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Haints, Witches, and Boogers: Tales from Upper East Tennessee
Upper East Tennessee is a rugged place with a rich history. It is also a place with more than its share of ghosts and unexplained happenings. Charles Edwin Price has collected twenty stories. The stories run the gamut of the supernatural, from troublesome poltergeists and magical animals to evil witches and ghost lights.
104 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1992
5 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Charles Edwin Price
18 books9 followersCharles Edwin Price has written many books of folklore and mystery that are enjoyed by all ages.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 11, 2020
This is my go to book when I go camping! I have been around the areas where these legends have taken place. This is one of those books I read over and over that will never get old. (Train wreck!) With my hardback copy in my tent at night this book has entertained me for years and years. Must have for Appalachian legends and ghost stories!
August 4, 2024
Haints, Witches, and Boogers: Tales from Upper East Tennessee:
I grew up in the “Tri Cities” region of Virginia and Tennessee in the heart of Southern Appalachia. Folklore is deeply rooted in the area, thanks to the influences of both the Scots Irish and the Cherokee. Every town and city has its ghosts. Naturally, I’ve spent my life enthralled with the history of the area, its folklore, and of course its ghosts.
Charles Edwin Price was a folklorist in Johnson City who in the 1990s published a multitude of books on the subject. His work is invaluable, as he spent his time traveling around to various communities and towns collecting stories from locals. We are lucky to have his books, but it remains disheartening that so many stories are lost to time. He has long since passed away, but his papers are archived at East Tennessee State University’s Archives of Appalachia. ETSU is my Alma mater, and I one day plan to study his papers.
I came across these books as a child in the early 2000s. Back in those days, they were to be found at local fairs and festivals. I’m not sure when I got this book, but it’s signed by the author. I remember pouring over these books as a child, and they scared the heck out of me.
A lot of these stories influenced later adventures in my life. My friends and I would spend many nights in the midnight hours looking for ghosts. From ETSU itself to various haunted cemeteries, houses, and tunnels in Upper East Tennessee. I tell people these days about those witching hour adventures, and people think I’m crazy. Maybe I am.
Anyways, for this fall I set out a bunch of Price’s books to read for Halloween. It looks like I’ve started that journey early. I sat down tonight to read this and read the whole thing in one go. Don’t be too alarmed, the book is just over 100 pages and is very easy to read. It is folklore, after all. I will say, as I sat down to read this, the wind was howling and the rain was coming down in droves. It set the mood.
What I found is that I still love these stories. And yes, they are still pretty scary. Scary maybe because I know of the places mentioned in this book. With an entire chapter being dedicated to ETSU, I’ve in fact spent hours and hours of my life in many of the alleged haunted places. These stories are real to me personally.
Price has a wonderful, folksy, and flowing writing style. The stories are short and executed well. A lot of the stories give bit of background history, which I much appreciated. A lot of the events and people mentioned in them are real like the John Sevier Center Fire in 1989. So, are ghosts real?
Regardless of what you think, ghost stories are an important part of humanity. They appear in all cultures and throughout history. The same motifs are common in all cultures, and that’s fascinating to me. Clearly there’s something there. Some sort of connection to another world, or at least an in between world. Books like this shed some light into that.
In conclusion, I absolutely treasure these books and this one in particular, which is probably the best of them all. This will be part of my collection until the end of my days.
I grew up in the “Tri Cities” region of Virginia and Tennessee in the heart of Southern Appalachia. Folklore is deeply rooted in the area, thanks to the influences of both the Scots Irish and the Cherokee. Every town and city has its ghosts. Naturally, I’ve spent my life enthralled with the history of the area, its folklore, and of course its ghosts.
Charles Edwin Price was a folklorist in Johnson City who in the 1990s published a multitude of books on the subject. His work is invaluable, as he spent his time traveling around to various communities and towns collecting stories from locals. We are lucky to have his books, but it remains disheartening that so many stories are lost to time. He has long since passed away, but his papers are archived at East Tennessee State University’s Archives of Appalachia. ETSU is my Alma mater, and I one day plan to study his papers.
I came across these books as a child in the early 2000s. Back in those days, they were to be found at local fairs and festivals. I’m not sure when I got this book, but it’s signed by the author. I remember pouring over these books as a child, and they scared the heck out of me.
A lot of these stories influenced later adventures in my life. My friends and I would spend many nights in the midnight hours looking for ghosts. From ETSU itself to various haunted cemeteries, houses, and tunnels in Upper East Tennessee. I tell people these days about those witching hour adventures, and people think I’m crazy. Maybe I am.
Anyways, for this fall I set out a bunch of Price’s books to read for Halloween. It looks like I’ve started that journey early. I sat down tonight to read this and read the whole thing in one go. Don’t be too alarmed, the book is just over 100 pages and is very easy to read. It is folklore, after all. I will say, as I sat down to read this, the wind was howling and the rain was coming down in droves. It set the mood.
What I found is that I still love these stories. And yes, they are still pretty scary. Scary maybe because I know of the places mentioned in this book. With an entire chapter being dedicated to ETSU, I’ve in fact spent hours and hours of my life in many of the alleged haunted places. These stories are real to me personally.
Price has a wonderful, folksy, and flowing writing style. The stories are short and executed well. A lot of the stories give bit of background history, which I much appreciated. A lot of the events and people mentioned in them are real like the John Sevier Center Fire in 1989. So, are ghosts real?
Regardless of what you think, ghost stories are an important part of humanity. They appear in all cultures and throughout history. The same motifs are common in all cultures, and that’s fascinating to me. Clearly there’s something there. Some sort of connection to another world, or at least an in between world. Books like this shed some light into that.
In conclusion, I absolutely treasure these books and this one in particular, which is probably the best of them all. This will be part of my collection until the end of my days.
April 23, 2008
My dad worked with the author of this book - somewhere I have an autographed copy.
March 22, 2024
Actually found a few unique stories in this book! Many specters were known by name; another unusual feature.
But this book is still fluff: a fast read without too much substance.
But this book is still fluff: a fast read without too much substance.
July 2, 2016
I'm a huge fan of historical information any day and enjoyed the combined history and legends in this book. I love as actually sad when I got to the end. Short stories tell of haunting a in East Tennessee & the histories of the tales. Bonus added, each story is packed with local history and even some that ultimately affected the history of our nation. Fun read!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews