Even with all the things that can weigh on us—crime, pollution, illness, and everyday worries—people still find ways to make each other laugh. Listen on a street corner, in a café, or around a kitchen table anywhere in America, and you’ll hear someone sharing a joke or a funny story. That kind of hometown humor helps us get through tough times.

Ghosts of the Pacific Northwest can be just as mischievous as any others—shattering glass, waking people in the middle of the night, and sending families fleeing from their homes—but, truth be told, most of them are a pretty cheerful crew. In Ellensburg, Washington, one ghost even tags along on his granddaughter’s dates to make sure there’s no funny business.

This collection of supernatural tales stands apart from most ghost-story anthologies: every narrative comes directly from the folk traditions of the American South. While many of the stories were gathered over the past twenty‑five years, their settings stretch from the days of the Revolutionary War to modern times. Most have never appeared in print before, preserved instead through generations of oral storytelling.