Ghost Stories of New England

Ghost House Books

by Susan Smitten

From a murdered wife who haunts a New Hampshire tavern to a Rhode Island vampire, this book is full of amazing eyewitness accounts and community folklore about the restless spirits and strange occurrences that are part of the rich history of New England.

Genres: Ghosts, Ghost Stories, Horror

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

Reviews

[Lee L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are three excellent chapters in this book: "Haunted Houses," "Wandering Women," and "Haunted Hospitality," where the author does a bit of ghost-hunting herself and interviews first-hand sources. This is where her writing becomes engaging. The stories she has gleaned from eye-witnesses are interesting and well-varied. However, the majority of the book is of the "legend has it" and "it's rumored to be" variety, of which I am not usually a fan.

There is a dose of good old-fashioned New England folklore here, as well as a tour of several New England lighthouses that are reputed to be haunted, but overall I did not find the author's prose engrossing. Also present is a fair amount of speculation, although it's sometimes hard to tell whether this is on the part of the author or the story-teller. Either way, there should have been a little less of it. This book has more of a school project feel than that of a polished professional product. In addition, there is one serious faux pas: Worchester, Massachusetts?? This is worth picking up at the local library for a quick read, but overall, it's a bit short on shivers and is not one of my favorites.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love a good ghost story, especially ones with historical roots, so I was really hoping Ghost Stories of New England would be a chilling, atmospheric read. Unfortunately, it just didn’t deliver. The stories are interesting in theory, but they’re written in such a dry, factual way that they don’t really feel spooky at all. Instead of setting the scene and building suspense, the book just kind of lists events like a Wikipedia entry, which makes it hard to get immersed in the hauntings.

Another issue? A lot of the stories feel rushed—like, you’ll get two pages on a supposedly haunted location, but there’s no real depth or detail to make it feel creepy. If you’re looking for a well-researched history of New England hauntings, this might be okay, but if you’re hoping for spine-tingling ghost stories that actually send chills down your spine, this one might leave you disappointed.

[Sara Clorite · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just ok. General “ghosty” things, lots of speculation, old information. Told without the spook factor. They also completely missed the witches cursed headstone in Bucksport, ME. Seemed more like someone’s capstone project than a published work.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of fun to read about all the "hauntings" up here in the New England area. We do a lot of travel up here, so may find ourselves referring back to this for some October fun. 👍