Ellen Baumler

This was a wonderful blend of historical background and uber creepy ghost tales. I've always enjoyed Ellen Baumler's tales of haunted Montana and this addition doesn't disappoint. It probably didn't hurt that I was reading this as my family and I were traveling to and experiencing the haunted historical ghost tour in Helena itself; I was able to physically visit at least one locale in this volume. Ellen creates a balance between her historical facts and her ghost details in such a way that the reader isn't swamped by either end of the spectrum. I’d definitely recommend this volume to anyone looking to bone up on haunted Montana.… (more)

When you live in a part of the Old West, settled by miners during gold, silver and copper rushes, you have disputes. You also have citizen-driven justice like Virginia City's famous Vigilantes and then, well, you have ghosts.

This is a fun collection of stories from mining camps-turned-cities published by the Montana Historical Society. The local histories are the star and are quite entertaining. Sadly, though, the subsequent ghost stories lack something in the chills-along-the-spine department and read more like third person accounts of neutral events.

One definite chill, though,in an account of a haunted hotel in Nevada City with a deep male voice saying, "Get Out". Pretty standard ghost stuff, except that a friend's brother captured a deep male voice saying that same thing in the same location when her brother was videotaping a tour they were taking.

An entertaining October read.… (more)