Product Description

Read the tales with an open mind. They are for pleasure, a bit of paranormal, a little seriousness, and hopefully a laugh or two. If you are a nonbeliever in the supernatural, you may change your skepticism. Then again the author learned that nothing is etched in stone forever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1038479 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 275 pages

Customer Reviews

Graveyard Gossip
The author of this book has apparently traveled all over the Lone Star State visiting cemeteries and collecting ghostly tails. These stories include the obligatory headless ghosts, mystery lights and demonic dogs along with several other interesting types of phenomena. She also includes several chapters dealing with various aspects of the funeral traditions of Texas and these chapters are generally very good. Unfortunately, these chapters are by far the best chapters in the book.

There are a few excellent stories in this book but they are a distinct minority. These stories that contain eyewitness accounts and even some experiences that the author herself had while visiting Texas cemeteries save this book from being a total loss, but not by much. Most of the stories are simply old legends with no proper evidence of any kind presented. This is all the more inexcusable because the author has friends who are ghost hunters. These paranormal investigators provided some of the best material for this book but for some reason the author didn't use nearly enough of their stories.

The author's writing style was flippant at best and she is obviously very fond of horrible puns that are so bad that even I wouldn't use them. She basically treats her subject with so little respect that even the documented stories have very little credibility. I will admit however that she does include some very good photographs, some which contain excellent images of orbs.

This is simply not a book of "real" ghost stories as the title would lead you to believe. As a collection of folklore it isn't bad but even folklore deserves more respect than is to be found in this book. I must however give the author credit for her willingness to visit so many of the cemeteries that she writes about, especially those she visited after dark. If you are looking for little tidbits of Texas lore and legend you might find this book interesting but if true ghost stories are your goal, look elsewhere.

A lot of fun to read
I like to read anything I can about Texas history and this book has a lot of the stories and legends that people don't write about anywhere else. It was a lot of fun to read and it helped me know more about some obscure Texas tales.

Ghosts in the Graveyard: Texas Cemetery Tales
I have the good fortune to be personally acquainted with Ms. Abbott and read bits and pieces of the book prior to publication. She would come back from a cemetery exploration so anxious to get to her computer she wouldn't even say 'hello.' From the orbs she saw to the glowing headstone, she shares her adventures with her audience. She didn't just check out local legends, in most cases she went right to the horse's mouth and tracked the stories on foot. A couple of places left her a bit shaken when dark fell before she'd finished exploring. All part of being a ghost hunter. Great job.