yellowstone in person, I'd find these stories to be mildly entertaining but not important.

[Gareth Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this as a gift after visiting Yellowstone National Park last September. The tales are told in the fashion of someone repeating an anecdote they'd overheard, perhaps around a campfire, perhaps in a coffee shop. There are 25 short tales, divided into two sections. I enjoyed the first set far more than the second. Perhaps they became repetitive, but honestly the last few tales were outright dull. That said, it's a quick read, and does contain interesting tidbits of local lore.

[Ashley (findabooknook) B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Better books if you are headed to Yellowstone: Death in Yellowstone is a captivating one for families. Especially good to remind kids for behaving in the park!!! Yellowstone Trivia is fun for parents that like to learn things and share it with your kiddos.

These stories are simply collected and retold and don’t fit the ghost story bill, if that’s what your kiddos are wanting.

[Vicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read about ghost legends at Yellowstone

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little book about odd happenings around Yellowstone. Some short stories were better than others. It was purely for entertainment factor during my vacation.

[Kris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book at a thrift store and I love ghost stories, so I was excited to read it.
Unfortunately it is so lame. Theses stories wouldn't scare anyone. Big disappointment.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good collection of spooky short stories that take place around Yellowstone National Park. I didn't take the time to research each one to verify authenticity, but they're still fun to read.

[Celia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and fun book on the ghosts and strange stories that have taken place at Yellowstone National Park. A couple of the stories could have been omitted, but it was fun nonetheless.

[Victoria Hosman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read with some stories from the Yellowstone area. Picked the book up on a trip out to Yellowstone.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick fun read to get into the spooky spirit. Not necessarily scary but definitely some creepy stories, some amazing and sad. All in all a great read with a blanket and a cup of tea.

[Victoria Bramwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Title is misleading… there is nothing spooky in this book. Some of the stories were so boring that I can only assume they were padding to make it longer.

[Mallory Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and enjoyable read, but meh. Not too shabby, but only a lil spooky