Spooky Massachusetts: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore

by S.E. Schlosser, Paul Hoffman (Illustrations)

What better locale to consider for spooky happenings than the home of the Salem witch trials? From mysteries at sea to ghosts and unexplained footprints, you'll shiver your way through these mesmerizing tales. Set in the state's historic towns, charming old islands, and sparsely populated backwoods, the stories in this entertaining and compelling collection are great for the whole family.

Genres: Nonfiction, Folklore, Short Stories, Ghost Stories, Horror

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2008

About the author

Author S.E. Schlosser has been telling stories since she was a child, when games of "let's pretend" quickly built themselves into full-length stories. A graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature and Rutgers University, she also created and maintains the website AmericanFolklore.net, where she shares a wealth of stories from all 50 states, some dating back to the origins of America.

(source: Amazon)

Reviews

[Melissa Markham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nicely told ghosts stories! A couple were familiar, but most were not. Some historic situations were also included. Looking forward to reading more from this series.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stay off of Route 44 in Rehobouth if you don't want to meet the red headed ghost.....This and many other stories about hauntings and general folklore can be found in this enjoyable, quick read.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish these were more historical accounts instead of short stories.

[Sam Desir-Spinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this would have been a 4 star read if the first half of the book hadn’t been included. But the first half would be a 2, so we’re averaging out to 3.

First half is all cliche ghost haunting, none of those stories felt at all compelling. In fact the writing in those sections felt… almost like a chore rather than an art, and the impression I got was that the writer was a little bored. The ghost stories themselves were just about as tired and cliche as ghost stories can be.

Second half felt far more engaging. more variety there. ghosts showed up, but so did witchcraft, mad scientists, and the demons. I was a little surprised there weren’t any cryptids popping up here or there. But I enjoyed the sense of history, local culture, and folk legends attached to these later stories.

I will say there’s some inconsistency of tone in this book.

Mainly between the first and second half.
First half is all campfire-ish ghost stories that should be fine for most kids. Most are actually pretty innocent and even end on happy notes. Second half has murder, blood, throat slitting, and gorier deaths.

In those darker stories the writer seemed more engaged and less like they were just going through the motions— if that makes sense. There’s still no sense of fear here, I doubt you’ll be scared. My nine year old read the whole thing and said he was only scared by one story, so….

As it stands, I think this book as a whole is a fun little read for anyone who happens to live in or be visiting Massachusetts.

Beyond that: it could be an engaging collection of stories for people who like low stakes spooky tales, though if a certain threshold of darkness is a criteria for your enjoyment, then just skip the entire first half and start off with the story “madness”. And if you have to be scared to enjoy the read skip the whole thing altogether

[CJ | A Well-Read Tart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this one up while on vacation in Salem, MA. Great collection of Massachusetts-based ghostly and supernatural folklore. Each tale is told as a recounted story from someone involved in the tale, which is my favorite way to read ghost stories. Some of these stories are truly ghastly ("The Brick Wall" and "Black Magic"); I was pretty creeped out by numerous entries. I also learned about a few new supernatural beings ("Bean Nighe"), which is always fun, and it was interesting to read different takes on more classic American supernatural tales ("The Jewelry Box" and "The Black Horse"). I had read about the red-haired phantom in "Hitchhiker" before (Rehoboth is infamous for its numerous ghosts), so it was exciting to read another account of this ghost. Another favorite was "Madness," mainly because I had just learned all about Salem history and found this recounting particularly inventive. All of these stories are great, though, creepy enough during daylight hours, but even more enjoyable on a dark and stormy night (in any U.S. state!).

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok, I personally liked the light and dark section better. Even though they were retellings of local lore, I don’t think the location had much to do with it. It didn’t tell anything about something that I would be able to find in real life, like a specific haunted house or something. And the author could have taken more liberties and added more suspense or writing style than they did. It was difficult to transition between stories and the stories didn’t pull me in and make me want to read more.

[Donald C. Seeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice read for most of the stories. They were good stories not scary just some folk like tales told in a book. It was a good read since I’m not from the area. Enjoy this book if you dare!!!

[Raphy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good read. The stories are all unique in their own ways. A couple stories had un-spooky ending. Only one story was able scare me. This would be five stars if the stories were more scary. I recommend reading this if
You like spooky stories.

[Al · Rating 2 out of 5]

the book was okay, i thought it would be written with more of a historical context but it was just short stories about random ghostly events that did not feel at all authentic. it was a smooth read and the pace was fast, i just didn’t enjoy the actual content.

[Emmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mixed bag of stories that felt more like a short story collection than a traditional collection of folk tales. That being said, the stories were pretty good and I enjoyed 90% of them. If you're looking for some creepy folktales, this is a good collection.

[Katherine Hebert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tales are "real," but the narrative, designed to attract and hold younger readers, just doesn't work for me.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of 25 spooky stories from around the state told in narrative form rather than factual accounts. Some tales are spookier than the others. About 5 really stand out.

[Quinn Linnehan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book really disappointed me, the stories are incredibly basic and wouldn't scare a first grader, would not recommend.

[Mario Pimental · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very mediocre storytelling here and not a single scare in sight.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s listed in the Non-Fiction genre.... 😳

[Gotogrrl · Rating 1 out of 5]

In fairness, I read this alongside the masterful Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson. That aside, these stories were amateurish and not compelling or scary. Zero character or plot development.

[Melissa Loucks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently vacationed in Boston so I just had to get this book!

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of spooky stories from my home state was kinda interesting, but I feel like I didn't quite like the storytelling style. There were a few too many cases of ghost stories given a modern day framing narrative, rather than focusing on the historical origins of the ghosts. In general, it seems that these stories were retold and turned into fiction pieces, rather than being more or less direct records of original folklore, which I definitely would have preferred. Also, the organization was rather arbitrary, with many ghost stories in the non-ghost story section. However, at least some of the stories themselves were fun. Out of the ghost stories, I enjoyed Which Way to Boston?, A Basket of Cod, Lover's Tryst (set in my hometown and quite different from what I expected from the title), and The Fireside Chair. As for the others, I enjoyed The Wise-Woman and the Witch, The White Wizard, and Elixir of Life. Also, some of these stories gave me ideas for my own writing. Over all, this wasn't as good as I had hoped, but there were some fun stories and good illustrations. Plus, it's made me interested in seeking out more local folklore, which is a positive result.

[Britt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't what I thought it would be. It's more outlandish urban legends that would be fun to read to kids around Halloween. I was looking for more historical stories with some related ghost stories that I could go exploring for. The stories don't have much backing or references as to where they happened or who saw the ghosts when.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read while in New England. Super quick, spine-tingling stories. Several times I had to make myself read through to the end of the story instead of skipping ahead to learn to outcome!

[Aurora · Rating 1 out of 5]

This wasn't scary at all and seemed more middle grade. The stories weren't very good at all.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good stories.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Super disappointing. I hoped for local lore, like the title states. Instead it was a collection of somewhat poorly written short stories. I made it 40% of the way, then gave up after the story of Nathaniel Hawthorne seeing Reverend Harris's ghost at the "subscription library" had him walking there from his "many gabled house" in Salem. That's one hell of a walk.

I honestly can't tell if these are supposed to be an actual collection of local lore or a short story collection loosely based on lore. If it's actual folklore, it wicked needs more research. If it's short stories influenced by lore, that needs to be clearer. Either way, I was disappointed. Massachusetts folklore, especially ghost stories, are some of my favorite reading material. But I can't finish this.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent stories. I liked her other books better,maybe because I knew a lot of these stories already and didn't feel like her versions added much.