Ghost Stories?

Question

Has anyone read any good real ghost stories out there? I'm looking for a good read and having a hard time finding one that is good and will keep my interest.

Answer 1

The Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. The book is very scary. Hill is Stephen King's son.

Answer 2

Usually, every major town and city will have a book about its ghosts published somewhere. You might be able to find a good book of ghost stories in the library or at the County Historical Society or something similar. Sometimes the writing is so-so, but what makes it fun is that you've actually BEEN to those places.

For some reason, the book about the ghosts of Lincoln Nebraska sticks in my mind. Also, there was a book about ghosts in various British castles that was a really good one. Speaking of Lincoln, there are a lot of great ghost stories surrounding President Lincoln (and in the White House, in general). Hope that helps, and those shivers down your spine keep you nice and cool this summer!

Answer 3

James Reynolds published a few collections of ghost stories. They're supposedly true stories and folk tales from Ireland, but told in Reynolds own way. "Ghosts in Irish Houses" is by far the better of the two I've read ("Ghosts in American Houses" is the other one, but it's nowhere near as good). Some of the stories in it are awesome! One in particular ("The Bloody Stones of Kerrigan's Keep") lists numerous incidents where people have encountered the ghosts, and many of said meetings were fatal. Makes me want to visit Ireland and try to find these places he describes (all except Kerrigan's Keep, that is, LOL).

And, of course, Jay Anson's "The Amityville Horror" is marketed as a true story. Don't know if it is in fact true, but let me tell you, if I'd moved into that house and half the stuff that happens in the book happened to me, I'd have been gone long before the Lutzes decided to split. Creepy. And even if it's not true, it's still a good read for someone who's looking to raise their pulse with the printed word; it rose mine a few times, LOL.

Answer 4

Ruth Ann Musick has edited two fine collections of "true" ghost stories, "Telltale Lilac Bush" and "Coffin Hollow." Musick would place advertisements in local newspapers announcing a planned visit to the town and asking for paid interviews with anyone who had had a supernatural experience or had a close relative with such an experience. After going around West Virginia, she organized her material and published about 100 short tales in "Telltale Lilac Bush." She then repeated the same process in Kentucky, Virginia, and North Carolina, resulting in "Coffin Hollow." Both paperbacks are easily available for under ten dollars apiece from Abebooks.

What I like about the Musick collections is the fact that being edited versions of oral transcriptions, they are ideal for telling aloud.

These are ghost stories. For serial killers with axes, go somewhere else. Don't like short stories? I'll bet that you'll leave either of these collections with a half dozen stories you can't wait to spring on friends.

Answer 5

Ghosts Among Us by Leslie Rule