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Nantucket Ghosts
Nantucket Island has just more than 10,000 year-round residents — and a sizeable population of very real ghosts. The 44 tales in this book were collected as oral history. Some of these spirits are benign, even protective; others terrorize the humans who encounter them. All are memorable.
233 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1990
13 people are currently reading
313 people want to read
About the author
Blue Balliett
16 books521 followersI was born in New York City and grew up playing in Central Park, getting my share of scraped knees, and riding many public buses and subways. By the time I was a teenager, I sometimes stopped at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Frick Museum after school, just to wander and look and think. The Met has five Vermeer paintings and the Frick three, so Vermeer and I have been friends for many years.
After studying art history in college, I moved to Nantucket Island, in Massachusetts, in order to write. I surprised myself by writing two books of ghost stories, stories collected by interviewing people. My husband and I met and were married on Nantucket, lived there year-round for another 10 years, and had our two children there.
When our kids started school, we moved to Chicago. I began teaching 3rd grade at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. One year my class and I decided to figure out what art was about. We asked many questions, visited many museums in the city, and set off a number of alarms — by mistake, of course.
In writing Chasing Vermeer, I wanted to explore the ways kids perceive connections between supposedly unrelated events and situations, connections that grown-ups often miss. Given the opportunity, kids can ask questions that help them to think their way through tough problems that adults haven’t been able to figure out — problems like the theft of a Vermeer painting!
In The Wright 3, I play with questions about architecture as art, the preservation of old buildings, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy. I wanted to continue exploring controversial ideas within the three-dimensional art world. We need kids to develop into powerful, out-of-the-box thinkers, now more than ever. I believe in making trouble — of the right kind.
My third book, The Calder Game, takes place in a small community in England, a 1,000-year-old town that I visited while on a book tour. I had a wonderful time writing this book. I had to do lots of eavesdropping, poking around, tiptoeing through graveyards, and climbing walls, and then there was all the Cadbury chocolate I had to eat. Alexander Calder's work is art for any age. I first saw his sculpture when I was 9 years old, in a show at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It was art but it was magic, and it left me hungry for more. This, I'm sure, was the beginning of my belief that art is about adventure.
Blue Balliett grew up in New York City and attended Brown University. She and her family now live in Chicago, within walking distance of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House. Balliett's books have now appeared in 34 languages. Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired the film rights to Chasing Vermeer.
After studying art history in college, I moved to Nantucket Island, in Massachusetts, in order to write. I surprised myself by writing two books of ghost stories, stories collected by interviewing people. My husband and I met and were married on Nantucket, lived there year-round for another 10 years, and had our two children there.
When our kids started school, we moved to Chicago. I began teaching 3rd grade at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. One year my class and I decided to figure out what art was about. We asked many questions, visited many museums in the city, and set off a number of alarms — by mistake, of course.
In writing Chasing Vermeer, I wanted to explore the ways kids perceive connections between supposedly unrelated events and situations, connections that grown-ups often miss. Given the opportunity, kids can ask questions that help them to think their way through tough problems that adults haven’t been able to figure out — problems like the theft of a Vermeer painting!
In The Wright 3, I play with questions about architecture as art, the preservation of old buildings, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy. I wanted to continue exploring controversial ideas within the three-dimensional art world. We need kids to develop into powerful, out-of-the-box thinkers, now more than ever. I believe in making trouble — of the right kind.
My third book, The Calder Game, takes place in a small community in England, a 1,000-year-old town that I visited while on a book tour. I had a wonderful time writing this book. I had to do lots of eavesdropping, poking around, tiptoeing through graveyards, and climbing walls, and then there was all the Cadbury chocolate I had to eat. Alexander Calder's work is art for any age. I first saw his sculpture when I was 9 years old, in a show at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It was art but it was magic, and it left me hungry for more. This, I'm sure, was the beginning of my belief that art is about adventure.
