Review: Book offers scary tales of North Country ghosts
LEE GOODEN, For The Saratogian
03/18/2005

'Still More Haunted Northern New York' by Cheri Revai, North Country Books 2004 Nonfiction 109 pages $15.95

When the world is in turmoil, we tend to dwell more on the question of an afterlife rather than concentrate on the here-and-now. The here-and-now is scary stuff.

A prime example of our fascination with the afterlife is the demand for books about 'true-to-life' ghosts and the supernatural, like Cheri Revai's 'Still More Haunted Northern New York.'

The book is a follow-up to her other two popular and successful books about the spirits dwelling in areas of New York -- 'Haunted Northern New York' (2002) and 'More Haunted Northern New York' (2003).

There are more people now than ever before that have publicly claimed to have experienced some kind of haunting or believe in ghosts.

Revai writes, 'Because of increasing acceptance of paranormal phenomena, most people today no longer fear mockery for their beliefs in the supernatural. Indeed, ghost hunting has become the in-thing. As a result, paranormal investigation is a booming business.'

In 'Still More Haunted Northern New York,' Revai lists in the preface with an apt but corny title, 'Dying To Be Seen,' the different types of apparitional manifestations people have seen and or have captured in photographs and cites an anecdote for each. These include orbs, which are ... 'simply balls of spirit energy that move about unfettered and easily ... an orb is said to be the most basic form of a spirit presenting itself -- they (orbs) are to apparitions what embryos are to full-term infants -- the simple to the very complex.'

Next is what is called spirit mist, '... yet another form that spirit energy takes...it seems to be somewhere between the orb and the final apparitional form,' The final stage is an actual apparition,' Revai writes. 'An apparition is spirit energy that clearly takes on an animal or human form. It is the rarest and most exciting type of spirit energy to capture on film.'

Revai provides the reader with examples of these photographs in her book. Unfortunately, they are blurry black-and-white copies of scanned photos. Even with Revai helping out the reader with circles and arrows highlighting these supposed apparitions, it is hard to discern them from other images or if they are mistakes within the actual photographic process.

The 109 pages of Revai's book is a quick read, and she covers a lot of territory in northern New York -- Tupper Lake, Lacona and Evans Mills.

For example, Chapter 2, entitled 'Close Encounters With Orbs,' is a story that comes from Lake George: 'Rick Dalrymple has had several visitations by deceased loved ones since he was a child, so he knows what a spirit looks like ... he saw something he'd never seen before. Ghost lights, presumably: better known as orbs.'

Yes, Revai has written a book of ghost stories told to her by 'real people.' But, as in her previous books, the reader feels as if the stories are third- and fourth-hand information, like a secret whispered in someone's ear and then passed down a line of people until the message is garbled and lost in the translation.

Unlike contemporaries such as David Pitkin, who places the reader in the stories but retains a somewhat healthy skepticism, Revai seems to accept at face value the validity of her sources and their experiences.

If one can overlook Revai's over-eagerness to believe, her excessive use of exclamation points and is interested in learning about local haunts, then 'Still More Haunted Northern New York' is a book to buy and enjoy.

'A Family Place' recalls heritage of Rensselaer woman
LEE GOODEN, For The Saratogian
03/25/2003

'A Family Place, A Hudson Family Farm, Three Centuries, Five Wars, One Family''

By Leila Philip

Penguin Books 2001

276 Pages

''What is the analytic process anyway, but that crude digging up of stones and pebbles, then the slow turning of memory or phrase over and over until it begins to gleam?'' Leila Philip writes in ''A Family Place.''

Philip's memoir follows her family's trials of maintaining an agrarian life on a small farm in Rensselaer in a modern, profit-motivated and technologically oriented corporate America.

Through exhaustive and intensive research into her family's history, Philip answers the age-old question, ''Who am I?''

By exhuming the past, she discovers the connective tissues of her and her family's relationship to the legacy of their land.

''A Family Place'' reads like a novel. The reader gets caught up in the seemingly effortless prose that is almost lyrical and musical.

Philip writes about a childhood memory of riding her horse: ''Peter, his mane flying, his eyes wild with delight, is galloping hard across the meadow. I am on his back crouched down, bareback, the pressure of my legs urging him on -- he smells sweet and salty, sweat beginning to dampen his copper hide. I will never fall because he will never let me. He is Pegasus, one wing dipping as he turns, racing through the clouds, each hoof beat, the steady rising pulse of my own childhood.''

The author's research spans three centuries of her heritage. Philip discovers that she is not so different from her father, or her father's father, in that they were willing to work hard and make sacrifices and reluctant changes to keep Talavera, their land, their home, alive.

Leila Philip is the winner of the 1990 PEN/Martha Albrand Special Citation for her memoir about her apprenticeship to a master potter in Japan, called, ''The Road Through Miyama.'' She teaches creative writing at Colgate University.

Enjoy a journey through Lake George history
LEE GOODEN, For The Saratogian
06/17/2003

"Lake George Boats and Steamboats" by William Preston Gates (W.P. Gates Publishing Co.). 200 pages, 760 photographs. $26 softcover; $36 hardcover.

It is always a daunting task to review a large work of nonfiction. A reviewer must read a book cover to cover in a timely manner. Unlike fiction that is plot-driven, nonfiction can be dry and slow going.

This is not the case for William Preston Gates' book, "Lake George Boats and Steamboats."

Although Gates' new book is full of informative facts, figures and all sorts of statistics about every boat imaginable, it is also a fascinating journey into the history of Lake George.

Gates has also written the books "Turn-of-the-Century Scrapbook," "History of the Sagamore Hotel" and "Glens Falls and Sandy Hill."

All of his books are ongoing projects that have taken a lifetime of preparation that will continue when future generations of his family pick up the mantle of this legacy.

His and his family's collections of this area's memorabilia are so rich in history that Gates always has a project going.

"Lake George Boats and Steamboats" is an overview of boats that have been on Lake George, starting with the Elm Bark Canoe (GA-SNA or GA-O-WON) used by the Iroquois to Hall's Lyman. The Lyman burned in March 2002, but it will be restored in the future.

To have an idea of how thoroughly researched this book is, one only has to look at Gates' acknowledgement page, where he thanks more than 400 people and organizations.

"One cannot begin to do Gates' book justice without not just reading, but exploring its depths. Experiencing this book is like climbing aboard the Lac du Saint Sacrement, (the steamboat that Gates captains for Lake George Steamboat Company) and taking a guided tour that lets one relive history. Gates, also a retired teacher is knowledgeable in so many areas and has a love of life and learning that is contagious.

Gates shares his enthusiasm through his writing style, and the reader is transported back to a childhood full of wonder, such as in his description of the infamous Lake George Monster.

"In 1904, the one of the most famous practical jokes in Lake George history was played by Hauge's Harry Watrous on his best friend, Colonel William D'Alton Mann," he writes.

"... The two men had engaged themselves in a private contest to determine who was the best fisherman, several days later Colonel Mann pretended to catch a real trout which might have weighed 30 pounds if it hadn't been made of wood." "...Not to be out done...Watrous rigged the monster beneath the lake's surface on an elaborate pulley system which allowed the monster to appear and quickly disappear. Col Mann was so surprised when the monster appeared before him that he fell out of his boat."

"...During the summer of 2001, the monster once again made headlines. During a mock trial at the old Warren County Courthouse, it was decided that the monster would forever be shared by The Hague, Bolton Landing and Lake George Historical Societies."

There are more than 200 pages and 760 photographs in "Lake George Boats and Steamboats." Some of the photographs are from his family's private collection; others are representations drawn by his wife, Donnie, based on descriptions painstakingly researched by Gates. Several photos were sent to him by other boat and lake lovers

"Lake George Boats and Steamboats" is a masterpiece that documents more than 200 years of Lake George boating history.

Bruchac's new children's book a lesson for us all
LEE GOODEN, For The Saratogian
10/07/2003

'The Warriors'

By Joseph Bruchac

Darby Creek Publishing

120 pages

The new novel by Joseph Bruchac of Greenfield is labeled as a children's book for ages 9 to 11, but children of all ages and adults can enjoy and learn from 'The Warriors.'

The story is about 12-year-old Jake Forrest, an Iroquois Indian and talented lacrosse player living on a reservation in the present day.

Jake's life changes dramatically when his mother, an attorney, takes a job in Washington, D.C. Reluctantly, Jake leaves the reservation and the only family and friends he has ever known to attend the Weltimore Academy, a prestigious boys' school.

The school is known for its emphasis on the game of lacrosse. Jake, a late entry, is a shoo-in to be a part of the team.

