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Haunted Heartland
by
A fleeting figure dressed in a white party dress roams the streets of southwest Chicago. A long-dead Iowa college student treads the staircase in an old building. A ghostly, plaid-shirted workman plays peek-a-boo with a ticket seller in a Minnesota theater. A phantom wolf prowls Ohio's Jackson and Pike Counties.
For decades, journalist Michael Norman has been tracking down ...more
For decades, journalist Michael Norman has been tracking down ...more
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Paperback, 504 pages
Published
October 10th 1988
by Grand Central Publishing
(first published 1985)
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I read this when I was younger. Some creepy stories.
I remember then one about the hand print that was permenately on a window and could be cleaned off. Another of a lady on the side of the road, she was really a ghost. And another about a really scary house with ghosts.
I remember then one about the hand print that was permenately on a window and could be cleaned off. Another of a lady on the side of the road, she was really a ghost. And another about a really scary house with ghosts.
A nice little collection of "spooky" stories. Mostly ghost stories, things I could see being told around a campfire. I don't know what to think about ghosts, but that doesn't really matter. The ghost stories weren't the ones that really weirded me out. The story about the unexplained fires and spontaneous combustion freaked me out. The story about the psychic detective was especially interesting. And the stories about weird reincarnations and body-switching REALLY freak me out.
There's no way to ...more
There's no way to ...more
A large collection; divided state by state, of ghost stories from across the American Midwest. These stories are written along the lines of local folklore and legends. This is not a bad thing; but if you are looking for a more scientific analysis of ghostly phenomena, I would take a pass on this book.
But it is a lively and entertaining book, lots of stories, lots of local history tidbits. With a healthy suspension of disbelief, this is an enjoyable volume.
But it is a lively and entertaining book, lots of stories, lots of local history tidbits. With a healthy suspension of disbelief, this is an enjoyable volume.
I really had fun reading this. Yes, it's dated (the book was published in the mid 80's) and the stories are primarily from the 1800's to the mid 1900's, but that doesn't make them any less creepy or entertaining. I appreciated how the authors separated the stories into the states they came from, and the states were in alphabetical order. The stories weren't written very well, but they didn't feel repetitive or stale. Every one felt new and fresh, and I was never bored or wanted to stop reading-
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Aug 19, 2008
Meen
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Um, ghost story historians?
Recommended to Meen by:
It was a Freecycle & it will be moving on!
Update: Nope, I just can't do it. This is now the second book that I am purposefully not finishing. I was just looking through some other folks' shelves, and you know, there are just too many good books to get to. Or even not so good books, just not fucking Midwesterny BORING books.
About 1/4 of the way through: I am reading this book now 'cause I wanted something not-too-strenuous but scary to read before I go to sleep. But it's just not scary. It's basically just recounting ghost stories from ...more
About 1/4 of the way through: I am reading this book now 'cause I wanted something not-too-strenuous but scary to read before I go to sleep. But it's just not scary. It's basically just recounting ghost stories from ...more
I remember kids checking this book out of the library in elementary school. In an attempt to get into the Halloween spirit this year, I checked it out again. I think these stories were much scarier in the third grade. The stories aren't particularly well written, although some are curious indeed. And it is always neat when you recognize a nearby site mentioned (for me the Summit mansion in St. Paul). Still, I ended up getting bored and returning it to the library...Maybe I will read the rest of
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This was a fun read, full of very scary stories!
This collection is best read with lights on and will leave goosebumps long after the last page is turned. The stories are based on actual events.
Aside from an annoying addiction to exclamation points, the authors write well--so why do I feel the results are lacklustre? Somehow the stories are too cozy, too undisturbing. The problem is not one of content, but one of style: Hauck has covered some of the same hauntings, and his accounts have a kick which eludes Scott and Norman, partly because he does not try to spin them out into short stories, but also because he knows how to highlight a dramatic detail: for instance, in telling about the
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It's October so it's time for scary books about things which go bump in the night.
I wasn't up for a heavy read (The Exorcist, for example). I needed something light and easy-to-pick-up-where-I-left-off. This fit the bill.
The stories are brief and cover America's heartlands. Some of the stories are old legends; others are (relatively) new encounters. A few were good enough to make me put the book down.
I liked the mix. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a nice book of scary stories ...more
I wasn't up for a heavy read (The Exorcist, for example). I needed something light and easy-to-pick-up-where-I-left-off. This fit the bill.
The stories are brief and cover America's heartlands. Some of the stories are old legends; others are (relatively) new encounters. A few were good enough to make me put the book down.
