adriennefoster's Full Review: Lynda Lee Macken - Adirondack Ghosts: Stories of S...
The Adirondack Mountains are considered part of the Appalachians, even though they're really geographically related to the Laurentian Highlands of Canada, and can be found in the northeast section of New York state. Considering the major lake of the area was named after a famous French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, white men have been occupying the locale since at least the 17th century and before that Native Americans found it a convenient warpath.* The locals have had plenty of opportunity to cultivate their own provincial folklore and Adirondack Ghosts provides some of those stories; however, while it's intriguing learning the legends, it could be juicier.
This slim volume contains reports of 19 known accounts of 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 first edition 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.
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*Interesting side note: the Indian word Adirondack ("tree-eater") was a derogatory term used by the Iroquois when referring to their "backward" neighbors.
Originally posted at Amazon.com on March 19, 2001. Minor revision done for Epinions.
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