Adirondack Ghosts: Stories of Spirits in New York State's North Country [Paperback]

Although most of the activities seem to revolve around poltergeist activity (objects being moved about, sometimes in sight of the visitor), many are true ghost sightings. Several employees of a restaurant (The Anvil in Fort Edward) experienced objects and noises until they actually witnessed the ghost standing in a doorway. An apparition appeared over the water near Pulpit Rock in Lake Placid several times until divers found a woman's body intact thirty years after she disappeared - at the very same spot (the temperature is frigid). The most harrowing is probably the author witnessing a ghostly apparition hovering over the waters of Big Moose Lake. Grace Brown was drowned there by her lover Chester Gillette in 1906. The story has been made into a novel ("An American Tragedy") and a film ("A Place In The Sun"). This chapter is full of accounts describing odd happenings, electrical appliances not working and many other ghost sightings by employees and guests.

For a relatively short book, there is a large variety of ghost stories ranging from old folklore to modern day terror. All are interesting, but it would have been great to know more about the history of these ghosts in some cases, such as the Grace Brown murder. However, these simply made me want to study more into the history on my own. I recommend you read this by candlelight.

This slim volume contains reports of 19 known hauntings in the region, told in a classic style. The stories include some details of the sightings, peppered with a bit of the history. They're also accompanied by photos, to help visualize the scenes.

The first story includes Author Lynda Lee Macken's own sighting of one of Adirondack's ghosts at Big Moose Lake, an account that was covered on a segment of NBC's UNSOLVED MYSTERIES. Her encounter is about a young man convicted of killing his pregnant lover in one of the most publicized criminal cases of the early 20th century, but Macken reports it is the the woman, as a ghost, who suffers more from his betrayal. At the Anvil Restaurant, a building that originally accommodated a blacksmith, pots and pans bang in the kitchen, radio channels change, and the line for a credit card POS terminal has been severed, all without any living person around to account for the disturbances. The Jane McCrea House was named after a young woman who was brutally murdered and scalped by Native Americans, and some of the phenomena folks have witnessed there made them believe she is still there.

The tales come off rather superficial because of their need for more background material. Sometimes they're weak for not supplying more historical details, others miss more active investigation or author analysis. One of the stories (which is actually a contribution from another writer, John Fadden), an old Native American tale of a skeleton spirit eating a living human, pushes the envelope of credibility even for believers in ghosts. On the other hand, one has to keep in mind that folklore is built on superstition, not believability.

Readers requiring magnifying glasses to read might appreciate that this 2000 book has large type, although its poor copyediting affects its readability in several places. The author occasionally slips in the wrong preposition and the use of pronouns is once or twice misleading.

Regardless, ADIRONDACK GHOSTS is an interesting read. Anyone looking for an introduction to an eclectic perspective on this part of the country should enjoy this book, but look to other sources if something with more depth is desired.