A new book, written by local author, Mindie Burgoyne is released today by The History Press. The Haunted Mid-Shore: Spirits of Caroline, Dorchester and Talbot Counties has twenty-five spine-tingling tales all set in Maryland’s Mid-Shore region that include Mary’s Ghost at Old Salty’s, the Witches of Plain Dealing, Spirits from the Underground Railroad at Linchester Mill and Burgoyne’s own personal account of a scary night spent at the Robert Morris Inn in Oxford – the property that is featured on the book’s cover.
Burgoyne has written five books, including The Haunted Eastern Shore, which has sold over 10,000 copies since its publication in 2009. The Haunted Mid-Shore is the second book in a three-book series that goes deeper into the haunted landscape of the Delmarva Peninsula – with Haunted Ocean City and Berlin being the first. In the past seven years, Burgoyne has collected over 150 ghost stories and interviewed more than 200 people about their own personal haunted experiences that began with moving into a haunted house in Marion Station thirteen years ago.
“The Mid-Shore region is the least populated tri-county area in Maryland,” states Burgoyne. “It is such a haunted landscape. These wide open spaces haven’t changed much in the three hundred years, and the vastness of the marshes, shorelines, farm fields and open sky put you right on the edge of that ‘other world.’ You can almost feel that spiritual energy pulsating toward you – especially if you’re in a swamp or a dark road …at night.”
Burgoyne collects her ghostly tales from various sources that include local libraries, regional books, newspaper articles, and the folklore collection at the Edward H. Nabb Research Center at Salisbury University. She also collects stories through personal interviews. The book includes some of the well-known ghost stories are such as Wish Sheppard and the Denton Jail, Bloody Henny, Maggie’s Bridge and the Frenchman’s Oak. But there are some rarely heard tales included as well like the Spirits of Navy Point, The Man Who Was Buried with his Dog, the Seven Gates of Hell and the LeCompte Curse.
What’s Burgoyne’s favorite ghost story in this book? “It would have to be The Town Dog Killer.” One of the stories set in Denton talks about a man who was suspected of poising the dogs. Sophie Kerr wrote a short story based on this man and the beautiful Victorian house he lived in across from the Courthouse Green. “The man and his family are long gone now, but a spirit of a child is said to haunt the house, Burgoyne said. “Prospective buyers saw the face of little girl in the upstairs window. Research on the family showed that there was a little child who died in the house over 70 years ago. It was a little girl.”
Book Signing:
Mindie Burgoyne will be signing copies of The Haunted Mid-Shore at The Robert Morris Inn on Saturday, August 29th (the night of the full moon) from 5 to 7 pm. Books will be for sale for $19.99 plus tax. A ghost walk of St. Michaels sponsored by Burgoyne’s ghost tour company, Chesapeake Ghost Walks is scheduled for 8pm that evening and tickets can be purchased online at www.chesapeakeghostwalks.com.
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