Many Books of Ghost Tales, Part Two

Charleston Ghosts, by Margaret Rhett Martin (University of South Carolina Press, 1963)
Ghosts of the Carolinas, by Nancy Roberts (University of South Carolina Press, 1962)
The Haunted South, by Nancy Roberts (University of South Carolina Press, 1988)
North Carolina Ghosts and Legends, by Nancy Roberts (University of South Carolina Press, 1959, 1991)
Ghosts of the Southern Mountains and Appalachia, by Nancy Roberts (University of South Carolina Press, 1988)

We’re fascinated by what’s gone before us, learning from history so that we can grow for the future. However, there’s one area of our cultural history that both intrigues us and amuses us, a facet of belief that some take seriously, some refuse to accept, and no two people can agree upon.

Ghosts. Call them spirits, haints, poltergeists, phantasms, shades, apparitions, ghosts, spooks, or what-have-you, there’s no doubt that the average person loves a good ghost story. What’s better than turning the lights down on a dark and stormy night, huddling close together under the blankets, and telling stories about things that go bump in the night? Who hasn’t swapped a good spook story around a campfire at least once in their life?

The Carolinas, Appalachians, and the South in general are some of the oldest settled parts of America, and as such, they have a long and rich tradition to draw upon, dating all the way back to the first folks to brave the mountains and wilderness of the region. It took a special, determined, stubborn kind of person to make a go at living in this area, and for whatever reason, the Carolinas have produced a great many ghost stories.

Nancy Roberts, well-known for her numerous collections of ghost lore and folklore, has become known as the “First Lady of American Folklore” and the “custodian of the twilight zone” as a result of her decades-long endeavor to share the mysteries and enigmas of the past with the readers of the present. In books like The Haunted South, North Carolina Ghosts and Legends, Ghosts of the Southern Mountains and Appalachia, and Ghosts of the Carolinasshe has gathered together dozens of tales of hauntings, each one lovingly and thoroughly rendered in the voice of a true storyteller. She doesn’t just tell ghosts stories, she reenacts the events leading up to the ghosts, be it a hanging, a murder, a desperate chase, a bitter slave striking his master, or what-have-you.

Now, I’d go into more details about the stories contained within these books, but it’s nearing 3 AM, and a cold chill’s running down my back. I’ve got an active imagination, and the last thing I need is to start telling ghost stories before going to bed. I -like- my sleep, thank you. And were I to open up one of these books, and read even one story, I’d probably be tossing and turning. Why, if I were to take Ghosts of the Carolinas, and flip it open to a random page, and recount “The Witch Cat,” the tragic story of a miller, his wife, and a witch in the form of a cat, compete with its accompanying picture of a cat that looks just like my own tabby….

Thanks. Now I’m awake, and -not- looking behind me. These stories have power.

Roberts is a trained storyteller, and one made expert through her decades of chronicling the supernatural in her nearly two dozen books. Any story you choose to read is likely the one that’ll send a shiver down your spine, and make the hairs on the back of your neck rise.

I hope that’s my cat behind me. This house isn’t that old, but still, Virginia’s in the South, and you never know….

It doesn’t matter which book you pick up, really. They’re all the same in some fashion, each collecting a number of spooky tales from a specific region, and retelling them in Roberts’ unique style, each one accompanied by a mood-setting photograph, dark black and white pictures of fuzzy mansions, burnt-out houses, shadowy riders, faces in the trees, and so forth. The photos are all attributed to Bruce Roberts, whose relationship to Nancy Roberts isn’t exactly spelled out. Frankly, his use of shadows and light is downright eerie, with some pieces, like the transparent woman descending the staircase, doing as much to set the mood as the words do. No story is more than a few pages, making it easy to read just one before putting it down and looking for a warm blanket, or someone to cuddle for comfort.

All four of the above books, by the way, are available from the University of South Carolina Press, and come with a uniform identifying look, making it easy to group them together on your shelf. The USC Press seems to specialize in these sorts of books, and as a result, they do good work.

Just thinking about the stories I’ve flipped through and read has made me wish I’d waited until daylight to write this review. But that wouldn’t have been appropriate, no. I -know- that that’s just the wind in the trees outside, but for just a second….

The last book in the set I was given is Margaret Rhett Martin’s Charleston Ghosts, and if, by now, you can’t figure out the subject, go back to the top and start reading again. Martin looks at, what else, ghosts of the Charleston, West Virginia area. Now, while Roberts takes the stance that she’s just telling stories, stories that happened to people once upon a time and may or may not be real, Martin firmly claims that these were real people, that they lived in real houses, and that, suspension of disbelief willing, these are real ghosts.

Martin flat out states that she believes in ghosts, and has actually seen one, the subject of the first story of the book.

Is she right? You be the judge. Martin is an adept storyteller, with a keen sense of dialect and dialogue. However, she’s not quite as skillful or smooth as Roberts, in my opinion. Also, the lack of photographs, after seeing the power they bring to Roberts’ books, loses points for Martin overall. But this is just a stylistic complaint on my part. I like atmosphere. I want to look over my shoulder as I go to bed, and dive under the covers, and think of anything but ghosts, knowing that the effort will turn my mind towards what’s scraping at the window.

I’ve scared myself enough. Now it’s your turn. Find these books, read a few stories, and see if they have the same power over you. Just a few stories, mind you. These are to be savored, not devoured. Maybe read them aloud, with a few friends, on a night when the moon is full and the wind is strong. Just don’t read them to your children….

Sleep tight. Sweet dreams.

I hope my wife’s not asleep.


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