Ghosts of the Old West: Desert Spirits, Haunted Cabins, Lost Trails, and Other Strange Encounters

by Earl Murray

Overview

Even today the American West remains a frontier of mystery and intrigue, filled with the spirits of trappers and traders, Native Americans and settlers. These spirits have been sighted while haunting the West's beautiful and rugged land. In Ghosts of the Old West, acclaimed Western author Earl Murray conveys these stories in a narration so eerie and so chilling we advise reading this with all the lights on in the safety of your home.

Saddle up, my friend, and take a ride into the unknown. Traveling through Murray's West, you'll encounter: a soldier at Fort Laramie, dead for almost two centuries, who still insists on silence during war-strategy meetings, and La Llarona, also known as the weeping woman, who roams the hills and valleys of the Spanish Southwest. You'll hear stories of the Little People with their hidden powers and the Snake People, who are feared by the Native Americans to this day. And many, many more. Come along my friend, but be wary—the night comes early out here, early and dark.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312867959
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/05/2008
Series:	Ghosts of the Old West , #1
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.47(d)

About the Author

Earl Murray once worked in botany and natural resource management. He is the author of thirty-five novels and nonfiction books that deal with the American West. His novel, Song of Wovoka, was a finalist for the 1992 Western Writers of America Spur Award for historical fiction. Sadly Murray passed away in 2003.

Editorial Reviews

Earl Murray has a narrative gift that never flags.” —El Paso Herald-Post

“Murray is gripping storyteller who knows the land and the people he writes about.” —Elmer Kelton

From the Publisher

Murray, a writer of historical novels and westerns who resides in Montana, relates oral histories of people's alleged encounters with ghosts and spirits in the Old West. The author discusses myths surrounding the spirits of pioneer settlers and their prime haunts, as well as Native American legends, including those about the small and powerful protective beings known to Montana's Crow Indians as the ``Little People.'' He explains how supernatural occurrences often revolve about old houses, hotels, forts and battlegrounds, but his accounts are not convincing. Many, such as ``The Phantoms of Fort Laramie,'' are cliched and melodramatic: ``The remains of one of the West's most important military posts will always tell its stories in one form or anotherand often from the lips of the dead.'' Others, such as incidents centering on the Fort Hays historic site in Kansas, are more absurd than intriguing. For example, a college student living in an officers' quarters-turned-dormitory ``returned to her apartment to see soldiers in full military dress sitting around her dining-room table playing cards.'' Disappointingly, the narratives are similar and lack the tension and vigorous language necessary to sustain interest. Photos not seen by PW. (September)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly