The Devil's Done Come Back: New Ghost Tales from North Carolina

by Ed Southern (Editor)

Fifteen of North Carolina’s finest writers reimagine and reclaim the stories of the ghosts who have haunted all corners of the state.

North Carolina ain’t what it once forests and fields have given way to suburbs and vacation homes, textile mills to high tech, tobacco farms to tourism. That doesn’t mean, though, that the ghosts of the Old North State have gone away.

In this anthology, readers might glimpse some of the ghostly apparitions, headless fiends,  and creepy hollers they heard about around their childhood campfires. Now, fifteen of the state’s finest contemporary prose writers and poets have reimagined these stories—bringing us fresh tales that are bound to scare the living daylights out of us all over again.

Contributors Michele Tracy Berger on the ghosts of the Great Dismal Swamp, Wiley Cash (and his daughters) on the Maco Light, Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle on the Raven Mockers, Tyree Daye on family hauntings, Jeremy B. Jones on the phantasms of Chimney Rock, Ed Southern on the Jack Tales and the Devil’s Tramping Ground, Ross White on the Little Red Man of Old Salem, and many more.

The Devil's Done Come Back reclaims these old ghost tales as living stories, told and re-told to frighten and delight.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Halloween, Short Stories

182 pages, Paperback

Published September 30, 2025

Reviews

[Cendrena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a fun quick read. I've never been to North Carolina but enjoyed reading the creepy short stories from a different state then mine.


Thank you Ed Southern and CSBD for my won Gooreads copy.

[Christine Timmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid collection of stories. Some were spooky enough that I had to make sure my feet were under the blanket! It was a really good variety of stories.

[Serenity · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Devil's Done Come Back is a short story collection focused on ghost stories and legends from North Carolina. Many of the tales have the eerie feeling of classic ghost stories you tell around a camp fire or the urban legends you whisper in the dark at a sleepover. "A House of Vine and Shadow" sets the stage for the rest of the short stories in the collection by making the other stories be the tales told within it. Some of the stories have a non-standard structure, like "The Brown Mountain Lights" which is a stream of consciousness, one-way conversation of a college student who needs help at the writing center. While all of the short stories center North Carolina through common descriptions of the native plants and geography, the perspectives contained within this collection are diverse.

My favorites in order of appearance are:
● "Girl, Dare, Doe" by Amy Rowland
● "The Maco Light" by Early, Juniper, and Wiley Cash
● "Ol' Jack Spooks the Devil" by Ed Southern
● "My Lydia" by Julia Ridley Smith
● "Chimney Rocket" by Jeremy B. Jones
● "The Raven Mockers" by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

[Carolyn Eichhorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a surprise, in a nice way. I knew it would be a collection by various writers and it would “retell” ghost stories of North Carolina. Though I spent summers here as a child, I’ve only been a resident for about three years so I wouldn’t say that I grew up with these stories. Some will be familiar anyway, like Blackbeard and Virginia Dare.

The fresh take is in both form ( there are poems and short stories, some broken into parts) and also point of view. I will give you no spoilers except to say that some of these voices will continue their whispers in my head beyond spooky season and that’s just fine.

[Stan Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Devil’s Done Come Back” is a collection of folktales and ghost stories by North Carolina writers curated by Ed Southern. The stories are new takes on old tales and each writer adds their own flare. Many of these felt familiar from having heard older versions growing up. Southern does a great job both writing a few of the stories and most importantly, by gathering them all in one place. Definitely a good addition to your personal library. I had the pleasure of hearing the author read many of these last Halloween and was immediately hooked. Go grab this one.

[Maggie Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just the perfect amount of creepy mixed in with a great variety of writers' voices in this smattering of spooky stories set around the state of North Carolina. Especially good for "come here's" or anyone catching up on state history and lore.

[Izzie Driftwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delight of a find from the display of this year's NC Reads picks. Not all were winners, never are in a collection, but moving to a state ripe with authors it was a delight to hear the ghost tales from the mountains to the beach!!

[Deanna Welker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This spooky story anthology is roughly divided into three parts with, in my opinion, the third part and the latter bit of the second part being by far the best parts of the book. Nice retellings of classic NC folklore and ghost tales!

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Wiley Cash's Maco Light story.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delighted to have won this collection of stories in a giveaway! Some of these stories were truly quite creepy! I really enjoyed reading them all!

[Jocelyne Caldera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neat collection of spooky stories! Some were meh, but others really creeped me out.

[Mai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very scary and not the best written short stories. A couple stories were good but very forgettable overall.