Kentucky Ghosts

Retelling of ghost tales of Kentucky, including details of architecture, geography and local culture.

Kentucky's beauty is offset by a violent past of Indian wars, Civil War battles, and the tragic spirits from these conflicts.

A Kentucky native and folk studies scholar presents a collection of haunting legends and stories of spirits from across the Bluegrass State. William Lynwood Montell has spent years documenting Kentucky’s rich legacy of ghostly visitations. Many of the stories were collected from elders by younger generations and are recounted here exactly as they were gathered. This volume introduces spirits such as the Tan Man of Pike County, who trudges invisibly through a house accompanied by the smell of roses, and the famed Gray Lady of Liberty Hall in Frankfort, a houseguest who never left. Montell tells the story of the ghost of Daniel Boone calling upon the statesman Henry Clay shortly before his death. He also recounts the tale of ghouls that haunt the rehearsal house of the band The Kentucky Headhunters. Readers will find accounts of haunted libraries, mansions, log cabins, bathrooms, furniture, hotels, and distilleries, as well as reports of eerie visitations from passed-on grandmothers, husbands, daughters, uncles, cousins, babies, slaves, Civil War soldiers, dogs, sheep, and even wildcats. Almost every county in Kentucky is represented. Though the book emphasizes the stories themselves, Montell offers an introduction discussing how local history, and local character, are communicated across the generations in these colorful stories.

A good ghost story can make your hair stand on end, your palms sweat, and your heart race. The bone-chilling collection Tales of Kentucky Ghosts presents more than 250 stories that do just that. In his new book, William Lynwood Montell has assembled an entertaining and diverse array of tales from across the commonwealth that will keep you checking under the bed every night. The first-person accounts in this collection showcase folklore that Montell has drawn from archives, family stories, and oral traditions throughout Kentucky. The stories include that of the ghost bride of Laurel County, who appears each year on the anniversary of her wedding day; the tale of the murdered worker who haunts the Simpson County home of his killer and former employer; and the account of the lost mandolin that plays itself in a house in Graves County. These and many other chilling stories haunt the pages of Tales of Kentucky Ghosts. In the tradition of Montell's previous Kentucky ghost books (Ghosts across Kentucky and Haunted Houses and Family Ghosts of Kentucky), Tales of Kentucky Ghosts brings together a variety of terrifying narratives that not only entertain and frighten but also serve as a unique record of Kentucky's rich heritage of storytelling.

“This wonderful collection of Kentucky ghost stories” is a treasure trove of history, heritage, and commentary on the oral tradition of storytelling (Elizabeth Tucker, author of Haunted Halls). In Kentucky Hauntings, beloved storytellers Roberta Simpson Brown and Lonnie E. Brown present a thrilling collection of paranormal tales that will appeal to anyone looking for a friendly scare. Weaving together factual accounts of unexplained events, peculiar headlines, and local legends passed down from a time when most homes lacked electricity, Kentucky Hauntings combines spooky stories with commentary on historic customs. From "telling the bees" about a death in the family, to a friendly "fool's errand" practical joke gone horribly wrong, and from terrifying haunted houses to the lifesaving "Bathtub Ghost," readers are transported to a world of age-old superstitions and paranormal experiences. Whether shared around the fire on a crisp autumn night or whispered in a huddle of close friends at a summer sleepover, these eerie stories will thrill and excite anyone who loves a good scare.

" Headless visions -- howls and moans -- ghostly ladies dressed in black and white -- a fiddling spirit dancing on the road. Such are the sights and sounds that inhabit the pages of Lynwood Montell's Kentucky Ghosts. This collection is representative of the rich tradition of ghost or "haint" tales passed on through the ages and across cultures as a way of dealing with death and the lore of the spirit world. In retelling the tales, Montell has included details about architecture, geography, and local culture. Each tale is told in the voice of the narrator who believe the story to be true. And, who knows... ?

"Lynwood Montell has collected ghost tales all over the state of Kentucky, from coal mining settlements to river landings, from highways to battlefields. He presents these suspense-filled stories just as he first heard or read them: as bona fide personal experiences or as events witnessed by family members or friends. There are over 250 stories in Ghosts across Kentucky that are set in specific places and times. They include tales of graveyards, haunted dormitories, animal ghosts, and vanishing hitchhikers. Montell describes weird lights, unexplained sounds, felt presences, and disappearing apparitions. Phantom workmen, fallen soldiers, young lovers, and executed criminals appear in these pages, along with the living who chance upon them. Though the focus is on the stories themselves, Montell also includes a chapter explaining our fascination with the supernatural and the deep truths these storytelling traditions reveal about our lives and our pasts.William Lynwood Montell, emeritus professor of folk studies at Western Kentucky University, is the author of several books, including Killings."

The bestselling author of "Ghosts Across Kentucky" now presents an all-new collection of amazing ghost stories of the state.