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Haunted America Star Spangled Supernatur

by Marvin Kaye (Editor)

Other authors: Arnold M. Anderson (Contributor), Isaac Asimov (Contributor), L. Frank Baum (Contributor), Ambrose Bierce (Contributor), Algernon Blackwood (Contributor)44 more, Robert Bloch (Contributor), Anthony Boucher (Contributor), Carole Bugge (Contributor), Willa Cather (Contributor), Mary Counselman (Contributor), August Derleth (Contributor), Helen Eustis (Contributor), Mary Freeman (Contributor), Frances Garfield (Contributor), Edward Gorey (Cover artist), Nathaniel Hawthorne (Contributor), Edward Hoch (Contributor), Robert E. Howard (Contributor), Bernhardt Hurwood (Contributor), Washington Irving (Contributor), Carl Jacobi (Contributor), Henry James (Contributor), Marvin Kaye (Contributor), Saralee Kaye (Editor), Henry Kuttner (Contributor), Jr. Leiber, Fritz (Contributor), Frank Belknap Long (Contributor), H. P. Lovecraft (Contributor), Barry N. Malzberg (Contributor), Don Marquis (Contributor), Richard Matheson (Contributor), Randall Mize (Designer), Ogden Nash (Contributor), William F. Nolan (Contributor), Edgar Poe (Contributor), Bertha Runkle (Contributor), Jessica Salmonson (Contributor), Mark Schorer (Contributor), Darrell Schweitzer (Contributor), C. H. Sherman (Contributor), Larry Siegel (Contributor), Henry Slesar (Contributor), Henderson Starke (Contributor), James Thurber (Contributor), Mark Twain (Contributor), Manly Wellman (Contributor), Edith Wharton (Contributor), Edward White (Contributor), Donald Wollheim (Contributor)

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Classic and contemporary ghost tales from five regions of the United States are presented.
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I've had this anthology on my bookshelf since I was a teen, and it has some pretty big names in literature (Isaac Asimov, Willa Cather, Henry James, H. P. Lovecraft, and many more).

Nearly thirty years later, I felt like re-reading it for the Halloween season.

It was a good distraction from the horrors of American politics, but the stories were a mixed bag, and I'll probably pass it along now.

Note that this whole book can be borrowed from the Internet Archive. I'll also include a few links to stories I especially liked that are in the public domain.

Since I haven't read any ghost stories or horror stories for a while, I steeled myself to be scared, but actually found it much harder as a 40-year-old to suspend my disbelief than when I was 13. I also felt more familiar with the genre tropes, so some things that would have amazed me or frightened me as a teenager felt tired to me now.

The stories are organized by U.S. region, starting with New England. I won't review every story, but I did have some favorites. In this section, "Victoria" by Ogden Nash stood out for its brevity and creepiness--a young lady at a girls' school dares to go read a witch's headstone. "The Romance of Certain Old Clothes" by Henry James is a bit of a flowery old story about love, sibling rivalry, and supernatural justice.

In The East, "The Girl with the Beckoning Eyes" by Bernhardt J. Hurwood had some uncomfortable truth in it--how a young person's obsession with a love interest, in this story's case an undead one, can go wrong. I read of a real case in the news recently of an AI bot associated with a young man's suicide, which had eerie parallels to this fictional story. "Artemisia's Mirror" by Bertha Runkle was another in a more Victorian style infused with romance, mystery, and family history--it remains one of my favorites in the collection.

The section on The South didn't yield any particular favorites for me, but I will say southern writers definitely have an edge on the creepiness factor. I don't know what all it is--maybe echoes of war, or the thought of driving around some of the emptier parts of the southern countryside.