Even though he is made to feel welcome by his fellow students, and appears to fit in, deep down, Jake misses his home on the reservation. His academic standing and lacrosse playing are excellent at Weltimore, but he alienates himself from the others, although he seems well adjusted from his outside appearance.

When an act of violence terrifies and disheartens the school and surrounding community, Jake realizes that it's up to him to bring everyone together under a common purpose and teach the true meaning of lacrosse and what it means to be a warrior.

Bruchac's 'Warriors' is much more than a wonderfully entertaining coming-of-age story. It is current, with today's headlines as a backdrop, including mentions of 9/11/2001 and this past year's sniper shootings.

Those of us who were young children in the late '60s and '70s were exposed to the myth that Indians were savages.

When, as children, we played 'cowboys and Indians,' how many of us wanted to be the Indians? In the '80s, the Indians were looked upon as 'noble savages' who were misunderstood by the white man, and removed from their land to make room for the expansion of progress.

In the politically correct era of the '90s, the Indians were called Native Americans who were seen the true shepherds and stewards of the planet Earth.

They lived in peace and harmony with Mother Nature until the 'white devil' showed up and committed atrocities, driving Indians from their sacred lands into concentration camp-like reservations.

Bruchac cleverly illustrates common misconceptions by taking Jake and the reader out of the of the reservation into the Weltimore Academy, which is an international melting pot of diversity.

The academy is a metaphor for the world and how people, no matter where they come from, are basically the same.

LEE GOODEN, For The Saratogian
10/21/2003

'Take The Bait.'

By S.W. Hubbard.

Susan Werlinich Pocket Books (division of Simon & Schuster).

325 pages.

It is always an exciting experience to read the first book of a new novelist -- especially if it is as well written as 'Take The Bait,' S. W. Hubbard's mystery novel.

'Take The Bait' is about the disappearance of Janelle Harvey, a teenage girl from the fictitious Adirondack mountain town Trout Run.

Janelle disappears while running an errand for her father on a half-mile stretch of road between her home and a Sunoco station. Immediately, the people are in an uproar about kidnappers, child predators and serial killers invading their innocent little town.

Enter new chief of police Frank Bennett, a widower cop from Kansas City. Bennett is wrestling with ghosts of past mistakes and trying to atone for them during this current case.

His investigation procedures are methodical, thorough and cold. No one is immune to his scrutiny, regardless of how intrusive or unpopular his techniques may be with the citizenry of Trout Run.

Bennett's digging exposes a harsh, dark reflection of Trout Run; in contrast with the cheery tourist-trap down-home atmosphere that the inhabitants wish to project.

'Take The Bait' feels as if Jessica Fletcher from 'Murder She Wrote' relocated from Maine to David Lynch's 'Twin Peaks.'

The book is a well-plotted mystery, and Hubbard drops false clues here and there as if the reader were Bennett struggling against time to find answers.

Bennett is an intelligent, complex hero living in a secretive township full of meaty characters, from the aristocratic Stevenson family to Pablo, the megalomaniac corrupt leader of a utopian cult.

Hubbard's narrative is easily accessible. She pulls no punches, though, and lets the reader have it from the very first paragraph with her realism:

'Make no mistake -- spring is not a season of unrestrained joy in the Adirondack Mountains. Too late for skiers and too early for hikers, spring brings financial grief to everyone who relies on the tourist trade. At best, it's muddy; at worst, the melting snow and rain push rivers and streams above their banks, uprooting trees and flooding low roads. The same warm weather that coaxes the leaves onto the trees also draws the blackflies out of their larval state.'

Hubbard delivers the knockout blow with the final sentence on the first page, that sets the pace for the rest of book:

'And Janelle Harvey, walking the half-mile between Al's Sunoco and her home, disappeared.'

Hubbard, an avid hiker and canoeist, has spent many happy hours exploring the High Peaks area of the Adirondacks, where her family built a vacation home on the banks of the West Branch of the Ausable river.

She has worked for more than 20 years as a marketing-promotions writer and lives in Morristown, N.J., with her husband, two children and a cat.

'Take The Bait' is S. W. Hubbard's first novel, and the start of a series of Adirondack mystery novels featuring police detective Frank Bennett.

'One Doctor's War' a drafted surgeon's WWII story
LEE GOODEN, For The Saratogian
12/12/2003

'One Doctor's War'

By S.A. Horwitz

670 pages

Published by Xlibris

'One Doctor's War' is S.A. Horwitz's account of an era that redefined warfare, changed the socioeconomic and political standing of the world and challenged our conception of humanity.

The book comprises diary entries and letters documenting the minutiae of Horwitz's everyday life and inferences of his future. It provides descriptive details of a world gone mad, and puts the past into a perspective that is a harrowing reflection of today.

During a two-year internship rotation at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, Horwitz (or his alter ego Erich Hoffman) started a diary.

Beginning with his becoming a doctor in 1939, Horwitz recorded the events of World War II until his marriage on June 12, 1946.

When Horwitz first heard the rumors of war, he was more concerned about the war's effects on his future plans than about the global impact of world war.

Unlike other young men who were 'joining up,' Horwitz wanted nothing to do with war or the army, and had no intentions of volunteering, as evident in this passage from his book: 'I have but one life; I have no intention that it should come to an untimely end through a bullet, a bomb fragment, or any other man-made instrument of destruction. I have no intention of risking my life in a war between men. I shall refuse to go to war unless the chances of living would be less by not going ...'

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Horwitz knew everything would change. Following the American declaration of war on Japan, he expected to be drafted, and still he tried to live his life and follow a normal course by attempting to further his education as a physician and gain as much medical experience as he could, as quickly as possible.

After Horwitz writes about being drafted, basic training and his decision to be a flight surgeon, the 650 pages that follow show a man who could fall into the 'proverbial pile' and come out smelling like a rose.

While many veterans of World War II do not wish to discuss the war except with other veterans, Horwitz's tour of duty was more of an extended Club Med vacation. He admits that his luck seemed almost uncanny, from increasing his pocket money by playing poker, to maintaining a decent social life with the ladies and always managing to find culinary delights.

He easily adapted to his environment and caught on quickly on how to scrounge or 'requisition' supplies to create a comfortable, sometimes almost luxurious living space. Even the way Horwitz met his wife sounds like a Hugh Grant flick or the plot line of a romance novel.

That's not to say that Horowitz didn't have his share of hardships or tough decisions.

'One Doctor's War' is well written, entertaining and informative. The subtext of the book -- the state of the world before and during World War II -- is a disturbing picture cut from today's headlines.

However 'One Doctor's War' is not an accurate representation of most of the men and women who served and fought in World War II. As a reviewer, I can appreciate 'One Doctor's War' as a well-crafted book, but those readers who are veterans from any war might not share this appreciation, and might forget that even Horwitz was a cog in the war machine.

S.A. Horwitz is a Schenectady native. He now lives in Niskayuna.

Last Seen in Saratoga' slow out of the gate
LEE GOODEN, For The Saratogian
09/10/2002

Book review

'Last Seen In Saratoga'' came out just in time for Saratoga's famous track season. One cannot help but think of a Dick Francis novel, or of the late Charles Bukowski, when considering books about horse racing.

Bukowski filled many pages with poems, stories and essays about his exploits at the track. He once said, ''Everybody has got a system, but it's only a system when it works.''

Stevens has the beginning of a system -- ''Last Seen In Saratoga'' almost works. We'll have to wait until the next book to see if there's a payoff.

'''Last Seen In Saratoga' is a glimpse into the lives of four senior citizens who find friendship in each other's company. Harry, a widower, and his pal, Mike, a divorcŽ, both love betting on the horses. They invite their new lady friends to join them for a fun holiday at the races in Saratoga,'' reads a blurb at the front of the book.

The book is 15 short chapters of ''glimpses'' leading up to four longer chapters about horse racing.

Because of these ''glimpses,'' it is difficult to develop empathy for the characters. Stevens touches on a subject here or lights on a subject there.

The reader is just beginning to get a sense of Harry, and suddenly Harry is steering his car into a local strip mall. What happened to his wife? What's up with those daffodils? Why did Harry go to a strip mall?

Aside from his incorrect punctuation, grammatical and syntactical errors, Stevens has no follow-through.

For example, of the political differences between the main characters, Harry and Mike, Stevens writes: ''Their political views sometimes clashed fiercely over heated controversies like whether Bill Clinton was the worst or the best of our presidents.''

What does that mean?

