| While
reading this book, I came to the conclusion that reading ghost stories is a lot
like eating jelly beans. This isn't surprising, since I was also eating jelly
beans at the time. I've heard people say I can't walk and chew gum at the same
time, but eat and read? No problem. Conclusions: - Like
jelly beans, each ghost story has it's own flavor, yet it's similar to the others.
- You
can't remember the last one you ate/read while you are eating/reading the current
one.
- You can
eat/read too many at one sitting.
On the other hand, ghost stories don't stick to your teeth, and jelly beans don't
make you get up in the middle of the night to check the lock on the back door. This
book is a must for your nightstand, and I can assure you after it's read, that
it will make the trip from your bookcase back to your nightstand many times. Best
Tales of Texas Ghosts is conveniently divided into geographic regions, so one
can immediately check on how many spooks are in one's neighborhood. This division
also confirms suspicions you may have had about other regions.
Namely
that your ghosts are far more interesting than in other parts of Texas. The
poetry will get you if you don't watch out!
Each region is introduced with a poem by the author. Don't skip these, thinking
that this is ‘free verse'. These are downhome ghost stories, not The New Yorker.
The poems actually rhyme and rhyme well. They're
everywhere! They're everywhere!
While Victorian houses are still number one with spirits (especially houses with
Mansard roofs), there's a waiting list as long as Abe Lincoln's funeral train.
The shortage is so acute that Forts, Saloons, Fire Stations, Hotels and Courthouses
all have their resident lodgers. Even the Aircraft Carrier Lexington in Corpus
Christi has a full complement of phantoms and one must assume that enlisted ghosts
are segregated from the officer ghosts. "Boo, Sir!" Theaters are
popular with spirits, but is that so surprising, considering the reluctance of
actors to leave the stage? | 