Great American Ghost Stories

by Hans Holzer

Great American Ghost Stories is a chilling investigative report of over twenty actual cases of American hauntings. Author and parapsychologist, Hans Holzer, explores some of America's most baffling tales of mystery.Utilizing psychic associates, as well as traditional historical research, Dr. Holzer sheds new light on numerous important events of the past, offering, at times, an astonishing new record. Reexamine the assassination of President Lincoln, commiserate with "Hungry Lucy," a starving fever-ravaged campfollower looking for her Revolutionary soldier-lover, or visit the home of "Ocean-Born" Mary and unravel a tale of murder and mayhem in pre-Revolutionary New Hampshire. Whatever it is that you do read, Great American Ghost Stories is sure to chill you to the bone.

Genres: Ghosts, Paranormal, Nonfiction

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Hans Holzer, whose investigations into the paranormal took him to haunted houses and other sites all over the world, wrote more than 140 books on ghosts, the afterlife, witchcraft, extraterrestrial beings, and other phenomena associated with the realm he called “the other side.” Among his famous subjects was the Long Island house that inspired The Amityville Horror book and film adaptations. Holzer studied at the University of Vienna, Austria, and at Columbia University, New York, earning a master’s degree in comparative religion. He taught parapsychology at the New York Institute of Technology. Holzer died in 2009.

Reviews

[Jim Erekson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was an easter egg in the background on an episode of Stranger Things, and I remembered the title to check it out.

Many paranormal books are more about the authors than about the strange occurrences themselves. Here Holzer is the main character as a ghost investigator, and he puts himself and his team front and center. I realize some people find this incredibly engaging, but I prefer the kind of episodic reporting of the straight stories in books like Mysteries of the Unexplained or The Golden Book of the Mysterious.

[G. Edweird Cheese · Rating 1 out of 5]

Garbage. not at all what i thought it was going to be. I was expecting a collection of ghost stories from across america, you know... the local legend, maybe a photo or two, an interview with someone who saw the ghost. what i got is a collection of reports about seances held by the author and his medium friends who talk to ghost, threw the medium. bumbkis! I'm not saying its not possible, but the way hans holzer writes, he kind of just expects you to be like, "oh, yup, totally happened, no doubt!" plus, its all from the 60's so its totally dated.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was hard to follow. I almost felt like we went of a flash-sideways with the flash forwards and flashbacks.

[Lisa Alfaro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to be mean, but I made it (barely) to the second chapter and had to stop. The style is simple quite self-aggrandizing. They aren't really ghost stories per se, they're stories of a ghost hunter. A ghost hunter who immediately takes all things as proof of ghosts. It wasn't at all what I was looking for... Perhaps I have high standards because before trying to read this book, I read the Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories, which I loved. It's hard to like anything when compared to Stephen King and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

[Katie Pickett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Hanz Holzer as a writer and respect his ideas about his studies. He does not portray ghosts as "scary" things but comes at it as an inspecter and doesn't say one way or the other if it is fact or otherwise. He also presents a lot of other opinions and case studies that he had conducted as a practicing physciatrist. I recommend any book by Hanz Holzer to anyone interested in paranormal study or anyone who just like a well written book. They are easy reads as you stay engrossed.

[Corey]

This book was SO bad it doesn't even deserve one star. It wasn't worth the paper wasted to print it and it wasn't worth the time I wasted to read it...

[Nancy Buscher]

In this book Hans investigates the paranormal cases that he comes across. This book is not a literary masterpiece, but the information is quite interesting and well worth the read.

[Zack · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made it to page 170 and couldn't take it any longer. More of a history book with guesses from seances than ghost stories. Not a traditional ghost story book, certainly not great.