Some of the stories under The West category, on the other hand, were in my opinion some of the best overall (although my opinion is biased, living in Washington state). "The Rider on the Pale Horse" (published elsewhere as "Mr. Death and the Redheaded Woman") by Helen Eustis had dialect done well (not easy to do) and a comical, yet moving story about a budding romance with Death. "Gibbler's Ghost" by William F. Nolan is the comedy of a megastar haunted by a ghost tied to a family tragedy who, hilariously, only appears when the star is trying to have sex. "They Bite" by Anthony Boucher is one of the most truly creepy stories in the collection--the protagonist deserves what he gets, but the horror of... weird brown mummy-things... little... with the teeth... you see them in the corner of your eye... (shivers). "Miracle at Chimayo" by Carole Buggé is a sad, gentle story taking place near the Sangre de Cristo mountains--another one related to family history and also faith (in a non-corny way) which I liked. Finally "Slaughter House" by Richard Matheson is a masterful story of two close brothers who buy a house on the cheap, followed by their discovery of its haunting that builds to a crescendo of horror.

In The Midwest section, "Dumb Supper" by Henderson Starke was the saddest and creepiest to me (I think there is something about girls, cliques, and witchcraft that especially creeps me out). A cruel group of girls convinces the new girl in town to perform a "dumb supper," in which she bakes cornbread with some backwards directions, serves it silently, and is supposed to see a living ghost that will reveal the face of her future husband. Instead, the process reveals something the girl feared, but did not expect...

Overall, the anthology is worth a read and is interesting in that it collects a lot of short stories that are hard to find anywhere else. I'm glad it's available through the Internet Archive. ( )
  word.owl | Nov 12, 2024 |
4/7/22
  laplantelibrary | Apr 7, 2022 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Kaye, MarvinEditorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Anderson, Arnold M.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Asimov, IsaacContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Baum, L. FrankContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bierce, AmbroseContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Blackwood, AlgernonContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bloch, RobertContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Boucher, AnthonyContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bugge, CaroleContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Cather, WillaContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Counselman, MaryContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Derleth, AugustContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Eustis, HelenContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Freeman, MaryContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Garfield, FrancesContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Gorey, EdwardCover artistsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Hawthorne, NathanielContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Hoch, EdwardContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Howard, Robert E.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Hurwood, BernhardtContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Irving, WashingtonContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Jacobi, CarlContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
James, HenryContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Kaye, MarvinContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Kaye, SaraleeEditorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Kuttner, HenryContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Leiber, Jr., FritzContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Long, Frank BelknapContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Lovecraft, H. P.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Malzberg, Barry N.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Marquis, DonContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Matheson, RichardContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Mize, RandallDesignersecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Nash, OgdenContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Nolan, William F.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Poe, EdgarContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Runkle, BerthaContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Salmonson, JessicaContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Schorer, MarkContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Schweitzer, DarrellContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Sherman, C. H.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Siegel, LarryContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Slesar, HenryContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Starke, HendersonContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Thurber, JamesContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Twain, MarkContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Wellman, ManlyContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Wharton, EdithContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
White, EdwardContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Wollheim, DonaldContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
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Classic and contemporary ghost tales from five regions of the United States are presented.

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***COURTESY OF TWOBEARS BOOKS*** American ghosts and hauntings abound in this collection of blood-red, bone-white, and cold-blue stories. You'll meet the ghost of George Washington, the headless horseman of Paoli, a haunted football game, and a man who collects Poe. The Mudville ballplayer, Casey, gets a chance to redeem himself. A drunken cowboy commists murder and is brought to justice, but not by judge and jury. And a in a dark Boston museum, scientists attempt to reanimate an ancient mummy. The all star authors include Issac Asimov, L. Frank Baum, Ambrose Bierce, Robert Bloch, Willa Cather, Helen Eustis, H.P. Lovecraft, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Kuttner, Fritz Lieber, Washington Irving, Richard Matheson, Ogden Nash, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, and Edith Wharton. These classic and contemporary tales are drawn from five broad regions of the United States: New England, the East, the South, the West, and the Midwest. There's also "The Midnight Tourist's Guide to Haunted America," a specially compilled directory to haunted sites in each of the fifty states.
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