Book Review for Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave

Title: Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave
Authors: Colleen O’Connor Olson with Charles Hanion
Illustrated by: Roger W. Brucker
Published: 2002 by Cave Books, St. Louis, MO
Amazon Purchase Information

Recently, I took a day trip to Columbus, Ohio. Since we don’t have any Half Price Books around here, I always make it a priority to stop while we’re in Columbus. On this last trip, I picked up Scary Stories of Mammoth Cave, a great little read about a popular attraction in south central Kentucky.

Mammoth Cave is one of those locations that I’ve always meant to feature here on Theresa’s Haunted History, but just could never get around to organizing all the information associated with its haunted reputation. Therefore, I was thrilled to find this book! I’ll definitely be sharing some posts inspired by its content later on, but first I wanted to share my thoughts on the book itself…

It’s a good one! If you’re looking for just a straight up collection of ghost stories, this may not be the best choice for you. However, if you’re looking for dark history, deaths, legends, mummies, un-classifiable weirdness, and a few paranormal anecdotes, then you’ll love this book. I definitely did. I learned so much about the cave’s general history, but also some really interesting uses for the cave, such as the time it was used as a TB hospital!

Plenty of mummies were found within the cave and at nearby locations, many of which became tourist attractions in their own right. Unique geological features of the cave were given ghastly descriptive names. And of course, there have been plenty of sightings of vanishing guests, reports of phantom sounds, and the touch of disembodied hands.

This really is a great, yet short read about the strange, spooky, and sometimes macabre history of Kentucky’s Mammoth Caves. If you’re planning a trip out there this summer, or simply want a captivating campfire read, I highly recommend adding this book to your own personal library.