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Stackpole Haunted Series
Haunted New York: Ghosts And Strange Phenomena Of The Empire State
More than 60 frightening tales Covers all regions of the state An entertaining look at supernatural phenomena in New York, including the ghost of a British soldier at Fort Ontario, Champ the Lake Champlain monster, the haunted castle of Captain Beardslee, spirits in Manhattan's oldest house, the alien abduction at the Brooklyn Bridge, and many more.
117 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 23, 2016
I'm not usually one to bash a book. Mama always said "if you can't say something nice..." but it is my civic duty as a reader to warn as many people as possible about this volume!
From a review on the back cover: "(This book) is [...] fact filled and so well written it's hard to put down."
My advice: put it down, put it down!
Most of these stories are so UN-fact filled and downright boring, it's as if the whole book had been written for a third grade audience. A sample of this wonderful "investigative journalism":
"According to an article from an unknown newspaper [...]" (!!!!!)
"They ALL (emphasis mine) grew old and eventually died and today not a single fertile person remains from that family tree [...]" ( but there are possibly INFERTILE members remaining?!?!)
Go grab some 'smores makings, a flashlight and a campfire and make up your own ghost stories. They're guaranteed to be better than the ones in this collection.
From a review on the back cover: "(This book) is [...] fact filled and so well written it's hard to put down."
My advice: put it down, put it down!
Most of these stories are so UN-fact filled and downright boring, it's as if the whole book had been written for a third grade audience. A sample of this wonderful "investigative journalism":
"According to an article from an unknown newspaper [...]" (!!!!!)
"They ALL (emphasis mine) grew old and eventually died and today not a single fertile person remains from that family tree [...]" ( but there are possibly INFERTILE members remaining?!?!)
Go grab some 'smores makings, a flashlight and a campfire and make up your own ghost stories. They're guaranteed to be better than the ones in this collection.
November 16, 2020
I’d rate this between a 2.5-3 stars.
Haunted New York is a collection of ghost stories and tales of other strange phenomena, such as alien abductions and Bigfoot sightings. It serves effectively as a collection of New York folklore, yet somehow falls short as a book about paranormal experiences. Perhaps if she prefaced the book with a disclaimer as Things That Go Bump in the Night has, stating that the stories told are simply just folklore, it could give the book a different tone. However, the book is packed full of interesting facts about historical landmarks, and that may be its most redeeming quality.
The book is divided into chapters for each region of the state, and these chapters are comprised of short snippets of history and anecdotes about each location or legend. Cheri Revai ends many of these tales with open-ended inquiries, which after reading through much of the book begins to feel like an episode of Ancient Aliens (Could it be that the UFOs were actually alien spacecrafts? Is it possible that the ghost of Mary still roams the halls to this day?). Some of the stories are too absurd to take seriously and the writing is mediocre at times.
Another critique I have is that many of the articles written are taken from another book by Charles M. Skinner (Myths and Legends of Our Own Land). Not to discredit the author, because she clearly traveled, interviewed people, and researched history to compile this book, but it felt like many of the tales were ripped off and regurgitated from Skinner’s book.
All in all, this book was (at times) entertaining for a Halloween read, amusing for the sheer absurdity of it, and educational about the history of supposedly haunted locations throughout New York State.
Haunted New York is a collection of ghost stories and tales of other strange phenomena, such as alien abductions and Bigfoot sightings. It serves effectively as a collection of New York folklore, yet somehow falls short as a book about paranormal experiences. Perhaps if she prefaced the book with a disclaimer as Things That Go Bump in the Night has, stating that the stories told are simply just folklore, it could give the book a different tone. However, the book is packed full of interesting facts about historical landmarks, and that may be its most redeeming quality.
The book is divided into chapters for each region of the state, and these chapters are comprised of short snippets of history and anecdotes about each location or legend. Cheri Revai ends many of these tales with open-ended inquiries, which after reading through much of the book begins to feel like an episode of Ancient Aliens (Could it be that the UFOs were actually alien spacecrafts? Is it possible that the ghost of Mary still roams the halls to this day?). Some of the stories are too absurd to take seriously and the writing is mediocre at times.
Another critique I have is that many of the articles written are taken from another book by Charles M. Skinner (Myths and Legends of Our Own Land). Not to discredit the author, because she clearly traveled, interviewed people, and researched history to compile this book, but it felt like many of the tales were ripped off and regurgitated from Skinner’s book.
All in all, this book was (at times) entertaining for a Halloween read, amusing for the sheer absurdity of it, and educational about the history of supposedly haunted locations throughout New York State.
July 25, 2022
This book was ok. The stories were somewhat interesting. I didn't particularly care for the overzealous focus on UFOs
July 25, 2023
Not bad , but one thing was annoying is the author said Li is part of NYC… it is not lol totally separate entities
October 1, 2023
I enjoyed this spooky romp through New York!
August 9, 2012
I cracked a tooth. By the time I made it in to the dentist, I knew I was going to require some oral surgery. After visiting the dentist and receiving prescriptions for pain and antibiotics, I knew I was going to need some new reading: books which would allow me to drift in and out of them without a detailed plot. I went to Half-Price books and bought a few collections of ghost stories.
This book fulfilled my needs. I learned a few new ghost stories I hadn't heard about before. I was able to nap as needed without interrupting any major plot points.
I got the feeling, though, that the author had recycled some of the stories from other books he'd written. I prefer that ghost story collections have all new stories.
The book did what I hoped it did. It looks like there are more in the series; I may have to begin looking for them at Half-Price Books. I doubt I'd be willing to pay more.
This book fulfilled my needs. I learned a few new ghost stories I hadn't heard about before. I was able to nap as needed without interrupting any major plot points.
I got the feeling, though, that the author had recycled some of the stories from other books he'd written. I prefer that ghost story collections have all new stories.
The book did what I hoped it did. It looks like there are more in the series; I may have to begin looking for them at Half-Price Books. I doubt I'd be willing to pay more.
July 28, 2011
I was disappointed because I expected this to be a ghost book. The title is misleading. The subtitle, Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Empire State, is more accurate since a lot of the book is about Big Foot and UFO's rather than ghosts. The author even seems to think that there was something supernatural about the 1965 blackout although she doesn't mention the big blackout in 2003 so maybe she hasn't been able to decide yet if it was caused by UFO's or Big Foot.
Ghost researchers should not say that "there is no other explanation" because, if I think about it even for a second, I realize that there is.
Ghost researchers should not say that "there is no other explanation" because, if I think about it even for a second, I realize that there is.
October 11, 2007
One of a slew of thin local books on legends and hauntings, which have become the popular reservoir for folklore. This one at least appealed to me by having all sorts of Fortean and paranormal tales, instead of just ghost stories, which generally bore me to tears. All of the hairy hominid stuff was right from (and cited as such) Monsters of the North Woods.
March 24, 2015
I enjoyed reading about the various locations in NY that have unexplained & paranormal activity going on. I have friends & family that have had their own experiences (I as well), so it was interested to read about the history of these haunted locations. I look forward to visiting some of these old bars & restaurants in NYC that are known to have activity.
January 14, 2011
I had fun reading this book while on a trip to visit relatives in New York. Anthing about Ghosts is fun. They had the TV series on tape so we watched them too while there. I would like to go back to New York and explore some of the locations mentioned in the book.
November 17, 2015
Amateurishly written, this book is clearly meant for children or young adults. Although the origins of the stories were interesting, each one ended with a similar "maybe this place is haunted or maybe not... You decide". I was very disappointed.
September 17, 2011
A good book. I like how the books was divided into sections by the areas of New York...I actually did further research on several of the things I read about in here.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews