Boogers, Witches, and Haints: Appalachian Ghost Stories: The Foxfire Americana Library

Foxfire Americana Library #5

by Foxfire Students

A collection of spine-tingling Appalachian ghost stories and tall tales passed down from generation to generation.  Whether they tell of faucets that drip blood, monster catfish that lurk at the bottom of quarries, or strange lights on the mountaintop, these stories will make you--like the people who are sharing them--question what you believe.

Genres: Folklore, Nonfiction, History

82 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 6, 2011

Reviews

[Megan L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of interviews, and I’m okay with it being written partly in dialect — it sounds like listening to some of my family members. There’s always a risk with that, though, of unintentionally parodying your subject. Hard to say whether that happened here, although it is pretty heehaw. What I enjoyed less was the jumble: there’s an attempt at categorization, but gets replaced by another method halfway through, like the project got passed to another editor. Even the dialect transcription stops, and the rest of the stories are in plain English.

The stories themselves are … fine. Some are much better than others, but a majority are along the lines of “One night I was walking home and saw a man, but when I looked again he was gone!” That’s it. That’s the story. Or, “One time I heard there was a lady who set her baby down for a minute and a panther ate it.” There’s a whole section of “stories” (debatable) about mountain lions, for some reason. Which is fine, it just feels a little like padding.

[Latasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really hate rating this so low. but it's wrote in dialect and it's hard to read at times and I'm from the Appalachians! I may give this a try another day but not right now.

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both sides of my family are from West Virginia and the Appalachian Mountains. I'm no stranger to scary stories told of things hidden deep in those mountains. Stories handed down from generations ago.

These are fun stories that are told by generations of people and their experiences and encounters. Its like sitting around the campfire while grandpa tells you a spooky story!

[Yaaresse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to love this series of books about documenting life in southern Appalachia. It's been many years since I read them until this year when I revisited a few. The shine has worn off them for me for several reasons. The conviction of the man who started the project on child molestation charges can't be overlooked, but it's hard to damn the entire project because of his actions. It involved too many other people who had nothing to do with his crimes.

I think what's wearing thin for me in the re-reads is the dialectical writing -- both badly done and hard to read -- and the overall poor organization of the materials. There are some good ghost stories in this book, but the interviewers missed a lot of opportunities to make them better when taking them from spoken to written form.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

My family comes from the North Georgia Mountains so this was of great interest to me. This was just very entertaining and reminiscent of the stories I was told in my childhood by my grandparents and my Aunt.
It takes you back to a different time and place. It made me think a lot about my ancestors and the superstitions I was raised with by my Mama (who isn’t superstitious; but…)
Some of the stories are very similar to stories you hear from Skinwalker Ranch which is weird. Especially to someone who has a hard time believing that stuff.
The Foxfire Project was such a wonderful way to document and preserve the history of these tough people who endured things we can’t begin to imagine now. I love it!!

[Donna Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like listening to an old storyteller


Words are written as they would be pronounced by an old timer from the mountains telling it. I really like the fact it is composed of stories that many felt were true. Gives another perspective on what our mountain ancestors saw, heard & believed living in remote areas long ago.

[Debbi Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining.

This is a great book for lovers of folklore. Told in the vernacular of the mountains, it's both entertaining and educational. Pictures let you see who does the storytelling.
Highly recommended

[Aaron Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exploration into the regional, supernatural folklore of Appalachia. The language and tonality within this little known masterpiece of the macabre, is both compelling and mystical in nature.

[Asteppaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read, felt like I was chatting with my grandma and grandpa.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s fun and authentic, which makes it more respectable. 3.5 stars. A whole section is on mad dogs. Just a series of quick one or two page stories from the south.

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

VERY good. Highly recommended.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth your time. Skip.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of not so scary stories out of the Foxfire books, all written in Appalachian dialect. They're quite entertaining and much easier to understand if read out loud, which makes sense since they were made in an oral storytelling tradition anyway.

[Athena L Manley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foxfire books are awesome

These stories are a tiny section of the foxfire books. Amazing stories about the folks who live in Appalachia; their customs and beliefs