Pennsylvania Legends and Lore: Ghosts of the Commonwealth

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Pennsylvania Legends and Lore: Ghosts of the Commonwealth explores the ghost stories and folk traditions that are an integral part of Pennsylvania’s cultural heritage. Vignettes include the Lost Hunter, Swamp Church, Vanishing Hitchhiker and more.
Sources for Pennsylvania Legends and Lore: Ghosts of the Commonwealth
Books:
- German-American Folklore – Compiled and edited by Mac E. Barrick
- Killing Tradition: Inside Hunting and Animal Rights Controversies – Simon Bronner
- Pennsylvania Fireside Tales: Volume I – Jeffrey R. Frazier
- The Black Ghost of Scotia and More Pennsylvania Fireside Tales – Jeffrey R. Frazier
- Flat-landers and Ridge-runners: Folktales from the Mountains of Northern Pennsylvania – James York Glimm
- South Central Pennsylvania Legends and Lore – David J. Puglia
- Hex Signs: Pennsylvania Dutch Barn Symbols & Their Meaning – Don Yoder & Thomas E. Graves
Penn State University Libraries Special Collections:
- Penn State Photo Archive – Town and Environs/Historic Places/General
- Henry Shoemaker papers, 1873–1952
- Samuel Preston Bayard papers, 1935–1996
- Pennsylvania State University, Folklore Studies Program records, 1972-1986
This program was recorded on location at the following sites:
- Bethesda Evangelical Church – Farmers Mills, Pennsylvania
- Centre Furnace Mansion – State College, Pennsylvania
- Mountain Acres Lodge – Spring Mills, Pennsylvania
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