Boston may be the center of baked beans and higher education, but its revolutionary politics has left imprints on this old U.S. city that it will never completely shake. It is known for its culture, seafood, and history, as well as the Big Dig. It has also been the site of the Massacre and serial murders done by the Strangler. Along with its rich and varied background is an eerie layer that has grown over the centuries and continues to do so. Ghosts of Boston Town gives an intriguing insight of Boston by supplying some of the ghost folklore that has evolved in this wonderful city.

This slim trade paperback has 25 chapters divided into six sections, covering in-town spirits, literary & historic shades, general phenomena, landmarks, the suburbs, and stories from a few Massachusetts towns within a reasonable driving distance from Boston. Each chapter covers a single case and is told in a classic style. Also supplementing the main body of text are acknowledgments, an introduction, author bio, and a few black & white period photos.

As Jim Mackey started his adult life, he believed luck was with him when he found an inexpensive apartment in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood. He later learned that he shared it with a lady ghost named Abby, but she washed his dishes and watered his plants so the situation had its benefits. When he fell in love for the first time, Jim believed Abby saved him from making a big mistake.

Back in the days before the American Revolution, the last anyone ever saw of Peter Rugg and his little daughter alive was when he was returning to his home in Boston from Concord. They had stopped in a favorite tavern in Menotomy (now West Cambridge) for some refreshment. As a storm approached, the innkeeper insisted that the pair stay until it subsided. Rugg grew angry at the innkeeper's concern and bolted. The last known sighting of a rain-drenched father and daughter, traveling through Massachusetts via a horse and rig, was in the early 20th century.

During the 80s and early 90s, 4 Charlesgate, also known as Charlesgate Hall, was used a dormitory for Emerson College. One student noticed an unusual man dressed in black enter the men's room. Out of curiosity, the student followed the stranger and pretended to wash his hands. The student looked under the stall doors and no one was there. A female student was doing her laundry alone in the basement, but someone kept tapping her shoulder. A group of friends were in one room when the door slammed shut and the power cut to all the lights.

Author Holly Mascott Nadler became interested in regional ghost folklore after taking a ghost walk in London. So interested in fact, when she returned to Massachusetts, she determined to begin a walking tour company of her own and her ghost theme was the most popular. This 2002 book is her second on this subject and she does a good job in selecting a variety of true stories taking place in this New England state.

Nadler's made minor changes such as the changing names of some of the people and circumstances, at the subjects' requests, but they make entertaining stories regardless. However, in those stories where real names are used, genealogists might find items of interest if they have ancestors who resided in Massachusetts or, if they're already acquainted with some details they might stumble on a few more. As a direct descendent of some of the people who were involved in the Salem Witch Trials, that was obviously the chapter that intrigued me most. Some of the higher profile names mentioned in this collection of stories are Edgar Allen Poe, Edith Wharton, Nathaniel Hawthorne and John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

As the hotbed for the American Revolution, it's worth noting that it never becomes a major "source" in any of these stories. For instance, there are stories of spectral horses at the Old South Meeting House, arising from abuse of the building by the British after the Boston Tea Party. The military conflicts that are more emphasized are the Civil War and the WWs I and II. However, this leaves the field open for Nadler to put together a second book on this subject.

Every region has its own flavor of folklore and the character of Boston flows through this one. For anyone who's interested in either regional ghostlore or Boston itself, Ghosts of Boston Town can be entertaining and informative reading. After all, there's more to Boston than clam chowder.



More Massachusetts ghost folklore:

Haunted Salem & Beyond, by Lynda Lee Macken


Recommended: Yes

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