Charleston Ghosts

Rating:
Summary: An exceptional book of history and paranormal
Review: I first read this book as a child and when my paperback copy was destroyed I purchased a new hard cover copy. I still pick this book up on occasion for a wonderful trip back in time and into a touch of the spirit world.

Rating:
Summary: Too much Charleston; too little ghosts.
Review: There is a great deal about the history and folklore of Charleston and the low country in this book. If you are after folklore this is your book. On the other hand if it is ghost stories you crave you might want to pass. Many of the stories start out with several pages relating to the history of the haunting and finish with only a paragraph about the ghost itself. For example the story often ends with a sentence like, "The young girl's spirit still roams......".

The writing style is very good and Mrs. Martin's love for Charleston is very evident. I realize that the style of writing these type of books has changed a great deal since this book came out so I won't be too hard on it. The idea of presenting a ghost story as fact and interviewing those who claim to have seen the ghost wasn't in style in 1963. Still I bought this book expecting much more ghost and a lot less folklore and history. If you are really into ghosts there are much better books out there dealing with Charleston.

Rating:
Summary: Fun read for people interested in the paranormal
Review: Written and first published almost forty years ago, Charleston Ghosts was the product of the late Martin's fervid interest in her hometown's history, particularly the tales of local hauntings and the circumstances that caused the unearthly unrest as recounted over and again by other native Charlestonians. These stories, tales of spurned love (a wealthy society girl rejects love for money and pays the consquences) and rejection (a house servant risks her heart and loses) are as colorful as the city itself.

Pick up a copy of Charleston Ghosts if you are unable to visit the city yet have an interest in Southern history and "otherworldly" things. Martin's retellings of the city's more known legends are fascinating to read, from the frightening "Gray Man" of St. Philip's Episcopal Cemetery to the "Whistling Doctor" who can still be heard--a century after his death!

If you do happen to be in town, take a walking tour and get the book. You just may meet a major character in one of Martin's tales.