Haunted Missouri: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Show Me State by Troy Taylor

This book covered more history than hauntings. Stories are organized by geographical region and cover the state. No sleep lost.

131 pages.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

The last time I read 'A Christmas Carol' was when I was a teenager. Since then, I have seen the play and movie many, many times. I decided that since it was published in 1843, I could get the Christmas season started, and get credit for a 100 year old book if I read it over the Thanksgiving weekend.

And I'm glad I did. It was a completely different experience. For those of you who may not know the story, it is set in Victorian England. Ebenezer Scrooge is a parsimonious, unpleasant old man, whose only love is money. He hates any mention of Christmas. His partner, Jacob Marley, is undeniably dead; he was a kindred spirit with Scrooge. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by Marley's ghost, who implores him to change his ways while he still can, and not suffer his, Marley's, fate. Marley tells him he will be visited by three more spirits.

The first spirit is the ghost of Christmas past, and takes Scrooge back to his childhood and shows him what his life was like at that time. The next spirit is the ghost of Christmas present, and takes him to various celebrations of the upcoming Christmas day. The third spirit, the ghost of Christmas yet to come, shows Scrooge himself on his deathbed, a wretched soul despised by all those around him.

This experience causes Scrooge to change his ways, and become a better person, with love and kindness toward others.

Merry Christmas!


130 pages
Copyright over 100 years ago

Ghost Ships of New England by Christopher Rondina

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Four centuries of history and folklore have laid the groundwork for this book.  There are also ghosts and ships out there.

Print:  174 pages.

Audio:  4 hrs. 10 min.

Haunted Baseball by Mickey Bradley and Dan Gordon

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Lots of things happen in the book all over the baseball world, but there wasn’t another living person around when things happen. 

Audio:  8 hrs. 15 min.

Print:  288 pages.

The Restorer by Amanda Stevens

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

Amelia works as a restorer of cemeteries, but she is also an archeologist.  She can see the ghosts and knows there is a thin line between the living and the dead.  368 pages.

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

Marge recommended this Neil Gaiman title, at this fall's workshop on reading materials especially for boys. It's a quite quirky coming of age/fantasy story, in that the main character, (a boy of course) is raised by some friendly ghosts in the town graveyard after his family is murdered. Gaiman is a talented writer, and the text is enhanced throughout with black and white drawings. Plenty of ghouls and goblins to enliven the usual lessons of growing up; of course the family's murderer is thwarted in the end. 307 pages.