Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans

My husband is more than a little surprised that I was reading a book of stories, since I can't even watch commercials for scary movies. However, reading them is a whole different experience and this is a delightful book.This book was published in 1946 originally. The author is a native of New Orleans and did her research with old newspaper clippings, diaries, and interviews. Are the stories all true? Not likely. Some are quite obscure and she says in her opening note that it's possible that no one in the city had heard more than one or two of the stories in their entirety before she published this book. The stories read like stories, with dialogue from the early 1800's and containing details that she could never have verified. These are not accounts of ghost sightings. The author was a writer, not a journalist, and it makes the book so much fun to read. I don't care if they're true or not, honestly- I just like a good story.

Jeanne de Lavigne went all out in researching these old stories, while adding her own complex layer of fantastic dialog and action. Charles Richards’ illustrations make the book perfect, and it’s hard to imagine this book without them. Probably should not be read all at once. Space them out over several days.

Enjoyed this book

what a great read, I couldn't put it down

Very good condition for this rare book! Great deal, 1/5 the price it can sell for....it has been out of print since the 1940's. Super fast shipping!

Being a fan of New Orleans I like this book

Very Interesting!

Hey, its about ghosts, what else would it be about?

I bought this for a friend who absolutely loves this sort of thing, She has not shut up about it since.

So far, from an academic standpoint, I liked the foreword the best. It gives quite a few nice points of trivia about the author, her time of writing and even a bit of background on some of the ghostly going-on described in the book. All in all it was a great addition to the original book!Now, the stories themselves are written in an entertaining way and easy to follow, despite the books age. I would therefor recommend it to anyone, even younger readers who are looking for a thrill. What you won't find here are reliable accounts of somewhat suspicious going-ons around New Orleans. These are full blown ghost stories with shimmering apparitions and levitating furniture. They are collected from true believers and retold in a manner your grandpa would use to frighten you around the campfire, not in any analytical way.But that makes it a fun read and even though some of the "dialects" the author put in for entertainment (and which are often grossly overdone) can be difficult to read through fluently, they are not undeceivable. Not even for me, a non-native speaker.