Spooky New Jersey

Retold by S. E. Schlosser
Insider's Guide (2006)
ISBN 0762739959
Reviewed by Ellen Hogan for Reader Views (07/06)

 This book is full of stories about paranormal happenings around New Jersey. Some of the stories date back to the time of the Revolutionary War. Each chapter is a different story some made to make yu go hmmmmm and some that are quite funny.

The first story is about a couple where the wife indulges in psychic events. When they visit someplace that she is interested in, she attends to finding out more about where they are and he just walks the trails and waits. This time they are in Ringwood State Park. It is said that the ghost of Robert Erskine roams the cemetery. While his wife is in taking a tour of the home, her husband decides that a nice walk is in order. All of a sudden the sky gets dark and rain is surely on the way. The husband sees a man with a lantern and the man tells him that he had better get a move on because it's getting ready to storm. He thanks the man dressed in the Revolutionary War uniform and asks who he is supposed to be. The man tells him that he is Robert Erskine, lightening flashes just at that moment and could be seen though his body. When the wife comes out her husband tells her of his experience and says that from now on she can go by herself.

Another story is about a man who buys an old grist mill. He is told that the previous miller was lured into the millpond by a topielec. He, of course, does not believe it. He marries and he and his wife are expecting their first child, they also have her nephew visiting with them. Each day the wife and boy would walk to meet him and they would go home together.  One day the topielec started singing her song and the miller's wife started into the millpond. Her nephew grabs a hold of her and starts crying for her to get out of the pond.  Finally the topielec's spell is broken and the miller's wife and nephew run to the grist mill. They tell the miller what happened and they are told that because she was pregnant that the topielec left her alone. The baby and the nephew were innocent so she could not lure them to their death.  A neighbor advised them to always wear a cross and the topielec would leave them alone. The next day the miller bought each of them a cross to wear.

Joel had heard rumors of Blackbeard's Treasure and the town drunk Teddy told him he knew where to find it. So late one night the two went to the black walnut tree and started digging. Finally the land gave way and they found themselves in an underground cavern, and there they saw three chests. Joel opened one and started loading his pockets with gold and jewels. Then they heard the ghost of Blackbeard, as they ran out all the treasures that Joel had gotten fell along the way. They emerged from a dark passageway onto the riverbank. The next day they go back to find that the hole they dug is all covered over
like it was never there. Joel keeps trying and finally one day finds the opening where they came out to the riverbank.  He goes inside and all the chests are gone, but on the floor he finds one gold coin. He kept it the rest of his life for good luck.

These are just a couple of the stories from the book, there are many more. If you are interested in hauntings and ghosts then this is the book for you. It's a collection of stories to be told over and over again.

Ghosts, hauntings and folk lore as told by someone who treasures the stories and wants to share them.

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