Customer Reviews:
 Slighty disappointed... January 12, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This was more of a historical account of Massachusetts's ghosts. A number of the stories are well known (to ghost fanatics, that is,) and offer no new information. If you are expecting a collection of stories, compiled from first-hand accounts of witnesses, you will be disappointed.
 A WHIRLWIND GHOST TOUR OF MASSACHUSETTS November 3, 2005
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
I'm not sure you'd get too much of an argument if you were to state that New England is the most haunted region of the United States, and certainly leading the charge with its colorful history of pirates, Indian wars, witchcraft, and puritanical oppression would be Massachusetts. "Haunted Massachusetts" gives readers 128 pages with dozens of tales of hauntings and other weird phenomena culled from throughout the state and separated by region. Books like this are very important in keeping alive local legends and lore and author Cheri Revai gives readers a lot of bang for their buck.
While I've read a number of books on ghosts from the Massachusetts and Boston areas, most of the stories in the book were unknown to me. For example there is the story of "The Bloody Pit" a five mile rail tunnel through Hoosac Mountain that even Native Americans avoided. It's estimated that as many as 200 men may have lost their lives in the 1800's as the tunnel was constructed, leading to reports of groans, cries, and whispers from within the tunnel, and spectral lanterns being seen moving about as if the laborers are still hard at work.
Then there is the story of the Charles Haskell, a fishing schooner that was cursed before it ever set sail when a man slipped and broke his neck. Sailors, always a suspicious lot, were hesitant to sail on the ship after this. But what happened when it finally went out was beyond even their worst fears as the men saw the ghosts of fisherman climbing into the ship from the sea itself, empty sockets for eyes, as they went about fishing before disappearing back into the sea. Small wonder that soon the Charles Haskell was returned to port, never to sail again.
Witchcraft has been a part of the fabric of Massachusetts for well over 300 years. One eerie tale relates the story of Margaret Lesson, "old Meg" as she was called and reputed to be a witch. After an argument with a couple of soldiers in the 1700's, the soldiers soon found themselves harassed by a crow. Suspecting witchcraft, they filled their weapons with the silver buttons off their uniforms and shot the bird. They would later find out that old Meg died of the very same wounds.
There's the haunted old Hornbine School, built in 1645 and still standing today where people swear that the stern headmaster is still giving out lessons to the children and then the Shrieking English Woman, killed by pirates off Marblehead and still crying out in pain for help over two centuries later.
Some stories will be familiar, such as that of the House of the Seven Gables, made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne who spent a great deal of time in the house, the oldest wooden mansion in all of New England. And then there is the terrifying home of Lizzie Borden in Fall River, MA, where Lizzie allegedly hacked her father and step-mother to death but would be found not guilty. Today the home is a rather exclusive Bed & Breakfast that may be still haunted by the Bordens who have been known to tuck guests into their beds at night.
The writing is light and to the point. Revai doesn't offer opinions on the stories, that's not her goal. She succeeds in tantalizing readers with dozens of weird and chilling stories from all over Massachusetts. A Comprehensive bibliography lists the books and online sources that she used in putting the book together. It's really a wonderful read and highly recommended for fans of the genre.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
|
