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| Ghosthunting
Ohio, John
B. Kachuba, 2004, photos, websites, addresses of sites to visit, no index or bibliography,
256 pp $14.99 |
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| I was delighted to see this
book, which doesnąt revisit the same old stories, but delves into a number of new and
intriguing sites. Out of the 30 sites listed, 10 of them were new to me; Kachuba has
collected some fresh stories from the well-known places. The author has done his homework:
visiting and photographing the sites and interviewing witnesses. He amiably tries dowsing
for ghosts, visits with psychics and spirit mediums, hears tales of ouija board
communications, and finds orbs in his photos. The ghostly cat who played with a very real
ball of paper at The Old Tavern in Unionville, also haunted by a little boy with a
harmonica. The “corner ghost”, a lady in Victorian clothing seen only out of the
corner of witnessesą eyes at The Lofts Hotel in Columbus. Medina Steakhouse & Saloon haunted by “Anna”, a
female ghost who put out a fire and “Frank Curtis”, a handyman who hung himself
in the building. The “Lady in Green” at the Netherland Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati. If I have
a quibble, it is that there is no index, bibliography, attributions, or references, except
for a collection of websites, some of which contain the inevitable historically inaccurate
or sensational material found on the web. Several stories originated with other sources,
including myself, possibly collected from excerpts circulating on the internet. Overall, a
refreshing book from a curious yet skeptical “regular Joe.” |
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| Ghost Stories
of Ohio, Edrick
Thay, 2001, photos, 192 pp $10.95 |
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| Ghosts from the site of the horrific Ashtabula Bridge
railway disaster, spirits of the Mansfield Reformatory, Mothman, The Loveland Frog,
Serpent Mound, the deadly history of Franklin Castle, Athens’ many haunted
cemeteries, the friendly ghosts of the Buxton Inn. A
great compendium of haunts of various sorts all over the state: legendary tales to
interviews with eyewitnesses, mostly culled from the
other books in this Ohio section. |
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| Ghosts of Marietta, Connie Cartmell, 1996, photos, map, 96 pp. Sorry, this
book is no longer available. Please ask us to find you a nice used copy. |
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I first chatted with Connie when she
graciously allowed me to use one of her many stories from The Marietta Times. This
is an excellent collection of her gentle-spirited investigations into the many haunted
houses of Marietta, the first permanent settlement in the Northwest Territory. The Levee
House Cafe, formerly a house of ill-repute, haunted by a man axed to death by his son. The
ghostly scent of bacon at the Charles Bosworth House. "George," the gentlemanly
former governor who haunts Alpha Xi Delta House at Marietta College. Great atmospheric
photos, too. |
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| Ghosts, Spirits
and Legends of Southeastern Ohio, Lawrence Everett, 2002, photos, line art,
map, 109 pp $14.95 |
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| I
can’t tell you how happy I am that Everett
has written this book! He’s a native-born
Southeastern Ohioan and he was able to get the inside story on the many ghosts of the Athens
area. I find Athens
extremely creepy and no wonder—there are some 50 cemeteries that form a pentagram,
many of them with their own legends of spirits. There’s the notorious former lunatic
asylum (now an art center) where a young woman inmate died, trapped in a locked room,
leaving behind the stain of her body on the floor. There’s
also the eerie Moonville tunnel where a headless brakeman searches with a ghost lantern
for his head. The great thing about this book is these are first-hand accounts from real
people of their experiences in houses, hollows, and cemeteries. Good job, Lawrence!
I’m waiting for the sequel! |
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| Haunted Houses:
Spooky Tales of Yellow Springs as told by Harold Igo, Harold Igo, 2001,
60 pp, photos, spiral bound, 7 x 8 ˝” No longer available--please
contact us so we can find you a nice used copy. |
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| This
is an absolute model of what local history/ghostlore/folklore should be! These are tales collected by local writer Harold
Igo in and around the small Ohio
village
of Yellow
Springs with annotations on local history, murders, scandals, folktales, etc. There are
photos and maps of some of the haunted sites and the local characters involved. Such tales
as “Walnut Street Terror.” “The Ghost of the County
Jail”
“The Senator Walks at Midnight”
“Cut Throat in the Kitchen” “Story of the 7 Dachshunds” “The
Headless Soldier.” These are not
predictable urban-legend type folktales, but rise out of true events and places in Greene
County.
They are a fascinating reflection of the local preoccupations, crimes and gossip in a
small Ohio
town in the 19th and early-20th century. |
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