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Pennsylvania Dutch Country Ghosts Legends and Lore
Pennsylvania Dutch Country Ghosts Legends and Lore
- GenresParanormalGhosts
164 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1994
39 people want to read
About the author
Charles J. Adams III
38 books22 followersCharles J. Adams III was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1947 and resides there today. In addition to his books, Adams also writes regular features on travel and local legends in the Reading Eagle newspaper and has written travel stories for several other magazines and publications. He has also been the morning air personality on radio station WEEU in Reading, where he has been employed since 1978.
Adams has been a speaker at the International Ghost Hunters Alliance and GhostWorld conventions in Gettysburg, Pa., and at regional paranormal conferences in New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He has been interviewed on ghostly topics in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, South Africa, and on several American radio and television stations.
He has also appeared on The History Channel's "Haunted America: New York" and "Haunted America: Philadelphia" programs and has served as consultant and on-air "expert" for programs on hauntings and ghosts on The Learning Channel, MTV, and The Travel Channel. His latest television work is a segment at the haunted Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia for The Travel Channel's "Mysterious Journeys" series.
Adams has also organized and escorted tours of haunted places in the United States, England, and Scotland.
He has produced, written, and conducted "ghost tours" in Lancaster County, Reading, Hamburg, and Philadelphia, Pa.; Cape May, N.J., and Greenwich Village, New York City. His stories have been selected for inclusion in several anthologies, including "Classic American Ghost Stories" (August House Publishing). At the personal request of the producer M. Night Shyamalan, his book, "Bucks County Ghost Stories" was used as a prop in the 2002 movie, "Signs," which stars Mel Gibson.
In 2006, he donated nearly 400 books he had collected in his travels to the Exeter Community Library as the "Charles J. Adams III Paranormal Research Collection." The books deal with legends, folklore, and ghost stories from across the United States and world. It is recognized as the largest single collection of its kind in any library in the nation.
A U.S. Navy veteran, Adams has also been a singer and keyboard player in rock bands since his high school days. Adams has also written numerous commercial jingles and songs, and several have been recorded and released on CDs and music videos, including "From the River to the Mountain," written for the city of Reading's 250th anniversary celebration and "There's a Game Tonight in Baseballtown," which can be heard during Reading Phillies games. He has also recorded several railroad folk songs.
He has served on the marketing committee of the Reading Symphony Orchestra; has recited dramatic work with the Reading Symphony Orchestra, Reading Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Reading Pops Orchestra; and has been a guest conductor for the Exeter Community Band. His play, "Curtains," was produced and presented at the Genesius Theatre; and his "Storybook Murder" mystery was produced and performed as a fund-raising event for the Reading Public Library. He has been co-host of the "YNOTs Awards" (that's "TONYs" spelled backwards) show, which recognizes the best of high school musical presentations and performers in Berks County, since its inception. He is co-host of "Travels With Sue and Charlie," a monthly travel program on BCTV, the Greater Reading, PA, community access television station.
Charlie has also served as president of the Reading (Pa.) Public Library, the Board of Directors of the Exeter Township School District, and on the boards of the Penn State Berks Campus Alumni Society, Exeter Community Library, Crestwood Swimming Association, Humane Society of Berks County, and the Historical Society of Berks County. He is presently a member of the editorial board of the Historical Society and is chairman of its Publications Committee. In 2006, Adams organized the inaugural and highly successful "READING READS: The Greater Reading Literary Fest
Adams has been a speaker at the International Ghost Hunters Alliance and GhostWorld conventions in Gettysburg, Pa., and at regional paranormal conferences in New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He has been interviewed on ghostly topics in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, South Africa, and on several American radio and television stations.
He has also appeared on The History Channel's "Haunted America: New York" and "Haunted America: Philadelphia" programs and has served as consultant and on-air "expert" for programs on hauntings and ghosts on The Learning Channel, MTV, and The Travel Channel. His latest television work is a segment at the haunted Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia for The Travel Channel's "Mysterious Journeys" series.
Adams has also organized and escorted tours of haunted places in the United States, England, and Scotland.
He has produced, written, and conducted "ghost tours" in Lancaster County, Reading, Hamburg, and Philadelphia, Pa.; Cape May, N.J., and Greenwich Village, New York City. His stories have been selected for inclusion in several anthologies, including "Classic American Ghost Stories" (August House Publishing). At the personal request of the producer M. Night Shyamalan, his book, "Bucks County Ghost Stories" was used as a prop in the 2002 movie, "Signs," which stars Mel Gibson.
In 2006, he donated nearly 400 books he had collected in his travels to the Exeter Community Library as the "Charles J. Adams III Paranormal Research Collection." The books deal with legends, folklore, and ghost stories from across the United States and world. It is recognized as the largest single collection of its kind in any library in the nation.
A U.S. Navy veteran, Adams has also been a singer and keyboard player in rock bands since his high school days. Adams has also written numerous commercial jingles and songs, and several have been recorded and released on CDs and music videos, including "From the River to the Mountain," written for the city of Reading's 250th anniversary celebration and "There's a Game Tonight in Baseballtown," which can be heard during Reading Phillies games. He has also recorded several railroad folk songs.
He has served on the marketing committee of the Reading Symphony Orchestra; has recited dramatic work with the Reading Symphony Orchestra, Reading Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Reading Pops Orchestra; and has been a guest conductor for the Exeter Community Band. His play, "Curtains," was produced and presented at the Genesius Theatre; and his "Storybook Murder" mystery was produced and performed as a fund-raising event for the Reading Public Library. He has been co-host of the "YNOTs Awards" (that's "TONYs" spelled backwards) show, which recognizes the best of high school musical presentations and performers in Berks County, since its inception. He is co-host of "Travels With Sue and Charlie," a monthly travel program on BCTV, the Greater Reading, PA, community access television station.
Charlie has also served as president of the Reading (Pa.) Public Library, the Board of Directors of the Exeter Township School District, and on the boards of the Penn State Berks Campus Alumni Society, Exeter Community Library, Crestwood Swimming Association, Humane Society of Berks County, and the Historical Society of Berks County. He is presently a member of the editorial board of the Historical Society and is chairman of its Publications Committee. In 2006, Adams organized the inaugural and highly successful "READING READS: The Greater Reading Literary Fest
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 17, 2018
I've read several of Mr. Adams ghost story books and like them so I was glad to find another at my local library. That's what made this book doubly disappointing.
First off, the way the print was set was extremely hard on the eyes. The font size was about 14, which wouldn't have been a problem, but it was also bold. The whole thing was single spaced, or maybe even closer together. There were no breaks between paragraphs, even when there should have been. Each page was relentlessly filled with dark black print and tired the eyes out very quickly.
Even though the biggest word on the cover is "Ghosts," the book begins with a long, almost academic research paper on PA Dutch hexing. This chapter would have been better in the middle, but was too dry and wordy for a first chapter.
The first few ghost stories were decent. Adams has a nice way with description and can weave a good tale. But not far into this book, the chapters began to be more of a list of several different incidents in different locations. No real attempt was made at storytelling, not even a smooth transition from one place to another (a space between paragraphs where a new incident began would have helped). It was confusing and not satisfying at all.
So, stick to some of Adams other works and skip this one.
First off, the way the print was set was extremely hard on the eyes. The font size was about 14, which wouldn't have been a problem, but it was also bold. The whole thing was single spaced, or maybe even closer together. There were no breaks between paragraphs, even when there should have been. Each page was relentlessly filled with dark black print and tired the eyes out very quickly.
Even though the biggest word on the cover is "Ghosts," the book begins with a long, almost academic research paper on PA Dutch hexing. This chapter would have been better in the middle, but was too dry and wordy for a first chapter.
The first few ghost stories were decent. Adams has a nice way with description and can weave a good tale. But not far into this book, the chapters began to be more of a list of several different incidents in different locations. No real attempt was made at storytelling, not even a smooth transition from one place to another (a space between paragraphs where a new incident began would have helped). It was confusing and not satisfying at all.
So, stick to some of Adams other works and skip this one.
March 22, 2018
This was an interesting read. We've been to Lancaster twice and I never knew about the Legends, lore and ghost stories. Some of them were interesting and others were just disturbing especially the one about the iron master throwing his dogs into the fire bc they wouldn't hunt foxes for his friends to see.
We live about 30 min from Cape May and that was the only Haunted town that I knew of so it was definitely a book I had to read when it said Lancaster PA. It's such a peaceful area each time we've gone and to know it's history was a plus for me. I'm wondering what other states and towns in the US have history of hauntings. Definitely going to have to find out.
We live about 30 min from Cape May and that was the only Haunted town that I knew of so it was definitely a book I had to read when it said Lancaster PA. It's such a peaceful area each time we've gone and to know it's history was a plus for me. I'm wondering what other states and towns in the US have history of hauntings. Definitely going to have to find out.
November 5, 2019
Pennsylvania Dutch Country Ghosts: Legends and Lore is a book of interesting stories, mostly well told. The book could have used some more stringent editing and some changes to the way paragraphs are structured. The chapters that contain multiple stories don't use many transitions. Regardless, this is a very interesting book of lore. My favorite stories, ones that I found significantly frightening, were those of the glowing tractor and the horned tiger.
November 5, 2018
If someone asked me to describe this book in one word, I'd have to go with "disorganized". There's no clear transition between stories and the stories themselves are frequently lacking in detail. While the book is interesting, it's not the quality I've come to expect from Charles J. Adams III.
September 21, 2020
The passion the author has for the Pennsylvania Dutch country and its history is very apparent. I enjoyed the stories. The delivery of the tales was a bit like sitting in on a class about legends and lore.
January 14, 2022
Interesting book. Even more interesting when I found a story about my ancestors inside!
September 20, 2014
Decent read and piqued my interest for my ideas for my next road trip to the area.
April 6, 2017
A map of Lancaster county would be nice for future editions.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews