‘The Ghosts of Austin: Who They are and Where to Find Them’ by Fiona Broome

(2007 Schiffer Books)

     I was heading out to be a part of the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in Austin, Texas.   When I plotted my course, I observed that my route would take me close to the home of Schiffer Books in Atglen, Pennsylvania.   I contacted the Schiffer Books offices through my editor, Dinah Roseberry and arranged to pick up a case of my book, ‘Spooky Creepy Long Island’ to bring along with me to the show.   I had prior authorization from my boss to sell copies of my book over the table of the Fearwerx booth.   When I told Pete and Dinah at Schiffer where I was going and what I was doing, they asked me if I was interested in taking any other books along with me.   Via e-mail I agreed to try out a case of ‘Keep Austin Weird: A Guide to the Odd Side of Town’ by Red Wassenich.

     I got to the home of Schiffer Books later than I had anticipated, but Pete Schiffer Jr. was still in the office and received me most hospitably.   During the course of our conversation, I received a tour of the facilities.   The warehouse was like the end scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.   Palette after palette stacked with boxes of books.   When it came time to leave, I checked out the ‘Keep Austin Weird’ book and seeing it, I decided that it probably wouldn’t go over that well with the Fangoria audience.   Pete offered ‘The Ghosts of Austin’ as a last-minute replacement and I quickly and easily agreed that it was a much better candidate for the convention I was attending.

     Twenty-seven hours later and I’m in Austin.   I decide to read ‘The Ghosts of Austin’ so I’d know a little bit about the book that I was selling.  

     The prose is light and engaging, making the book both easy and pleasant to read.

     The stories fulfilled my expectations.   I expected tales of ghosts from the free-wheeling wild west era of Texas frontier past, and this anthology of ghostly tales provides exactly that.

     From the pioneering battles of the state’s first colonists in conflict against the Mexican Army and Native American tribes, through the early years of statehood and the strife of the civil war, the victims of the vicissitudes of fortune, often only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, continue to linger in the locations where the forces of earthly attraction tethered them to the physical plane.

     An interesting element of this book is the author’s dual service as an author and a medium who claims the ability to speak with the lingering spirits of the physically deceased.   This ability enabled the author to include at the end of many of her chapters her “conversations” with the paranormal presences which haunt Austin’s many historical locations.   The spirits are open about the reason for their persistent presence at their selected locations.   This is the first time I encountered this literary device, although I have been made aware of the popularity of this device in conversations following my encounter with and discussion of this book.    

     Of course, the gunslingers and whorehouse madams and Indian spirits are here, not as single spirits, but in battalions.   But the author presents a wider range of tales than I had anticipated.   The author presents her collection of stories covering the chronological and geographical history of Austin and its surrounding areas.   The book is also generously populated with photographs and illustrations to accompany its spine-tingling tales.

     I have to begrudgingly admit that although I spent the weekend in Austin, I learned much more about Austin and its environs from ‘The Ghosts of Austin’ than I learned from my infrequent visits to downtown Austin.   Austin is a ghost town in more ways than one.   For a celebrated party town, it has an early bedtime and I drove its silent streets at 3:00 a.m. at fifteen miles and hour, calmly acquainting myself with the unfamiliar area.

     Also begrudgingly I admit that I didn’t sell a whole lot of ‘The Ghosts of Austin’ at the convention.   Of the twenty-five copies I brought with me, I returned twenty-three.   One of which I retained to read and review, and the other copy, my display copy, was bought by a woman, a self-professed librarian, who said that her library just must have this book for its collection.

      I attribute this not as a reflection on the quality of the book, which I enjoyed as much as I have enjoyed any regional paranormal book.   Instead I attribute this to a general decline of literary interest in our culture.

     If you’d care to prove my pessimism fallacious, then, by all means, please go to the address provided below and acquire a copy of this informative and entertaining book.

You can order this book @ www.SchifferBooks.com