In another example of these ''glimpses,'' Harry is in his kitchen when his mind wanders. Stevens writes:

''Was D-Day really 54 years ago.'' (A question should end with a question mark.) ''He was only eighteen then, when he stood on the deck of the Navy LST 515 in the English Channel with the ship's crew and listened intently to the captain as he opened and read the message from General Dwight Eisenhower. 'You are about to embark on a great crusade...' The words that followed prefaced the most dramatic event in wartime history -- OPERATION OVERLORD, the Normandy Invasion.

''Harry was one of the hundreds of Navy Hospital Corpsmen, a unit known as Foxy 29, assigned to these bulky amphibious ships, affectionately known as Large Slow Targets.

''About 200 of these ships carrying troops and vehicles would join the many other ships in an attack on Normandy. After their precious cargo was unloaded onto the beaches, the Foxy 29 medical teams gathered the thousands of wounded soldiers from the beaches -- administered first aid as they sailed back to the refuge of a southern England port.

''Harry remembered the frightened look in the eyes of the many wounded American paratroopers taken aboard his ship off Utah Beach that hectic day. The horrors those guys saw during the early hours of fighting must have been awesome!

''The coffee pot was now boiling furiously and starting to boil over. Harry turned to the stove and shut the electric off.

''The drive west on the Long Island Expressway toward Belmont Park was a hazardous adventure. The traffic was heavy and fast.''

What happened here? Stevens had created a descriptive passage about the Normandy Invasion. But he seems to run out of steam and strips gears in the reader's mind. He grinds from one transition where Harry's coffee is boiling over, to another sudden transition to a drive on the Long Island Expressway.

Perhaps he should have ended with a chapter break to give the reader a chance to mentally mull over the excellent writing about Normandy before the abrupt and painful shift.

Stevens' development of Marge and Lillian is even less effective. Granted, Harry, Mike, Marge and Lillian are senior citizens, and they seem to possess a fulfillment in life that younger readers might not understand. Still, Stevens only skims the surface of these women. A woman is much more than a foil for a man.

For instance, Harry has spent the night at Marge's. In the morning, she yells up the stairs to him:

''Harry, toss down your socks and underwear and I will speed wash and dry 'em for you. There's a new toothbrush and a bag of disposable razors in the bathroom. You will find aspirin there, too. And hurry, the bacon is in the pan and your country breakfast will be ready in 15 minutes.''

How convenient. How provincial.

''Last Seen In Saratoga'' concludes with an opportunity for Stevens to re-introduce his characters at a later time -- a good plan, because one cannot help but wonder what comes next in the lives of Harry, Mike, Marge, and Lillian. Stevens hints that they might be heading off to Atlantic City and beyond.

''Last Seen In Saratoga'' is a step for Stevens to become a better writer. Some parts are excellent; others very are weak.

Readers should take into consideration that this is the author's first novel. A writer writes, and if Stevens is a writer, he will keep writing, regardless of anyone's opinion.

©The Saratogian 2006

Book review: 'Adirondack Heist'
LEE GOODEN, For The Saratogian
10/08/2002

''Adirondack Heist,'' by Saratoga Springs author Jeff Kelly, is a fast-paced, almost cinematic book, full of historical, geographical and present-day references to upstate New York. It is the sequel to Kelly's first book ''21 Mine,'' in which Kelly's protagonist Wallace Klocks was introduced. ''Heist'' contains enough expositional material to make it unnecessary to have read ''Mine'' to enjoy ''Heist.'' However, the previous book it should be read because it is the start of Kelly's excellent body of work.

''Adirondack Heist'' begins as Klocks, an escaped convict from upstate New York, leaves his refuge in Florida and re-examines his life and personal credo. Kelly writes:

''For one year, Wallace Klocks remained anonymous. That was his plan and so far he had succeeded. But you know what? He missed upstate New York ... Klocks missed his notorious reputation ... Klocks liked to picture himself as a man of action -- a man who built a life on what he did, not what he said.''

In Klocks, Kelly has created a character similar to hard-boiled, hard-fisted and testosterone-driven crime fictional noir men like Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder, Robert B. Parker's Boston private eye Spenser, Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade.

Hammer, Spade, Scudder and Spenser are heroes that have no qualms about crossing the line of the law to achieve a noble cause.

Klocks is an anti-hero who doesn't care about the law, and his high intelligence contrasts with his rough male veneer. He wants to become a renowned art thief. And, as with Block's gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, Klocks's taste, skills and mind make him a formidable thief, capable of stealing a Rodin sculpture from Crown Point.