I liked the mix. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a nice book of scary stories ...more
This is a neat little collection of places in the Midwest that had odd things happen in them. A lot of the stories are centered on ghost/ poltergeist activity, or mysterious things that happened at some point in time like a spontaneous combustion. But there is a story in here that talks about 'The Light" by Watersmeet. Well, it's the exact same thing in another state :). None of the stories are really spooky or evil. A lot are innocent haunts involving civil war soldiers and normal thumps and
...more
Haunted Heartland By Beth Scott and Micheal Norman is a collection of spooky stories accumulated from the best part of America, The Midwest. Throughout the collection you will see the specific flavor that the Author broadcasts unto the reader as in some stories it will be creepy and detailed about some ghost then on another story the Author will switch to an almost comedic and nonchalant account of the haunting's being depicted in that story. It's a perfect read for October and I recommend it to
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Since this is a collection of stories, I have not read the entire book. Most of the stories were just fun to read but there were a few that really creeped me out. One of the stories was about a haunted house in northern Wisconsin. This house was profiled in Life magazine back in the early 80's and there was a picture of the house. I remembered back then being creeped out just looking at that house!
A good, entertaining collection of ghost stories and legends from the Midwest. Stories are organized by state and are based on published reports, oral histories, and testimony of participants or their descendants. The authors are candid in their purpose to merely document - not prove or disprove - the veracity of the tales. A recommended read for those interested in local history, or "true" ghost stories.
This is a pretty good ghost story book. I pick it up from time to time, usually aroud halloween or when the weather decides to turn just a tad bit cooler and its good to scare yourself. Sometimes though, this book gets into the history of the place more than it really needs to and I find my mind wandering. I read these for light reading, not for a history!
If you love to tell ghost stories, watching hauntings on tv , THIS BOOK is For YOU! Each tell is based upon a family's true life experience with the OTHER SIDE. With all the chills and thrills and things that creep by our bed while we sleep at night, this book will definitely have you turning on ALL THE LIGHTS as your reading it.
The stories in this book are interesting but I don't think any of them will really stick with me.
Boring. More historical than haunted. The places written about are too popular and for for generations have been know as being "haunted". More folk tale than anything of substance.
Haunted Heartland by Beth Schott and Michael Norman is a collection of stories that are related in an almost newspaper like form; they are not expressed (other than an annoying use of exclamation points) to raise suspense or thrills, but merely related in a straightforward manner. On the other hand, although there is a fairly extensive bibliography, they are not actually documented for any purpose than to show people told them. The authors even claim not to know whether any of this material is
...more
Maybe more like 3.5 stars. I love ghost stories, but there is almost too much here to process; by the end of the book I had fatigue. The tales are couched in much detail, but it’s not clear how the authors know these details or whether they are embellishing for the sake of atmosphere. And in some cases there is hardly anything worth reporting aside from one or two odd incidents. There is at least one story that I felt sure was entirely made up, not by these authors but by the owners of the house
...more
Brief writeups make this fun to dip into. A good bibliography, so you can read the sources yourself. Bought this to read on an airplane trip (worked well: the stories are interesting, but the book doesn't require a lot of concentration); now I read a handful of stories when life seems just a little too tame.
This is a nice collection of haunted tales that is part of a collection. Haunted Heartland, Haunted America, Historic Haunted America,and Haunted Heritage (forgive me I may have missed one). I love a good ghost story and this book fits the bill. Some of the stories are a bit more gripping than others but it is arranged nicely and overall is a great collection.
Finally finished!! Took me forever. I lost the book in the move and then well... It just took forever. Fun read!
great book of ghost stories! Now hubby wants me to read it to him. can't wait to start it again.
A delightful collection of ghost stories and mysterious happenings. Most of the stories are from the late 1800s and early to mid 1900s.
This book is very well written. The author did a good job writing out how the bone-chilling stories played out.
Spooky, creepy, ghostly tales to keep you up at night. The perfect read for Halloween or on a dark and stormy night.
The first time I read this book was in October of 1990. I was home alone on a windy,rainy evening. I'm sure the atmosphere added a bit to the stories, but I've re-read this several times since that night and it always causes me to look over my shoulder for nights afterward. I would love to see the ghostly image of Lincoln's funeral train, or the railroad man with his lantern on Brewery Hill.
A great collection of folklore from the American Midwest full of unexplainable, spine-tingling tales that will stay with you long after you finish the book...from Resurrection Mary to the Wendigo to The Levitation of Archie Collins, there is always another deliciously eerie tale waiting at the turn of the page.
I really like a good thriller, but I have to say, I didn't think the short stories in this book were scary at all. There are a lot of short stories containing "ghostly" sightings and paranormal activities mainly in the early 1900's. The only thing that really kept my interest is that there are a few stories that supposedly happened close to where I live. Other than that... not too impressed.
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