There’s nothing like a good book; it transports you to another world, created by the writer’s and your own imaginations. If you’re looking for a spooky or mysterious mental vacation this October, you don’t have to search far – Greene County has an array of authors providing wonderful books for, and often about, our county and community. These local authors are dishing up accounts of the paranormal, hauntingly fun fiction, and mysterious thrillers perfect for the Halloween season. Many of these books can be found at your local library, for sale through local retailers, or online.
Brad A. Braddock is an award-winning author in Greene County with a taste for classic horror. His published works include fiction and non-fiction based on folklore, history, classic horror and horror. His style – “sometimes serious… sometimes quirky… but always fun!” keeps readers engaged.. In addition to his novels, he has compiled 13 tales of terror into the anthology Chillers: Tales Inspired by Classic Horror Films.
Memoirs of Murder: A prequel to the 1932 classic, White Zombie tells the story of Murder Legendre before the film White Zombie. Legendre leaves Europe and travels to Haiti where he is drawn into the world of voodoo.
Death Doth Hold Name is set in a haunted Pennsylvania woodland, where the Great Raven and his flock are engaged in a feud with the last of the great Owls, who is protected by a loner living in a log cabin with the ghost of John Adams.
The Village of Eben Hollow follows the people of the dark and mysterious Eben Hollow as they fight to save their village from the wicked sorceress Eva Strella and her servant Lord Ganoate when they threaten to unleash the ultimate evil on the land.
In their first joint effort, Kevin Paul and Rosemary Ellen Guiley explore the supernatural side of Greene County and why it may be one of America’s most haunted places. Kevin, a Greene County native, grew up hearing local folklore and stories from his grandparents. When he was about 10 years old, he read an article about Point Pleasant, West Virginia and the Mothman. The article left a lasting impression and sparked an interest in the paranormal. Kevin says he has frequently experienced the paranormal in his life. Through email, he connected with Rosemary and together they worked on the book. Rosemary passed away in 2019.
Haunted Hills and Hollows: What Lurks in Greene County, Pennsylvania explores the otherworldly side of Greene County. The book compiles years of research and word-of-mouth narratives organized by topic and covers UFOs, cryptids, ghosts, local folklore, and other paranormal activity. A second book exploring additional paranormal accounts in Greene County will be released soon.
John Rich Dorean writes books in Greene County, about Greene County and for Greene County. His family moved to Waynesburg in 1963, and after a period of living away from the area, John moved back to the area in 1982 with his wife Merry and two daughters, Emily and Carrie. Eventually John began ministering at the Jefferson Baptist Church, where he would become the pastor. While in Greene County his daughters Hannah and Bethany were born. In addition to his mystery novels, he has also written Our Girl, chronicling the life and impact of John’s daughter Bethany.
Murder in Greene is the first part of a mystery-thriller trilogy set in Greene County. Set in peaceful and pastoral Greene County, where a murder rocks the town, leaving a small child orphaned and a wheelchair-bound pastor with the only lead.
Witness in Greene returns to Greene County and protagonist Pastor Mark Stewart as tensions between coal miners and developers of natural gas reach a critical level. Mark and his family are swept up in both tragedy and discovery.
Justice in Greene is the last book in the Mark Stewart trilogy. In this final book, Pastor Mark Stewart is caught up in the war on drugs as some of his church families battle addiction. Mark’s passion for those he loves may lead him towards vigilante justice to restore the peace in Greene County.
Kris Hoge was a young adult and adult mystery, romance, and paranormal writer from Morgantown. She published 9 eBooks on Amazon before passing away in September 2014. Two of her books, Spirits Dwell and Whatever Happened to Rose? are based on ghost stories from Greene County.
Spirits Dwell is a book of fictionalized ghost stories based on facts from Greene County. Stories include accounts of a crying baby, a mysterious red light and other spine-tingling stories.
Whatever Happened to Rose? is a fictionalized account based on the author’s ghost hunting and paranormal experiences in Greene County and at the Greene County Historical Society.
Interested in exploring more spooky seasonal reading set in southwestern Pennsylvania or by local authors? Check out these additional options: The Unexplained Stories, Folklore and Legends of Fayette County Pennsylvania by Viktoria Dutko Leonelli; Hauntings of Pittsburgh & the Laurel Highlands by Marci Lynn McGuinness; Ghosts of Southwestern Pennsylvania by Thomas White; The Witch of the Monongahela by Thomas White; Astonishing Encounters: Pennsylvania’s Unknown Creatures, Casebook 3 by Stan Gordon; Betty Knox by Jason Pokopec; and By the Light of the Moon by Larry C. Kerr. (There’s even more, but we haven’t got room to list them all! If you know of a book written by a local author or set in the area, email info@greenescenemagazine.com. We’re trying to compile a list of local authors and books!)