The resemblance to Block's Rhodenbarr ends at tastes and intelligence. Where Rhodenbarr might be squeamish at physical confrontation, Klocks wouldn't have a problem with hurting, torturing or even killing, as long as the ends justified the means.

''Adirondack Heist'' is for readers who enjoy a good action story that reads like a movie in the tradition of films like ''Oceans Eleven,'' David Mamet's film ''Heist'' and Michael Mann's ''Heat.''

Klocks is a character that the average man would love to emulate, and let his darker side out for one day -- a chance to drive fast cars, meet beautiful women and take what he wants, living one day at a time and thumbing his nose at the law.

©The Saratogian 2006

Review: 'Kat Mandu' book enters brave new world of holistic confusion
LEE GOODEN, For The Saratogian
10/15/2002

The first things one notices about this book, besides the big black letters in the title ''Kat Mandu,'' is the medium-sized black ''Ha-Ha's.''

There are seven of them on the book's spine. There are seven more ''Ha's'' in small green letters at obtuse angles, followed by more exclamation points, on the book's cover.

Carla Gandy of Saratoga Springs wants us to believe that these ''Ha's'' are nothing more than abbreviations for Holistic Advertising. Any reader that sees the letters H and A next to each other will obviously think of laughter. Gandy bids us to not only laugh, but to laugh loudly.

Once past the cover, the book opens to this interesting beginning:

''Kat sat. In silence. There was an air of Taoist peacefulness in her office. The quiet, however, belied her inner turmoil -- should she or shouldn't she have a second cup of coffee?''

''Kat Mandu'' is about Cooper James, a young traveler in her early 20s who, after a round-the-world journey, lands in the New Age Mecca of Maui. She becomes a nanny to three children whose father is a tyrant guru named Georgiou. He owns ''The Wailea Center for Healing of the Western Hemisphere Except For Costa Rica Which Has Already Been Healed. ''

Through an extraordinary number of coincidences, acts of faith, esoteric influences and through trial and error, Cooper leaves the job she hates, changes her name to Kat Mandu and starts her own center -- The Holistic Advertising Agency.

Kat Mandu's Holistic Advertising Agency is Gandy's homage to the late author Douglas Adams' bodies of work, the ''Dirk Gently Holistic Detective Agency'' series and ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' series.

Kat Mandu has passages where a reader might groan out loud at the corniness. It also has moments where one might snort, chuckle and belly laugh, especially when Kat first consults her channeling cat Cleo, discusses coffee ground readings, performs Uno Card tarot readings, and explores the uselessness of questionnaires. The story is amusing, and Kat is a wonderful foil for some of the oddities practiced in the name of the New Age movement.

Sometimes, though, it is difficult to tell if Gandy is entertaining or preaching. First the reader feels like they are reading something funny. Then, suddenly, Gandy takes herself too seriously and she sounds like Robert M. Pirisig's ''Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.''

She has excellent insight on the inner workings of the human psyche, but Gandy needs to find a balance. Is she writing satire, an autobiography, or a self-help book?

LEE GOODEN, For The Saratogian
11/05/2002

''Ghosts of the Northeast''

(Aurora Publications,

Salem N.Y., 396 pages)

by David Pitkin.

''Haunted Northern

New York''

(North Country Books,

129 pages)

by Cheri Revai.

''Do you believe in ghosts?''

This question is asked around campfires and during casual conversations at the dinner table.

Many people believe in ghosts, and their stories have been recorded and documented by writers like David Pitkin, in his books ''Saratoga County Ghosts'' and ''Ghosts of the Northeast,'' and Cheri Revai, in her book ''Haunted Northern New York.''

Pitkin's ghosts

In the preface of ''Ghosts of the Northeast,'' Pitkin states:

''In researching 'Saratoga County Ghosts' in 1998, I discovered over 120 ghost stories in a single county. Up to that time I believed as so many others do, that haunted houses are rare, but now I know that it's a rare house that hasn't been visited by spirits at least once.''

People from all walks of life have had experiences with ghosts. One such example Pitkin cites is the Barbers of Granville.

Pitkin quotes Reese Barber: ''I glanced up to see a man's face at the window -- he had a long face and a mustache with twirled ends.'' Barber recognized the face from an old book of photos that were part of the memorabilia of their house. ''In the book we found him, an ancestor who'd once lived there!''

