Ghost Stories of Oregon

Ghost House Books

by Susan Smitten

Explore the fascinating and often inexplicable tales of strange ghostly events in this Pacific Ocean state. At the Oregon Vortex in Gold Hill, gravity and light are distorted in one of the world's most bizarre paranormal anomalies. A phantom stagecoach is seen rolling up to the site of the Galesville Hotel in Douglas County, a structure that burned to the ground in 1931. A lighthouse keeper at the breathtaking Tillamook Lighthouse is reported to have watched in dismay as a phantom schooner foundered on the rocks--then vanished. From coastal Cannon Beach and Newport to Salem, Bend, La Grande, and many places in between, these stories of hair-raising folklore are sure to delight.

Genres: Nonfiction, Paranormal, Ghosts, History, Monsters

215 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Randomly found on the shelf at the library while volunteering. I had high hopes, but was mostly disappointed. When I was a kid, I ravaged the ghost stories section in the kid room - along with shipwrecks and mythology. Good stuff! I pick up ghost stories to get spooked, but most of these were suuuuper dry - more history of buildings than actual creepy stories. Or a bunch of "well somebody said they heard of somebody who saw this one thing, but no one would confirm it." Or "this person was in this room and felt creepy, and never went in there again." Boooo.

Reading some Oregon building history was okay too, but not the super creepy stories I was hoping for. I can tell several ghost/monster stories from NJ where I grew up off the top of my head that are creepier than anything in this book. Oh well! Semi-worth a quick skim to get another book on my list for this year.

[Lafcadio · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pretty excited about this book when I found it... and then I read it... I was hoping for actual stories, not just explanations of where people have encountered ghosts in various spots in Oregon. I didn't want to know that multiple people have heard phantom footsteps in the hall of a particular hotel over the years, I wanted to know who the ghost was, why it was there, its motives for haunting, etc.

It was interesting, but could have gone far deeper.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty stinky. Authors research seemed to consist of either 1) making a phone call to the "haunted" location and asking whomever answered the phone if the place was haunted or 2) re-telling ghost stories from other books she'd read. All and all, thoroughly NOT impressed.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overly dramatic writing style used to add hype and excitement to maybe less than factual stories. Still fun if you know some of these locations or are traveling in Oregon.

[S. Wigget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been to some places mentioned in this book (such as Pittock Mansion and the Crystal Ballroom) and now I want to visit many more after I'm vaccinated.

[Hannah Joel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor research, I live around a lot of the locations in this book and hear better stories from locals, locals who probably were not interviewed. Stories would have been better if the author had gathered more information and stories, not an explanation on when the buildings were built because that's not what the book was supposed to be about. Highly disappointed in this book.

[Becca highers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. It’s very interesting. But it has some grammatical errors and typos. Which did make it frustrating to read.

[John Orman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frightening spirits and haunted buildings decorate this book's landscape.
The Oregon Vortex gets a short story about aberrant physical phenomena.

Guess I better watch out for the Phantom Bugler at nearby Forest Grove--he kills people with an oversize horn!

When I saw some performances at the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, somehow I missed the ghost of Charles Laughton, which hangs out there.
When I drive Hwy 101 on the coast this summer, guess I should watch out for the rotting mummy that terrorizes motorists on that road.
And looks like all the McMenamin hotels and pubs are haunted too!

[Jo Auburne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was well researched, and well written, but it is not the type of read to plow into and read all at once. It is a collection of very short ghost and haunting stories. I liked reading a couple of them a week and sometimes sharing a few stories at a party or camping trip. It lasted a long time that way and I was satisfied with it. I also particularly enjoyed all of the historical context that added a lot to the stories and made them more interesting.

[R♥ A♥ I♥ N♥ B♥ O♥ W♥ Z!]

This book is amazing! Now my life long goals are to stay at any Haunted Mcmenamins Hotel! Although one is being fufilled! Yay

[Frida · Rating 5 out of 5]

this books has really interesting scary stories

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so much fun to read. It will send chills down your spine and make your heart race. And, it all happend here in Oregon. On a scale of 1 to 5 i'd give it a 10 billion.

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say? I like ghost stories.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but not in depth as I would like. Had a lot of just urban legend stuff that is obviously just a joke. The chapter on the McMenamin's location was good.

[Yakking Yogini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this book up during my Sternwheeler trip. Never knew Pittock Mansion had a resident ghost (the original owner). Not well-written, but I just love these urban legends!

[Chenoa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not so great but I had such high hopes.

[Neil Cochrane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wry collection of history and anecdotes that stays just shy of believing the collected stories.

[Arath · Rating 4 out of 5]

the storys are really scary

[Debbie Pearson cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting if you're from Oregon. You would recognize the places.