Spectral Edition: Ghost Reports from U.S. Newspapers, 1865-1917

Between the American Civil War and the nation’s entry into World War I, a wave of ghost reports appeared in U.S. newspapers. Haunted houses, haunted roads, haunted families, and other spectral manifestations were treated as legitimate news. Tim Prasil has collected hundreds of these articles, and Spectral Edition: Ghost Reports from U.S. Newspapers, 1865-1917 displays the scariest, strangest, funniest, and most intriguing of them.

Along with nearly 150 complete ghost reports, Prasil includes a well-researched Introduction, useful footnotes, rare newspaper illustrations, and an essay about how an alleged ghost encounter in Memphis ignited a debate about responsible journalism. Spectral Edition explores a curious chapter of U.S. newspapers and an era when the American press challenged scientific and religious skepticism with open-minded consideration of the possibility that specters return to haunt us!

A Review

“It’s a neat book. . . . [Prasil] has gone through decades of ghost stories — and decades of old newspaper stories about ghosts and haunted places — and it’s fascinating. It’s fascinating to see what made it in the papers.”

Troy Taylor, American Hauntings Podcast

Read Sample Ghost Reports

Spectral Edition has an introduction, footnotes, and an appendix on a controversal haunting in Memphis. Most of the book, though, features transcriptions of around 150 authentic ghost reports. To see what some of the articles originally looked like, visit the Sample Ghost Reports page. There’s one report from each chapter.

Let Me Read Sample Ghost Reports to You

The Brom Bones Books YouTube channel offers a series of videos that feature me reading selections from Spectral Edition along with a display of the most curious headlines from my ghost report collection.

The next time you’re at YouTube, please subscribe to the Brom Bones Books channel! I’m often planning new ways to combine my books with videos.

Hear My Interview about Spectral Edition

I was interviewed about Spectral Edition by Patrick Keller on his Big Séance Podcast. Follow this link to listen to that interview.

See Rare Ghost Report Illustrations

On rare occasion, a newspaper ghost report was accompanied by an illustration. Despite their scarcity, I managed to include one of these delightful drawings in each chapter of Spectral Edition. Follow this link to see my collection of Ghost Report Illustrations.

Go to the Catalog of Books.