Haunted Pennsylvania: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Keystone State

Stackpole Haunted Series

by Mark Nesbitt, Patty A. Wilson

A collection of frightening stories, including the Civil War ghosts of Gettysburg, spirits at John Brown's tannery, the fiddling ghost of Potter County, hauntings at the Eastern State Penitentiary, the mysterious indelible handprint, and many more.

Genres: Paranormal, Ghosts, History, Nonfiction, Ghost Stories, Reference

135 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

Mark Nesbitt was a National Park Service Ranger/Historian for five years at Gettysburg before starting his own research and writing company. Since then he has published fourteen books including the national award-winning Ghosts of Gettysburg series. His stories have been seen on The History Channel, A&E, The Discovery Channel, The Travel Channel, Unsolved Mysteries, and numerous regional television shows and heard on Coast to Coast AM, and regional radio. In 1994, he created the commercially successful Ghosts of Gettysburg Candlelight Walking Tours

Reviews

[Jeannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an elementary introduction to the various hauntings throughout the state of Pennsylvania, "Haunted Pennsylvania" is a suitable read: as much more, it's unfortunately far too basic. Coverage of reported phenomena across the state is decidedly focused on the hot bed of paranormal activity in Gettsyburg, with further emphasis placed upon Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. Sadly, this leaves a vast portion of the state entirely overlooked, including the capital region in Dauphin and the farmlands of Lancaster. Furthermore, the text, while weighted toward specific, well-known locales (i.e. Eastern State Penitentiary, Gettysburg, etc.), reads like a C-grade high school research paper, complete with horrible editing (Baker's Mansion becomes "Baker's Manson" for several paragraphs). Overlooking the cheesy, digitally-rendered photographs (see cover) throughout the book is a must, as is expecting any detailed, original reporting. Look at "Haunted PA" is exactly what it is: a barest of bones introduction for the curious of all ages or a fun read for your middle-schooler. Happy Hauntings!

[Dennis Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book is excellent and contains all of the elements that make for a good book of true ghost stories. The history of the haunted location is well covered as are the possible reasons for the haunt but at the same time the background information doesn't overwhelm the story. The historical information given seems to be accurate as well and nothing detracts from this kind of book more than haphazard historical details that are obviously wrong. In the first half of the book there are also numerous recent eyewitness accounts of the activity in question and those accounts lend credibility to a story more than any other single element. The author who provides such accounts to his/her readers is an author who does the necessary leg work to track down these witnesses thus proving to me that they are sincere in their approach to this subject.

Unfortunately the second half of the book is almost a mirror opposite of the first half. In the second half of the book the reader will find old legends that are hardly ghost stories at all and recent eyewitness accounts are as rare as hen's teeth. These stories tend to conclude with lines that begin with "Many people believe" or "Perhaps" and leave the reader with the feeling of hearing a spooky story from their grandfather that was intended to scare rather than inform someone who is seriously interested in the subject. Even in the first half of the book the stories tended to be rather short but there was a lot packed into those short stories. In the second half even the longer stories fell rather flat. The difference in the two halves of this book just could not be more pronounced.

[Mars G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there was some interesting and valuable information in this book, it seemed to give a lot of context and not a lot of actual ghost stories. Couple that with the fact that there was some eyebrow raising (the "Native American accent" -- yikes!), I'd suggest you skip this and find something a little more factual than sensational.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. Pennsylvania is a big state but this book covers it in sections and covers a lot of areas. Being near Philadelphia I was surprised at how many places are now open to the public. This book isn’t just about documented haunting but give the historical context as well. I learned a lot of interesting history tidbits.

[Elena Santangelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read for an October evening. Nesbitt knows how to make ghost stories entertaining. I knew several of these stories from other volumes, but there were some intriguing ones I hadn't heard before.

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains a nice variety of paranormal accounts.

Kudos Mark Nesbitt & Patty A. Wilson!

[Alyssa Boxer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice collection of ghost stories.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading about ghosts and their haunts from all over the world. This book did a good job of presenting interesting paranormal cases from all over the state of Pennsylvania. There was a fair amount of information concerning Gettysburg, but that would be expected. I also liked the way the author compiled different versions of the urban legends and presented them instead of choosing the most popular one.

If you are into the paranormal and looking for some real life places, this book is a good beginning point.

[Radiance · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love ghost stories and was tickled that there were entire chapters on both of my home towns--Philadelphia and State College. That being said the book is pretty cheesy and not exactly the most compelling or comprehensive list of narratives. But it is an easy, quick read for folks who love ghost stories.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ghost stories from Pennsylvania.

[Joanne Pollock · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book! quick and easy read. great for a fun, relaxing evening to entertain yourself with.