Haunted Ohio: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Buckeye State

Stackpole Haunted Series

by Charles A. Stansfield Jr.

Dead presidents, swamp monsters, and spying spaceships figure prominently in this collection of eerie tales from the Buckeye State. From across the plains to the metropolitan centers of Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati come a variety of stories and legends, including the phantom in Dayton's Woodland Cemetery who perches atop his tombstone, the pitiful spirits of the Millfield miners, the fearsome ghost of boatman Mike Fink, and many more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Paranormal, Ghosts

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 2008

Reviews

[Emerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting tales and supernatural history of the Buckeye State. An amusing read. Many of which were tall tales of times long gone, many of which are moral tales and of course some of local urban legends of ghosts. All kinds of folklore passed down yet many are fading away. Still enjoyable to read with a bit of history on the Buckeye State. It's that time of year for ghost stories. I haven't read any in a long time and I thought why not.

One thing the author got wrong, was on one of the ghost stories regarding the Ohio State Penitentiary - was the prison's location. Which was actually in Columbus, Ohio and not Cincinnati, Ohio. The author divided the state and stories by regions of the Buckeye State. Central Ohio Buckeyes always called it 'The Penn'. One of the thick white granite walls of the famous Ohio jail bordered Neil Avenue and was just south of the Ohio State University and not far from downtown Columbus, Ohio on the north side of the city which is the area called the Short North. I think the author was actually thinking of Lucasville Prison which is east of Cincinnati, Ohio in the southern portion of Ohio just before reaching Portsmouth Ohio and the crossing of the Ohio River into Kentucky at the Portsmouth side into Ashland Ky. Since I'm from Central Ohio I knew this right off. I remember when the Ohio State Penitentiary was closed and torn down either just before I graduated high school or not long after. The old site now holds high rises of high end condos. I've driven by it most of my young life when going up around the Ohio State University area. This area is known as Victorian Village.

I was also surprised that this author left out the ghost stories of the old Ohio Governor's mansion on East Broad Street in Columbus, Ohio which has a rich history of ghostly tales all of its own. Which I've heard all of my life. I also know where Camp Chase is on the westside of Columbus, Ohio. I was also surprised he left out stories of the hair raising tales of the old Ohio Psychiatric Hospital which used to sit at what is now West Broad Street and the I-70 interchange. A large Baptists Church now sites on this old site. This old hospital for the insane used to look like an old gothic castle, it was a large complex. Sort of scary to drive by at night going up the hill on the left from downtown going to the westside of Columbus, Ohio.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories themselves were very interesting and entertaining, but the author of this work (a geography professor from the Northeastern part of the country) should really come in and take a tour of the state.

Stories in this book are arranged geographically by where the stories/ghosts are located, but the author really missed with some of the stories. For example, in the section called "Cincinnati and the Southwest", you can find stories about the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus and the story about the buzzards in Hinckley, which is located in NE Ohio near Cleveland.

[Cherise Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book but was annoyed with how the author clearly has no idea about where places are actually located in this state. Which is frustrating when I’m scouting a specific location or region in the state to explore, so I go to the section in the book only to be led to places not in that region at all.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

In all truth, I'd get more information and better story-telling from articles on the Internet. So glad I just borrowed this from my library on a whim instead of buying it.

[Dawna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was fun to read when we lived in Ohio. Agnes Moorhead is buried in a cemetary very near to our old house. She was mentioned in the book so I checked it out. This book gave us some day trip ideas. Never saw a ghost but had a good time looking around Ohio for them.

[Krysti]

Kind of interesting, legends and things like that. I hadn't heard of any of them before reading the book. Wonder if they are true???????? I'm not really one for believing in ghosts but I DO believe in spiritual warfare, which is talked about in the stories.

[Mary (Biblophile) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very amateurishly written and seemed mostly based on rumors. Waste of money.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Expected a bit better. Noticed location inaccuracies that you wouldn't notice if you weren't from Ohio but if you're going to the trouble of publishing a book -- get the basics right!