Haunted Heritage

Haunted America #5

by Michael Norman, Beth Scott

Heralded across the country in newspapers ranging from The New York Times Book Review and The Baltimore Sun to The Minneapolis Star Tribune and The Denver Post , and in magazines as diverse as Chicago and Library Journal , the Haunted America series has attracted widespread acclaim as a virtual spectral travelogue through the byways and highways of North America. Haunted A Definitive Collection of American Ghost Stories , the latest volume in the series. Continues its recounting of supernatural explorations, collecting a comprehensive compendium of ghostly tales, not penned by fictioneers such as Poe and King, but passed on by word of mouth and preserved by memory as actual windows on our nation’s haunted past.

The authors have compiled an astounding collection of American ghost stories. Based on interviews with eyewitnesses, unearthed ancient archives, overheard tales, and actual paranormal visitations and explorations. From the "Haunts of Ivy," a survey of university ghosts, to an overview of spectral lights, from revolutionary spirits in New England to beyond the grave occurrences in the Badlands, Haunted Heritage is the ghost story collection for all of North America.

Genres: Ghosts, Horror, Paranormal, Nonfiction, Ghost Stories, History, Short Stories

384 pages, Hardcover

Published October 18, 2002

About the author

Michael Norman is a writer who makes his home in Western Wisconsin.

He is the author most recently of "The Nearly Departed: Minnesota Ghost Stories and Legends," published in 2009 by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.

He is the co-author with the late Beth Scott of the popular Haunted America series of ghost stories, and the co-author with writer Carol Roecklein of two vocabulary books written for ages 12 and up.

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay, but there were some flaws, at least for me. For one thing, several of the stories were repeats from Volume 1, which I'd already read. Also, with this type of book, especially considering this one felt rather long, it all starts to run together and the stories start to sound similar. Overall though, it was an interesting collection of "true" ghost stories.

[Dave Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some really good sections in Haunted Heritage, a book that is easy to read because of the way it divides the stories into types of hauntings rather than chapters. Not surprisingly the best parts are the more lengthy stories. The weakest ones are mere paragraphs long.

As with many of these sorts of books, even if you are an extreme skeptic there is much to enjoy in terms of the history and period in these retellings of true stories. And if you are less of a skeptic (like me), there are moments of genuine surprise interspersed with some of the more familiar trademarks of universal ghost stories.

The writing here is decent to good to flawed. As I mentioned, the author is at his strongest when he has time to get into a groove and a flow.

[Korina Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

The scariest thing about this book is they lay the facts known about the hauntings. There is historical data for the tales in this book so it’s harder to dismiss them.

This book was a lovely ride. Wish I can find the other volumes.

[Tori · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was a struggle getting through this.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the stories were repeats from his other books.

[Dona Omaits · Rating 5 out of 5]

I tend to read more than one book at a time and that is one reason that I appreciate this book; it is divided into categories of hauntings, and the stories are usually short enough to read a section at a time. I can put it down and come back to it anytime. However, it is difficult to put down--the stories are intriguing. So much so, that I find myself wanting to research some of them to find out more or view photos (if any exist). The best part of Haunted Heritage are the stories themselves. Michael Norman's style of writing is haunting, as if someone is sitting with you telling a ghost story. I can't read it at night if I am alone. These are some good ghost stories!!! I highly recommend this to you if you enjoy reading haunted tales.

[Jewell Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think what I like most about "true" haunting books, is the history you learn about the areas, that are haunted. If I ever got into the supernatural field, I'd probably be the one who researched everything. This is not your stay awake all night you're too afraid to sleep ghost stories. Just some great history and documented haunted locations. I got a little bored with all the mysterious lights locations in the world, and really believe that 90% of that has a scientific explanation we haven't discovered yet. But still fun read, and I enjoyed it.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what I was thinking, I wanted a book that gave me chills but wasn't as scary as The Shining (which I was too scared to read past page 80). This book made me roll my eyes. I read all about the family of Nathan Hale and the haunting part? It was about two sentences that said someone heard footsteps once and no one could say what had caused them. Lame-o! This book should be called Heritage with the Littlest Bit of Stupid Ghost Stories Thrown In.

[Leta B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good read for a few spine tingles. Some of the writing is a bit clunky and some of "stories" are only a paragraph long, however, where the book really shines and becomes intriguing are the stories that run several pages. Here is where you get a good historical background along with eyewitness accounts. Overall, the Haunted series has been a fun read but due to the inclusion of repeat stories in some of the books I would look for these used or on sale rather than pay full price.

[Vicki G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took too long to read, but not because it was boring. All the pressure I felt to finish it by a stupid deadline, which was governed by those damn reading challenges took all the enjoyment out of the story.
I'm pretty sure that NEXT year (xx) I'll be refusing the reading challenge.
I read to enjoy myself not to feel like I'm at work and racing against the clock to get things done.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book in the Haunted America series by Norman and his late co author, Ms Scott. It also marks the first appearance of ghost hunter and now published author Michael Renegar, ion 2 chapters, one called The Story Man!

[A Turtles Nest Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to sleep with the light on while reading this book, but otherwise I enjoyed it and learned some historical facts along the way. If I had to choose the creepiest it would have to be "Something Evil on Larabee Street" page 179.

[Bigfatsheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I can't remember if I liked this book because I read it when it first came out 13 years ago. I do remember that I was excited to find a ghost book at the airport gift shop though. That alone earns it a solid 3 stars.

[Karen Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was not nearly as good as the authors' Haunted Historic America. The stories were organized in a haphazard way, and some of the stories don't merit being included in the book. It's as if the authors wanted to cram in every haunted story they'd ever heard.

[Audrey]

I wanted to read this before Halloween. It's a history book/ book of ghost stories combination. So far so good...

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this compilation of hauntings across the nation.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

scares the crap out of me every time I read it. Mostly because I always get the urge to read it around Halloween.

[Bobby newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good anthology of ghost stories. I enjoyed them very much.

[Joel Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the long line of ghost story collections by Michael Norman and Beth Scott, in my opinion the most important "ghost authors" of the last 30 years (only rivaled by Holzer).

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really embraces the folklore and story-telling of times past, but with current testimony and documentation as the stories unfold. Good Read for travel.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this collection of Ghost Stories from all over the U.S.