S. E. Schlosser

‘’It was, Jan Sol suddenly realised, a very eerie sort of night. The trees whispered and snickered and snapped in the wind. Shadows flited back and forth before his eyes. One shadow had long fingers, like an oversized hand. The fingers seemed to beckon to him, moving slowly in a nightmarish rhythm. A short shriek came from the woods. Jan Sol shivered and grabbed his blunderbuss before he realised it was only an owl.’’

Spooky USA is one of my favourite folklore/ghost stories series. show more This one is more folklore than true haunting stories, but no less entertaining. Moreover, every story echoes the state's extraordinary, enchanting, and bloody history.

Watch the Central Park Skaters glide gracefully on the frozen lake in the iconic park in Manhattan, and witness the sorrow of the Gray Lady in Staten Island over the tragic death of two young men. Seek the buried treasure in Liberty Island and look on the horizon for the Fire Ship in Long Island Sound. A young woman can be seen weeping for her lost fiance in the Observatory of the Empire State Building and a brave man returns from the Beyond to protect his young family. A kind ghost wants to go fishing and a man addicted to gambling is dissuaded from playing by the spectre of his wife. A galloping Hessian can be seen in Tarrytown, echoing Irving’s Headless Horseman and a dress brings extreme bad luck to a young girl from Queens.

Rival fiddlers can be heard in Brooklyn and a baker in Albany understands the meaning of the phrase ‘’a baker’s dozen’’. The legend of the Maid of the Mist sings in Niagara Falls, in Rockland County a salamander becomes an omen death, following the repercussions of a tragic tale. Hard to believe the legend of Jan Sol and the monster in Wall Street once you stand in the one place of the Earth where nowadays empires rise and fall, and in Allegheny region, a mysterious figure in a high hat causes terror.

The most fascinating tale is the Night Riders of Copake, a story of a pact between a brilliant girl and an evil warlock. A story straight out of Katherine Arden’s pen. show less

These spooky tales of folklore have the perfect amount of creepiness to entertain without wreaking havoc on your sanity. They are perfect for telling around a campfire, but work equally well anytime, especially as the darkness settles in. You can read the book alone, but you will likely want to share it with others - that’s the fun part of ghostly tales. Be prepared for stories about witches, ghosts, strange creatures, and eerie happenings. It’s a quick read with delightful show more illustrations, and one you can enjoy time and again. S. E. Schlosser does a fantastic job with her retelling, and you will want to mimic her style the next time you are gathered with a group of unsuspecting kids around a campfire, clamoring for a scary story. show less

"From that day to this, the headless ghost of Blackbeard has haunted Teach’s Hole. Whenever the wind blows inland, you can still hear Blackbeard’s ghost tramping up and down. It carries a lantern through the moonless night, roaring, ‘Where’s my head?!’ Whenever folks see a strange light coming from the shore on the Pamlico Sound side of Ocracoke Island, they call it Teach’s light''

This lovely book contains folk tales from the fascinating, saulty and mysterious area of the South show more of the United States.It is divided into two parts. The first focuses on stories of ghosts, haunting houses and fields and the second is dedicated to witches, vampires, werewolves and other menacing creatures of the dark.

Some of my favourite stories are:
"The Cut-Off" from Louisiana : Atmospheric Mississippi foggy nights
"The Army of the Dead" from Charleston, South Carolina: A tale about the tragic warriors of the Civil War.
''The Death Watch" from West Virginia: A tale about a haunted coal mine.
"Blackbeard’s Ghost" from Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina: Come on, it's Edward Teach!
‘’The Handshake" from Goldsboro, North Carolina: A tragic story of a young bride and a horrible man.
"Jack-o’-Lantern" from Alabama. A lovely version of poor Jack's ordeal.
"The Lady" from Richmond, Virginia: An eerie, dark tale of madness.
"The Bell Witch" from Adams, Tennessee: Who doesn't know this folktale?

The collection becomes even more beautiful and atmospheric by the black and white illustrations, drawn in a very attractive style, absolutely fitting to each story. The writing is simple but very effective and captures the distinctive Southern speech and the haunting feeling of the region. I enjoyed every page of this book and I look forward to try my luck with as many volumes of the series as I can find.

"And sometimes,” he continued, looking at me, “you can see Blackbeard’s headless ghost floating on the surface of the water, or swimming around and around and around Teach’s Hole, glowing just underneath the water, searching for his head. For Blackbeard is as proud in death as he was in life, and he doesn’t want to meet the devil or his crewmates in hell without a head on his shoulders.” show less

I was not expecting to see this book at a Half Priced Books in Atlanta Georgia, but my mother is bloody obsessed with Yellowstone and I had been there when I was very young (young enough that I have like one memory of waiting for a geyser to erupt and being really upset because I was bored and couldn't really do anything due to youth or anything) so I picked it up.

I don't remember anyone mentioning any ghosts so all these stories were new to me and some of them were great fun and show more interesting. I wonder how many are true? show less