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Philadelphia Ghost Stories
Chilling, true stories of haunted places in the most historic city in America. The first comprehensive collection of Philadelphia ghost stories ever printed. With research assistance from the Philadelphia Ghost Hunters Alliance.
Leah, the Quaker ghost of Washington Square --
The jilted spirit --
The cryptic card --
The exploding ghost of Andalusia --
The marching men of Kensington --
The lantern ghost of the Moshulu --
The spectral typist of the historical society --
Rappers, rogues, and witches --
The screaming lady, the faceless man, and other phantoms of Old Fort Mifflin --
The spirit of Summer Street --
Ghosts of "the great road" --
Willie, Maria, and the many ghosts of Loudoun --
Of ghost ships and "quarters a" --
The ghost of the main gate luncheonette --
"Rate a wraith?" --
The ghost hunters' ghost stories --
A voice in Betsy's basement --
Ghosts of the inn --
Emily, the ghost of Cresheim cottage --
Baleroy: the most haunted house in Philadelphia --
Elusive spirits
Leah, the Quaker ghost of Washington Square --
The jilted spirit --
The cryptic card --
The exploding ghost of Andalusia --
The marching men of Kensington --
The lantern ghost of the Moshulu --
The spectral typist of the historical society --
Rappers, rogues, and witches --
The screaming lady, the faceless man, and other phantoms of Old Fort Mifflin --
The spirit of Summer Street --
Ghosts of "the great road" --
Willie, Maria, and the many ghosts of Loudoun --
Of ghost ships and "quarters a" --
The ghost of the main gate luncheonette --
"Rate a wraith?" --
The ghost hunters' ghost stories --
A voice in Betsy's basement --
Ghosts of the inn --
Emily, the ghost of Cresheim cottage --
Baleroy: the most haunted house in Philadelphia --
Elusive spirits
190 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1998
6 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Charles J. Adams III
38 books22 followersCharles J. Adams III was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1947 and resides there today. In addition to his books, Adams also writes regular features on travel and local legends in the Reading Eagle newspaper and has written travel stories for several other magazines and publications. He has also been the morning air personality on radio station WEEU in Reading, where he has been employed since 1978.
Adams has been a speaker at the International Ghost Hunters Alliance and GhostWorld conventions in Gettysburg, Pa., and at regional paranormal conferences in New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He has been interviewed on ghostly topics in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, South Africa, and on several American radio and television stations.
He has also appeared on The History Channel's "Haunted America: New York" and "Haunted America: Philadelphia" programs and has served as consultant and on-air "expert" for programs on hauntings and ghosts on The Learning Channel, MTV, and The Travel Channel. His latest television work is a segment at the haunted Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia for The Travel Channel's "Mysterious Journeys" series.
Adams has also organized and escorted tours of haunted places in the United States, England, and Scotland.
He has produced, written, and conducted "ghost tours" in Lancaster County, Reading, Hamburg, and Philadelphia, Pa.; Cape May, N.J., and Greenwich Village, New York City. His stories have been selected for inclusion in several anthologies, including "Classic American Ghost Stories" (August House Publishing). At the personal request of the producer M. Night Shyamalan, his book, "Bucks County Ghost Stories" was used as a prop in the 2002 movie, "Signs," which stars Mel Gibson.
In 2006, he donated nearly 400 books he had collected in his travels to the Exeter Community Library as the "Charles J. Adams III Paranormal Research Collection." The books deal with legends, folklore, and ghost stories from across the United States and world. It is recognized as the largest single collection of its kind in any library in the nation.
A U.S. Navy veteran, Adams has also been a singer and keyboard player in rock bands since his high school days. Adams has also written numerous commercial jingles and songs, and several have been recorded and released on CDs and music videos, including "From the River to the Mountain," written for the city of Reading's 250th anniversary celebration and "There's a Game Tonight in Baseballtown," which can be heard during Reading Phillies games. He has also recorded several railroad folk songs.
He has served on the marketing committee of the Reading Symphony Orchestra; has recited dramatic work with the Reading Symphony Orchestra, Reading Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Reading Pops Orchestra; and has been a guest conductor for the Exeter Community Band. His play, "Curtains," was produced and presented at the Genesius Theatre; and his "Storybook Murder" mystery was produced and performed as a fund-raising event for the Reading Public Library. He has been co-host of the "YNOTs Awards" (that's "TONYs" spelled backwards) show, which recognizes the best of high school musical presentations and performers in Berks County, since its inception. He is co-host of "Travels With Sue and Charlie," a monthly travel program on BCTV, the Greater Reading, PA, community access television station.
