Ghosts, spirits, and phantoms – not to mention legends and strange customs – all steeped in the history of the Old Dominion. L. B. Taylor has spent much of his retired life seeking out these stories and publishing them in his books. A journalist by trade, he has many books and articles to his credit, only finding his fascination with Virginia’s ghosts later in life. The Ghost of Virginia vol. 2 is just one in a series of thirteen in which ghost stories and legends from all over Virginia are told in an entertaining manner.

Mostly laid out by region, Mr. Taylor often will give his own impressions on the sites if he has visited them or will give an introduction to how he came to find such stories. My favorites have always involved those in the Tidewater region, but then those are stories I have the greatest familiarity. Having on a number of occasions gone on ghost tours in Williamsburg especially, some of the stories are old favorites.

One such story is the “Missing Vault at Bruton Parish Church.” There have always been suspicions of a mysterious vault being hidden in the cemetery of Bruton Parish Church and if one were to dig it up, proof would then be found that Shakespeare’s plays had really been written by Francis Bacon and that previously unknown plays would be found there. I remember when a dig was attempted during my years at William and Mary, and like other attempts before it, nothing was found. This does little to deter those ardent believers in the vault.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable series of books and what better to pick up to read on a chilly October evening. You can decide for yourself whether to believe in the haunts of Virginia. You will find this and the other books that the Library owns in the Author of the Month display.

Enjoy!