Blue Balliett grew up in New York City and attended Brown University. She and her family now live in Chicago, within walking distance of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House. Balliett's books have now appeared in 34 languages. Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired the film rights to Chasing Vermeer.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 4, 2024
Very nice. Spookiest story was 'A Little Girl'
January 6, 2015
Balliett presents these ghost narratives from residents of Nantucket Island without editorializing. She sets the scene for each interview, then gets out of the way and lets the voices of the storytellers come through. The accounts range in tone from merely curious, to kinda' bizarre, to truly terrifying. And it's entirely up to the reader whether to believe them or not.
March 23, 2018
I used to go to Nantucket a lot because we had a sailboat and a group plane from the airport because my dad was a pilot and I related to this book a lot because they took the same roads and the same ferry and stayed at the same places. They even talked about hauntings at the places we ate at. It seems really rare to see something be written about a small island. There wasn't really a theme in this book other than one story which the protagonist disrespected a spirit so the spirit started to mess around with the family and eventually they die so maybe the theme is to be respectful.
April 2, 2020
I'm very surprised by the number of one-star ratings for Blue Balliett's Nantucket Ghosts. Perhaps this is due to unmet expectations. Rather than a collection of terrifying stories of supernatural evil, Nantucket Ghosts is a series of personal accounts of islanders' encounters with the paranormal, told mostly in their own words. According to Balliett, many of the people interviewed are embarrassed or reluctant witnesses to hauntings rather than attention seekers, and the stories support that. Some of them are about malevolent ghosts, certainly, and other tales are quite creepy, such as "A Little Girl" and "George Cushman." However, many phantoms are perceived as harmless, even friendly, while others seem oblivious to the living. "Sixteen Men," one of the latter types, is a terrifically memorable story that no one could possibly make up, in my opinion. The moody black and white photographs by Lucy Bixby add to the solitary, windswept island atmosphere that Balliett creates in Nantucket Ghosts. This is one of the best-written books of "true" ghost stories I've ever read, and I've read a lot of them! If you want to be horrified, look elsewhere, but if you want to be intrigued and educated by "everyday" apparitions, this is the book for you.
May 12, 2012
October is my favorite month. I love apple picking, the chill in the air...oh, and scary stories!! I am always on the hunt for a good spooky tale but too often I get stuck with gory books or stories that fall flat. When I saw this book at my local library, I thought that I would take a shot (even if the book is older than I am!). I am SO glad that I picked up this book because it was the perfect combination of scary, eerie, and chilling. Better yet, there are no dead bodies or bloody corpses.
The author has compiled a beautiful collection of stories that was born out of an oral history project. Perhaps this is the reason why the different tales come together so well, because she is not writing for the sheer scream factor. Additionally, she allows the people to speak for themselves without ever making them sound crazy or delusional. Due to this, the book is spine-chilling and perfect for the season!!
www.iamliteraryaddicted.blogspot.com
The author has compiled a beautiful collection of stories that was born out of an oral history project. Perhaps this is the reason why the different tales come together so well, because she is not writing for the sheer scream factor. Additionally, she allows the people to speak for themselves without ever making them sound crazy or delusional. Due to this, the book is spine-chilling and perfect for the season!!
www.iamliteraryaddicted.blogspot.com
September 6, 2014
This is a compilation of "The Ghosts of Nantucket" and "Nantucket Hauntings" published in the 1980s before Balliett became an accomplished kids mystery writer. The 44 stories are straight, unembellished oral histories based on actual interviews with Nantucket Island year-around and summer residents. The fact that these stories have been in print for almost 35 years tells you something. Terrific and true accounts.
June 12, 2023
This is a fantastic read. Not only does it give us real ghost stories, but also insight into what it might have been like to live (and die) in one of the earliest colonized settlements founded in North America. The author has given us a living history of the dead, their former homes, and their modern interlopers/housemates. The houses mentioned in this collection range all the way from the pre-colonial era through the 1800s. All tales were recorded verbatim from the storytellers, making it a genuine folktale collection.
I did not find a single one of these stories scary. Read with the knowledge that at best your spine might tingle momentarily. Though I can promise a story or two might haunt you long after you've passed this book on to its next victim. I still find myself thinking about a few of the stories to this day.
