Things That Go Bump in the Night

by Louis C. Jones

The book contains more than two hundred stories of the restless dead; each of the six chapters is made up of a continuous flow of narrative. Included are stories about haunted houses, murders, revenge, suicide, and the hungers that bring the departed back to their earthly haunts. Here are tales of restless spirits. — The chapter on haunted history, containing more than forty stories, is a kind of spooky chronology of American history. the stories begin with the Indians, tell of the French and Indian Wars, the Revolution, the early days on New York State's Erie Canal, the Civil War and World War II.

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

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

Reviews

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about New York folklore, that I particularly enjoyed, because most of the stories and tales are from places I grew up in, or not too far from. For one to fully get a sense of the origin of the folklore, you have to know three things (if you don't know the history of places like Troy, Albany, Cooperstown, etc). One, most of the towns mentioned in this book were established by the poor/working class Irish. Two, most of the towns feature some sort of post or house where the Continental Army stayed, or where a distinguished person, such as Benedict Arnold, or George Washington himself, has stayed, and, three, during the 1800's, the towns experienced a boom in economy, and became places for the elite, such as Herman Melville.

Now that we know all that, let me get into the review!

What was fascinating to me especially was the fact that all of the ghost stories and folktales seemed to derive from one of those three things. Either Irish legends, ghosts of Washington or Revolutionary War soldiers, or other mystic things, like any Victorian person would conjure up, seeing as how, during that time period, (almost surprisingly), people were obsessed with ghosts and seances.

I also loved reading about my hometown, and other surrounding areas, and seeing the folklore that came before my time. Unfortunately, it seems as though it's all but faded from resident's memories, as I've never heard of any of these tales before. Of course, this book was published in 1959, and included a lot of tales from the 40's, but still, it was honestly really cool! Now, we have our own ghost stories and legends, and maybe, just maybe, someone will write all of them down for future generations to read. I know I have a ton of experiences. Perhaps that person will be me :)

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes local folklore (though I know it won't be local for a lot of you) and ghost stories. And, even though most of these ghost stories and local legends have faded out, we still have a lot around Troy, New York. Stop by some time to hear the ghost cavalry in the woods, or spend a night camping there to glimpse my favorite legend, our Lansingburgh werewolf (which, yup, is a real legend!) We also have an insanely haunted house, where three suicides occurred, and which new house owners can't stay for more than three months. Asylums more your style? Yup. We have one of those, too, which always makes "Most Haunted" lists. It also seems that every single one of our cemeteries make national lists for being incredibly, incredibly haunted, too. There's a cemetery you won't even be permitted in to, and it's believed to be the most haunted cemetery in all of the United States. It doesn't stop people from breaking in at night though, and ghost hunting!

Or, you know, stop by for normal things. Herman Melville's house. Benedict Arnold's Continental Army post, in which they stayed on their way to the Battle of Saratoga. The Lansingburgh mansions are lined up in a neat, and huge, row, or stroll through the streets of Troy, and gaze upon all the Victorian houses and brownstones. Don't forget to take a peep in our renowned musical hall, either. And, even if they are considered normal, Troy is considered to be the weirdest and most haunted town in the entire state of New York. You might just see a ghost after all!

Heck, even visit me. My house is haunted, too.

[Sean B.]

A Silly Study of Ghosts Rather Than Ghost Stories

I wanted a good collection of ghost stories. Instead, I got a bunch of silly thoughts from the author on why ghosts do or do not exist and an even sillier walk around a town created in the author's mind that is full of hauntings he never gets to.

[LuAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that the author, an expert on NYS and northeast folklore, approaches these stories as folktales so does not adjudicate whether the stories are true and thus whether ghosts are real. That out if the way, they can be enjoyed as folklore.

Like most purportedly true ghosts encounters I’ve read (pre-electronic devise ghost hunting), there’s not much detail to individual accounts, so each chapter is a collection of accounts around a type is story—hitchhiking ghosts, haunted houses, violence and sudden death, etc. The greater detail makes fictional ghost stories more fun, and Betty Ren Wright and Eileen Dunlop write some of the best (for older kids).

I look up the locations mentioned on Google maps, especially when a historic house museum is involved, so I find several new sites to visit. A trip to Cooperstown, fascinating place worth spending a week at, sparked my interest as the author was director of the NYS Historical Association once located there and is believed to be the inspiration for the quaint character telling folk tales in the Nancy Drew Mystery Street set there, “The Secret of Mirror Bay”.

[Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of New York folklore. Some are very specific stories, others are iterations of tales told time and time again. I wish it delved into more of the origins of some of these stories and folklore, but I can also appreciate it for what it is; a simple retelling.

This book is old, and it shows. The language used to refer to certain ethnicities and races is cringeworthy at best. You can tell the author writes it with no malice, just as a reflection of the time, however unfortunate.

I actually wish the references to ultra-specific locations was kept to endnotes. I became wrapped up in pondering about the place itself (Is it still there? Do people live there? Do they think its haunted?) Rather then enjoying the story itself. Which is also fine as most stories rarely dipped deeper than surface level.

In general, Things That Go Bump in the Night is an enjoyable little read about local lore from across NYS. I did love picking through the locations mentioned and googling more info or if that one building is still standing, and I will definitely be going back to the bibliography at some point. great book for any history (or ghost story) buff.

[Julie Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite Book

The rich folklore and variety of ghost stories are always an interesting read. I recommend this to anyone who likes ghost stories and the history and personal details!

[Rachel Witherow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, loved all the ghost tales!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a good "creepy" factor going on...much of this stuff I grew up hearing, there's just something in the air of New York State I guess...ghost story land...I made up a few of my own ;)

My husband I an have taken turns reading to each other from it, we keep talking about doing that again some time (probably around Halloween). Anyway...it's a very cool collection of stories about the things that go bump in the night.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Traditional folksy ghost stories collected by the author and his students while he was teaching at Cornell. Some of these stories made me want to visit the places mentioned. The author said that he didn't change any of the place names but he did change names of people so tracking down the particular stone house somewhere between Middleville and Norway becomes problematic since limestone was a popular building material in that area.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reread this last week and discovered some great wonders I had missed the first time around. IF you travel or arm chair travel for your ghost hunting, this book makes a great companion to your local myths and folklore for each haunted house, mansion, hospital, etc.. It is a great read.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ghost stories from upstate New York.

[Shyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I lvoed scary stories in my early teens and this one had several that creeped me out and kept me awake wondering what that noise down the hall was.

[Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a non fiction book. Interesting but not exciting.

[Faye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non-fiction, more psychological evaluation of human interest in the supernatural.