Charlie has also served as president of the Reading (Pa.) Public Library, the Board of Directors of the Exeter Township School District, and on the boards of the Penn State Berks Campus Alumni Society, Exeter Community Library, Crestwood Swimming Association, Humane Society of Berks County, and the Historical Society of Berks County. He is presently a member of the editorial board of the Historical Society and is chairman of its Publications Committee. In 2006, Adams organized the inaugural and highly successful "READING READS: The Greater Reading Literary Fest
Adams has been a speaker at the International Ghost Hunters Alliance and GhostWorld conventions in Gettysburg, Pa., and at regional paranormal conferences in New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He has been interviewed on ghostly topics in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, South Africa, and on several American radio and television stations.
He has also appeared on The History Channel's "Haunted America: New York" and "Haunted America: Philadelphia" programs and has served as consultant and on-air "expert" for programs on hauntings and ghosts on The Learning Channel, MTV, and The Travel Channel. His latest television work is a segment at the haunted Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia for The Travel Channel's "Mysterious Journeys" series.
Adams has also organized and escorted tours of haunted places in the United States, England, and Scotland.
He has produced, written, and conducted "ghost tours" in Lancaster County, Reading, Hamburg, and Philadelphia, Pa.; Cape May, N.J., and Greenwich Village, New York City. His stories have been selected for inclusion in several anthologies, including "Classic American Ghost Stories" (August House Publishing). At the personal request of the producer M. Night Shyamalan, his book, "Bucks County Ghost Stories" was used as a prop in the 2002 movie, "Signs," which stars Mel Gibson.
In 2006, he donated nearly 400 books he had collected in his travels to the Exeter Community Library as the "Charles J. Adams III Paranormal Research Collection." The books deal with legends, folklore, and ghost stories from across the United States and world. It is recognized as the largest single collection of its kind in any library in the nation.
A U.S. Navy veteran, Adams has also been a singer and keyboard player in rock bands since his high school days. Adams has also written numerous commercial jingles and songs, and several have been recorded and released on CDs and music videos, including "From the River to the Mountain," written for the city of Reading's 250th anniversary celebration and "There's a Game Tonight in Baseballtown," which can be heard during Reading Phillies games. He has also recorded several railroad folk songs.
He has served on the marketing committee of the Reading Symphony Orchestra; has recited dramatic work with the Reading Symphony Orchestra, Reading Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Reading Pops Orchestra; and has been a guest conductor for the Exeter Community Band. His play, "Curtains," was produced and presented at the Genesius Theatre; and his "Storybook Murder" mystery was produced and performed as a fund-raising event for the Reading Public Library. He has been co-host of the "YNOTs Awards" (that's "TONYs" spelled backwards) show, which recognizes the best of high school musical presentations and performers in Berks County, since its inception. He is co-host of "Travels With Sue and Charlie," a monthly travel program on BCTV, the Greater Reading, PA, community access television station.
Charlie has also served as president of the Reading (Pa.) Public Library, the Board of Directors of the Exeter Township School District, and on the boards of the Penn State Berks Campus Alumni Society, Exeter Community Library, Crestwood Swimming Association, Humane Society of Berks County, and the Historical Society of Berks County. He is presently a member of the editorial board of the Historical Society and is chairman of its Publications Committee. In 2006, Adams organized the inaugural and highly successful "READING READS: The Greater Reading Literary Fest
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 12, 2018
Entertaining but not the best Haunted Philadelphia book I've read. Tooanybstoeies where no one wants to five addresses or names, a little convenient I think. Philadelphia is haunted, from North Philly to South and West to East. I've lived her my whole life and I've heard stories and even seen things I can not explain. If you want a vague but entertaining read about the City's history, this will so
April 11, 2022
I love the stories in book the have great meaning
July 29, 2008
My mother-in-law got us this book when we moved to Philly. She picked it up at a library resale for like two bucks as a joke. She has a wicked sense of humor, apparently.