This is not for horror fans unless they're interested in true stories containing actual, real-life hauntings. It would give them a sense of how their scariest haunted horror stories have a basis in true phenomena, and the confirmation that some horrors really do happen in everyday life. I found it fascinating that most of the storytellers have decided to just live with their spectral co-habitants, even if they have to pick up a mess, or watch the basement door swing open at exactly the same time every day.
Fans of Sam & Colby, Zach Bagans, and TAPS will recognize tales of every kind of haunting (except possession, if memory serves). You'll find everything from minor bumps in the night to cupboards thrown open; from that one spot nobody likes to stand in, to dead people staring menacingly in the living room window when the college student is at home alone (possibly on the phone with their boyfriend in their underwear just like in the movies), and it's raining. Honestly! Ghosts apparently like rain.
You'll find distinct narrative voices and reactions in every story. In addition to the person being interviewed, many times family members pipe in with little details that round out the picture and show how the same event might lead to differing perspectives, impressions, memories, and emotional reactions.
This is one of two books of ghost story collections from this author. Go get the other one, too.
I did not find a single one of these stories scary. Read with the knowledge that at best your spine might tingle momentarily. Though I can promise a story or two might haunt you long after you've passed this book on to its next victim. I still find myself thinking about a few of the stories to this day.
This is not for horror fans unless they're interested in true stories containing actual, real-life hauntings. It would give them a sense of how their scariest haunted horror stories have a basis in true phenomena, and the confirmation that some horrors really do happen in everyday life. I found it fascinating that most of the storytellers have decided to just live with their spectral co-habitants, even if they have to pick up a mess, or watch the basement door swing open at exactly the same time every day.
Fans of Sam & Colby, Zach Bagans, and TAPS will recognize tales of every kind of haunting (except possession, if memory serves). You'll find everything from minor bumps in the night to cupboards thrown open; from that one spot nobody likes to stand in, to dead people staring menacingly in the living room window when the college student is at home alone (possibly on the phone with their boyfriend in their underwear just like in the movies), and it's raining. Honestly! Ghosts apparently like rain.
You'll find distinct narrative voices and reactions in every story. In addition to the person being interviewed, many times family members pipe in with little details that round out the picture and show how the same event might lead to differing perspectives, impressions, memories, and emotional reactions.
This is one of two books of ghost story collections from this author. Go get the other one, too.
January 7, 2020
One of my niche interests is collections of local ghost stories. I scout them out at used bookshops, or when I travel. Unsurprisingly, they vary greatly in quality. Some are historically interesting but poorly written, some are just plain dull. Lovely writing, unique stories, and a backdrop of Nantucket history make this book a winner.
March 20, 2024
Some good stories but several that seemed to have rational explanations. In all the time I've spent living in haunted places or dealing with haunted attachments I've come to realize, if it can be something else... It is
October 1, 2017
Exactly what you need as summer slips into fall.
August 28, 2019
I enjoyed this book well enough. Some of my favorite chapters were Heaven is Two Weeks Away, One Silver Spoon, Mermaid, A Very Large Chin, Sixteen Men, and Christmas Music.
February 10, 2025
I got this book at The Hub in 1993. I have read it so many times over the years. Some of the creepiest little ghost stories I’ve ever read.
May 26, 2023
Fun fact. I actually got a paperback copy of this book for Easter, complete with weird peanut butter stain and the message: "To Jamie: Boo! (Heart with arrow drawing) The Ghost of 82F"! Interesting.
(Nantucket Island has just more than 10,000 year-round residents — and a sizeable population of very real ghosts. The 44 tales in this book were collected as oral history. Some of these spirits are benign, even protective; others terrorize the humans who encounter them. All are memorable.) ~ Blurb from Goodreads
While this is an anthology, it has forty-four different stories, so I feel it would be impractical for me to do mini reviews of each one as I've done for other anthologies I've reviewed. So, in that case, I'll be sticking with my traditional review structure.
What's interesting is that, with some occasional context provided by the author, the stories are given to the reader straight from the horse's mouth. Also, despite most of the stories being pretty short, the reader really does get a sense of history and atmosphere from them.
