Between the Covers... Haunted Henry County: A Haunting and Interesting Book

By Clara Thompson

I’ve always loved mysteries and stories of ghosts and other supernatural happenings, but generally what I’ve read has been set in distant cities or foreign countries. I’m primed for haunted castles in England or poltergeists in Poland, but I didn’t expect to run into close encounters in my own region, the Hoosier Midwest.

Haunted Henry County by Charlene Z. Perry [2004, AuthorHouse] persuades me that the unknown, the violent, and the hidden deeds of human beings may be as close as my street or the cemetery around the corner. This is a collection of 37 ghost stories, legends and mysteries of Henry County and neighboring counties. Although 26 of the stories are found in New Castle or Henry County, the rest come from Wayne, Madison, Rush, Delaware, Grant, Fayette and Randolph counties.

The cover photograph of a peaceful Henry County lane was the only one in a roll of 27 photos to show an eerie glow. This was the scene of a murder years ago.

Perry, a Henry County native, is a retired registered nurse and a massage therapist. Her long interest in parapsychology shows especially in her excellent introduction and in two of her tales, "The Mysterious Disappearance of Catherine Winters" and "The House that Talked." In these two stories that concern the same event, she was deeply and personally involved while she lived in the Winters house in New Castle.

Perry personally interviewed every participant and researched for additional material. She found old photographs and took new ones herself as well, to illustrate her book. She audiotaped interviews of people from various economic, social and religious backgrounds and she lists the details fully in her references at the end of the book.

If you are a ghost lover, you can read this book to find out about the ghostly couple who haunted the Mt. Lawn Mansion in Greensboro, "Miss Emma," resident spirit of the Sunflower Hotel at Camp Chesterfield, the ghosts of the Opera House in Fairmount and more.

This book can be ordered from AuthorHouse.com, Borders.com or BarnesandNoble.com. It is priced at $12.95.