''Ghosts of the Northeast'' is 369 pages of real people whose stories are divided into 20 easily accessible chapters with titles like Haunted Houses, Military Ghosts, Ghosts on Stage, Public Service Ghosts, Health & Medicinal Spirits, Haunted Things and Animal Ghosts.

In addition to his ghost books, Pitkin has written a book about personal numerology called ''Spiritual Numerology: Caring for Number One.''

He is working on a novel with a ''current events theme, and a strong metaphysical side that is set in the Adirondacks,'' Pitkin said. It is about ''a man who is dissatisfied with his life and societal emphasis on worldly and material things, and searches within himself for true meaning.''

Revai's hauntings

Revai's book ''Haunted Northern New York'' is a less ambitious book in quantity but not in quality.

She states in her introduction: ''We have met ghosts sometimes up close and personal, sometimes so obscurely as to make us question our own judgment -- yet some people are still skeptical and aren't sure what they believe.''

In ''Haunted Northern New York,'' Revai lets the reader hear the ''old stories.'' She rewrites the majority of the accounts into her own narrative voice. This does not let readers feel as if they are ''sharing'' the experience, but rather, as if they are being retold a retold story by Revai.

''The middleman'' takes away the power and believability of the original story.

Except for this weakness, ''Haunted Northern New York'' is an entertaining, thought-provoking and sometimes spooky book.

For example, this excerpt from ''Grandma and her Dog,'' is the story of Fran, a Louisville woman:

''Fran was taking a break from spring cleaning to sit down and write the obituary -- deep in thought about her deceased mother, she jumped when the bottle of Windex on the desk in front of her sprayed the window all by itself right before her eyes. Needless to say, Fran was flabbergasted.''

Both Pitkin and Revai have written books that encourage us, as Pitkin has said, ''to go against the grain of our great institutions, religion and the education system that teach us to look beyond ourselves for answers. We should be seeking and finding our answers within ourselves.''

©The Saratogian 2006

Low End

By Harry G. Pellegrin

Published by Bedside Books

332 pages $22 Trade paperback

'Low End' is a mystery that Harry Pellegrin's protagonist Gary Morrissey solves between 1988 and 1989. It is similar to other mystery crime noir characters written in the first person, like Robert B. Parker's Spencer, Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe and Lawrence Block's Mathew Scudder.

Pellegrin sets the story in the late '80s New York City rock 'n'roll scene with believability. His knowledge of blues and rock is undisputed. He mentions the late great guitarist Rory Gallagher, who was not only one of the world's greatest guitarists, but also a fan of detective and crime fiction.

The novel begins with a cleverly paced prologue describing the murder of Morrissey's friend and former bass player and band mate Devon. As a present day Morrissey reminisces about Devon, Pellegrin sends the reader back to 1988.

In 1988 Morrissey is a rock 'n' roll blues guitarist and a recent divorcee who lives in a hot sticky apartment in the South [Yonkers]. His day job consists of repairing copy machines.

He drives a [Fiat 124S Spider] and seems relatively happy going day to day from beer to beer, paycheck to paycheck and gig to gig until a friend and band mate named Captain Marty, from their defunct band Air Raid, informs Morrissey that their mutual friend and bassist Devon has died and was possibly murdered.

Captain Marty asks Morrissey to investigate because he thinks Morrissey would be good at getting the answers.

Morrissey follows clues and discovers that everything is not what it seems. He is led to a gripping cat-and-mouse ending with a remorseless killer.

'Low End' is crafted like a song. It is a crime novel narrated in the first person with the typical wise cracks and testosterone-fueled bravado, and a mystery that one can sink their teeth into. But it is also a spiritual journey.

There are many writers who try too hard to emulate the masters, like Hammett, Chandler, MacDonald, Spillane and McBain. So cumbersome are their efforts, that they lose their own voices. But Pellegrin's protagonist has a voice of the street and a hardened cynical edge, softened with a good heart.

But readers will trust Morrissey only so far, because we know that with enough rope he will hang himself. Morrissey is like a mouth sore that we just can't help but touch. We know it's going to hurt but we don't care. Pellegrin, like God, sits in the back seat while his creation takes over.

I look forward to the further adventures of Morrissey and anything else Harry G. Pellegrin writes. He has written for periodicals like Soundboard: The Journal of the Guitar Foundation of America, The Horse: Backstreet Choppers. He lives with his wife and two daughters in rural upstate New York.

©The Saratogian 2004

Pellegrin's latest novel and sequel Deep End is currently being shopped around to different publishers.