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; "Roadside Revenants and Other North Carolina Ghosts and Legends")
From crumbling haunted houses to vanishing hitchhikers, mysterious churches to a ghost-ridden college campus, Michael Renegar’s Roadside Revenants and Other North Carolina Ghosts and Legends is a delight for anyone who likes spooky ghost stories.
The author and his plucky band of ghost chasers have done the footwork and researched many of these haunted locations in Western North Carolina and the Piedmont. "Ghost Lights on Brown Mountain," for example, provides viewing locations for observing this phenomenon, which was once featured on The X-Files. For adventurers who wish to go beyond reading ghost stories, the author concludes with tips for would-be ghosthunters.
In many of the thirty stories, the reader is immediately plunged into a frightening, spine-tingling tale. Within just a few paragraphs, the headless dog appears, the murder room turns red, the dead WWI doughboy returns home, the river monster screams, the swollen corpses of two Revolutionary War soldiers bang on the door, or the classic roadside revenant Lydia is hitchhiking as you drive by. Such quick, easy reads are perfect for reading aloud, preferably around a campfire in the woods on a chilly, overcast night.
"I’ve read countless collections of ghost stories. My bookshelves hold volume after volume. Why do I get so
excited when I see a new one? Because they’re fun! How can you top creaking steps, lights mysteriously turned on or off,
eerie voices, fleeting shadows, or headless phantoms? Michael researched these stories scientifically, but to tell them
scientifically would rip the heart from them. Fortunately, Michael related them as he found them, in the emotional voices
of those who lived through real nightmares. I couldn’t put his book down."
— Burt Calloway, co-author of Triad Hauntings
"The real strength of this book is the author’s deep love for the Piedmont and the mountains he calls home.
The stories are rich with historical and geographic detail. It is obvious that each has been written by a man intimately
familiar with each highway, byway, and haunted house for many miles around!"
— Michael Norman, author of Haunted Heritage
; "Michael Renegar")
While at Appalachian, Michael lived mostly in East Residence Hall—an old campus building reputed to be haunted. An earlier interest in ghosts and legends was renewed, and he began researching local "haunts" with friends and writing articles about their experiences.
Michael has always had a keen interest in the stories of his family and elders. Some of his fondest memories are of sitting and listening to his parents, grandparents, and various relatives tell tales of the past, including some harrowing ghost stories. Realizing that many of these stories might be lost, Michael set out to record as many as he could for future generations. In the process, he came across other stories and legends from the area, both historical and contemporary.
Michael’s other interests include photography, Tsarist Russia, history, collecting coins, playing guitar, songwriting, and ’50s Rock ’n’ Roll. Sherry Holly, niece of rock pioneer Buddy Holly, included one of Michael’s songs on a gospel album released on her family’s Cloud Nine record label.
Michael is always willing to share stores from his collection of spooky tales and stories of "the old days." He is also always looking for new material to add to his ever-growing files, especially never-before-published accounts.
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