I don't like being mean, but seriously, when I was reading this book, I thought about using as an exercise in editing with my future spawn, because it is SO POORLY WRITTEN. It doesn't matter whether you're talking about basic grammar issues like subject/verb agreement, or larger issues such as overall organization (seriously, the logic behind the organizational structure of this book is baffling), or anything in between. I was grimacing in horror at some kind of hideous error every 3-5 pages. If you're into grammar, this just might be the most terrifying book you can ever read.
Seriously, Charles J. Adams III, if you're out there, I will be your editrix for free. I'm sure you're a very nice man, and I don't mean to haterate all over your literary efforts, but your book makes me sad.
This book still gets two stars, however, because I LOVED cheesy ghost stories in my youth, and they used to scare the pants off me, and I sometimes pine for those simpler days, before I cared about bad writing, or the fiscal motivations of ghost story book writers. Mmm. Sweet, sweet nostalgia. Tasty.
I don't like being mean, but seriously, when I was reading this book, I thought about using as an exercise in editing with my future spawn, because it is SO POORLY WRITTEN. It doesn't matter whether you're talking about basic grammar issues like subject/verb agreement, or larger issues such as overall organization (seriously, the logic behind the organizational structure of this book is baffling), or anything in between. I was grimacing in horror at some kind of hideous error every 3-5 pages. If you're into grammar, this just might be the most terrifying book you can ever read.
Seriously, Charles J. Adams III, if you're out there, I will be your editrix for free. I'm sure you're a very nice man, and I don't mean to haterate all over your literary efforts, but your book makes me sad.
This book still gets two stars, however, because I LOVED cheesy ghost stories in my youth, and they used to scare the pants off me, and I sometimes pine for those simpler days, before I cared about bad writing, or the fiscal motivations of ghost story book writers. Mmm. Sweet, sweet nostalgia. Tasty.
August 11, 2010
I would actually give this book more like 4 and a half stars. There were a few spelling and grammmar errors, but I don't think it was too bad. At least it didn't bother me much.
I just overlooked the errors in the book and enjoyed the ghost stories anyway. I think the stories were well researched and some were very interesting. Towards the end of the book there is a story about a haunted mansion that has 30 bedrooms, I really enjoyed that one plus the pictures that were included from the mansion.
There were many other interesting ghost stories in the book as well. Overall, it was an enjoyable book of ghost stories and I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about haunting in Philadelphia.
I just overlooked the errors in the book and enjoyed the ghost stories anyway. I think the stories were well researched and some were very interesting. Towards the end of the book there is a story about a haunted mansion that has 30 bedrooms, I really enjoyed that one plus the pictures that were included from the mansion.
There were many other interesting ghost stories in the book as well. Overall, it was an enjoyable book of ghost stories and I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to learn about haunting in Philadelphia.
February 14, 2017
My husband was born and raised in Philadelphia. We both live and met in Florida. I had never been to Philadelphia. So when we decided to spend part of our vacation in Philly I had to find out about the ghosts there. I love the paranormal, and definitely wanted to add a few haunted spots to our visit.
Charles J Adams has a few Ghosts books and they are all great. I love how his books gives you the full history for each "Haunted" place in his books. Some of the stories are just rumored to be haunted but he gives you peoples accounts. You can take or leave each story but they are fun to read. His stories are interesting whether you believe in ghosts or not,
Charles J Adams has a few Ghosts books and they are all great. I love how his books gives you the full history for each "Haunted" place in his books. Some of the stories are just rumored to be haunted but he gives you peoples accounts. You can take or leave each story but they are fun to read. His stories are interesting whether you believe in ghosts or not,
June 21, 2013
Like this book! This was actually one of the first gifts I received when I moved to Philly. I also went to some spots that were mentioned in this book just because I wanted to tour (not because I'm into ghost hunting)!
July 21, 2015
If you’ve read any of Charles J. Adams’s other books, you’ll know what to expect with this one. If you haven’t, the title should pretty much explain it – the book is full of “true” ghost stories from Philadelphia. It’s an interesting read for locals.
August 3, 2012
Includes a very few photographs of actual places stories took place. Has the large text size that seems to plague so many of these ghost-related books.
June 24, 2016
The book had some interesting stories, but the writing wasn't my favorite. I found it to be really rambling in some places, but rushed in others.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews