Review of "Ghosts of Lee County, Iowa," by Bruce Carlson

Review of

Ghosts of Lee County, Iowa, by Bruce Carlson ISBN 1571663134


Four out of five stars

 Lee County is in the southeast corner of Iowa and was one of the earliest counties formed in Iowa. One of the county seats is Keokuk, named after a chief of the Sauk tribe. Therefore, the county has a long history that dates back to the Native Americans that called it home well before the arrival of the Europeans. The Mississippi River forms the eastern border of the county.

 Like all areas of lengthy habitation, Lee County has its’ own set of stories involving the supernatural and this book contains some of the most well-known. In terms of content, the stories involve farming, hunting and action on the Mississippi River, which provided a continuous source of human traffic. The stories are generally rather routine as ghost stories go, unlike others there is almost no gore and violence. There are no stories of the spirits of the brutally murdered wandering about scaring the living. Accidental deaths are the prime source of the ghosts here.

 If you are looking for a book that will generate shivers of fright, then this is not for you. The legends are local and written in the style of a report rather than the building of tension to a climax.