Kentucky's beauty is offset by a violent past of Indian wars, Civil War battles, and the tragic spirits from these conflicts.

A Kentucky native and folk studies scholar presents a collection of haunting legends and stories of spirits from across the Bluegrass State. William Lynwood Montell has spent years documenting Kentucky’s rich legacy of ghostly visitations. Many of the stories were collected from elders by younger generations and are recounted here exactly as they were gathered. This volume introduces spirits such as the Tan Man of Pike County, who trudges invisibly through a house accompanied by the smell of roses, and the famed Gray Lady of Liberty Hall in Frankfort, a houseguest who never left. Montell tells the story of the ghost of Daniel Boone calling upon the statesman Henry Clay shortly before his death. He also recounts the tale of ghouls that haunt the rehearsal house of the band The Kentucky Headhunters. Readers will find accounts of haunted libraries, mansions, log cabins, bathrooms, furniture, hotels, and distilleries, as well as reports of eerie visitations from passed-on grandmothers, husbands, daughters, uncles, cousins, babies, slaves, Civil War soldiers, dogs, sheep, and even wildcats. Almost every county in Kentucky is represented. Though the book emphasizes the stories themselves, Montell offers an introduction discussing how local history, and local character, are communicated across the generations in these colorful stories.

More than evoking chills down the spine and cautious glances over one's shoulder, spooky stories create lasting bonds and memories between friends and family. The tradition of storytelling ties generations together with exciting new tales and familiar folklore that has sparked superstitions and legends. In Kentucky Hauntings: Homespun Ghost Stories and Unexplained History, beloved storytellers Roberta Simpson Brown and Lonnie E. Brown present a thrilling collection of paranormal tales that will appeal to anyone looking for a friendly scare. Weaving together factual accounts of unexplained events, peculiar headlines, and local legends passed down from a time when most homes lacked electricity, Kentucky Hauntings combines stories with commentary on historic customs. From "telling the bees" about a death in the family, to a friendly "fool's errand" practical joke gone horribly wrong, and from terrifying haunted houses to the lifesaving "Bathtub Ghost," readers are transported to a world of age-old superstitions and paranormal experiences. Whether shared around the fire on a crisp autumn night or whispered in a huddle of close friends at a summer sleepover, these eerie stories will thrill and excite anyone who loves a good scare.

Old Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, is the third-largest National Preservation District in the United States and the largest Victorian-era neighborhood in the country. Beneath the balconies and terraces of the district's Gothic, Queen Anne, and Beaux Arts mansions, current residents trade riveting stories about their historic homes. Many of these tales defy rational explanation. When David Dominé moved into one of these houses, he dismissed local rumors of a resident poltergeist named Lucy. However, before long, unnerving, disembodied footsteps and mysterious odors caused him to flee his home in the middle of the night. Since that night, David Dominé not only embraced the possibility of supernatural phenomenon but also turned it into a popular tour series and best-selling collection of books, which have brought new attention to this iconic neighborhood. The book that launched the guided tours, Ghosts of Old Louisville, introduced readers to the hauntingly beautiful Lady of the Stairs and the Widow Hoag, who waits eternally near Fountain Court for a lost child who will never return. These tales of things that go bump in the night not only reveal why Old Louisville is considered the "most haunted neighborhood in America," but also help to preserve this historically and architecturally significant community.

If tree branches scratching at your window on a stormy April night or the hot, sticky oppression of a stifling summer's day puts fear into your heart. Or rustling November leaves, and the chill that sneaks into your bones during the darkened days of winter makes you quiver with anxiety, then reading spooky thrillers shouldn't wait until October. From masterful storytelling duo Roberta and Lonnie Brown comes Spookiest Stories Ever: Four Seasons of Kentucky Ghosts, a creepy collection of tales from their home state. Featuring familiar Kentucky landmarks such as the Palace Theater and the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville and Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, these accounts from across the commonwealth are sure to put a tingle in the reader's spine. These notable stories, including tales of the "chime child" who can see and talk to ghosts, graveside appearances, and the Spurlington Witch of Taylor County, occur in all four seasons and come from every corner of Kentucky. An essential part of the American storytelling tradition, these ghost stories will delight readers who love getting goose bumps all year long.

The bestselling author of "Ghosts Across Kentucky" now presents an all-new collection of amazing ghost stories of the state.

The darkest stories from the nefarious “Castle on the Cumberland” from a former prison guard and paranormal expert. “The place sits on blood as surely as it does on stone and earth.” The Kentucky State penitentiary opened its heavy iron gates to the condemned over 100 years ago—yet many of them, long deceased, still walk its corridors. Noted paranormal researcher Steve E. Asher provides true, first-hand accounts of the paranormal as well as his own personal experiences at the state’s most violent, controversial—and haunted—prison. He uncovers the shocking testimonies of the men and women who have actually worked behind the prison walls and their encounters with the spirits of dead inmates. The compelling facts found inside this book will leave you questioning everything you ever thought possible about life after death.