Speaking of that, I really like the feel of these stories. They're not of super, over the top horrors told by people clearly looking for their fifteen minutes of fame. They're about the encounters normal, everyday people living on the island have had with supernatural. It really adds to the authenticity of the stories and gives this collection more of its own identity.
There's some surprisingly funny moments. For example, in the "Something Evil in The Attic" story, the family's dog is scared to go beyond the frame of the door to the attic, possibly due to it being blocked by the ghost. But their new housekeeper is just like, "Ghosts, huh?" and bumps the air with her butt, scooping up the dog and heading back downstairs like it was nothing.
There's a section that got me scratching my head. So in the story titled, "Miss Phebe Beadle", there's this part, "The schoolteacher was known to do unconventional, slightly risque things; one Nantucketer told me, in a scandalized tone, that she was even seen sunbathing once or twice in her swimsuit on the widow's walk. I was delighted." What? Like, I was and am still genuinely confused as to what this part is trying to convey. Was the author aroused by this fact? Did she find it funny or amusing? If it's the latter, why word it that way?
Overall, Nantucket Ghosts was not only a unique take on the horror anthology thing, but a darn good take as well.
Overall Grade: A
(Nantucket Island has just more than 10,000 year-round residents — and a sizeable population of very real ghosts. The 44 tales in this book were collected as oral history. Some of these spirits are benign, even protective; others terrorize the humans who encounter them. All are memorable.) ~ Blurb from Goodreads
While this is an anthology, it has forty-four different stories, so I feel it would be impractical for me to do mini reviews of each one as I've done for other anthologies I've reviewed. So, in that case, I'll be sticking with my traditional review structure.
What's interesting is that, with some occasional context provided by the author, the stories are given to the reader straight from the horse's mouth. Also, despite most of the stories being pretty short, the reader really does get a sense of history and atmosphere from them.
Speaking of that, I really like the feel of these stories. They're not of super, over the top horrors told by people clearly looking for their fifteen minutes of fame. They're about the encounters normal, everyday people living on the island have had with supernatural. It really adds to the authenticity of the stories and gives this collection more of its own identity.
There's some surprisingly funny moments. For example, in the "Something Evil in The Attic" story, the family's dog is scared to go beyond the frame of the door to the attic, possibly due to it being blocked by the ghost. But their new housekeeper is just like, "Ghosts, huh?" and bumps the air with her butt, scooping up the dog and heading back downstairs like it was nothing.
There's a section that got me scratching my head. So in the story titled, "Miss Phebe Beadle", there's this part, "The schoolteacher was known to do unconventional, slightly risque things; one Nantucketer told me, in a scandalized tone, that she was even seen sunbathing once or twice in her swimsuit on the widow's walk. I was delighted." What? Like, I was and am still genuinely confused as to what this part is trying to convey. Was the author aroused by this fact? Did she find it funny or amusing? If it's the latter, why word it that way?
Overall, Nantucket Ghosts was not only a unique take on the horror anthology thing, but a darn good take as well.
Overall Grade: A
January 7, 2012
Blue Balliett's The Ghosts of Nantucket is a traditional ghost story book which features "true stories" of haunted houses on Nantucket. I chose to read it because I just love Blue Balliett's other books, but it is very different. It was okay, but not inspiring.
June 23, 2012
I probably first read this book when I was ten or twelve and it still haunts me. Some of the tales and images are shocking and disturbing, and walking around Nantucket, you am easily believe these tales have happened in a place so secluded and rich with history.
April 30, 2017
I think this is the same Blue Balliett who went on to write the children's novel Chasing Vermeer.
May 2, 2019
A collection of ghost stories as told to Blue Balliett by residents of Nantucket.
December 30, 2020
Not a great book, but I found that I enjoyed her tales.
July 10, 2011
spooky, loved it
March 10, 2012
It was really interesting to read these stories and first hand accounts of hauntings, and to wonder if there is anything to them.
June 14, 2013
A very fun read!
September 23, 2014
Loved it! Spooky...
December 7, 2016
Still the best book on Nantucket ghosts.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews