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The chapters include: 

      “The Ghosts of White Hall.” White Hall, located in Richmond, may be the most notorious allegedly haunted place in Kentucky with the possible exception of Louisville’s Waverly Sanitarium. There is a section on White Hall ghost stories in my 2001 book Cassius M. Clay, Freedom’s Champion. I decided to expand on the theme and include some unnerving happenings that transpired after the former book was published.

       “The Reaper Gets Creative.” Partially inspired by the internet’s Darwin Awards, this chapter details some of the bizarre and colorful ways Kentuckians have met their Maker over the years. One of the trickiest things a writer can attempt is to describe something horrible or gruesome in a light, amusing way. Whether I succeeded or not, I leave up to you.

       “They Predicted Their Own Deaths.” This chapter appeared in truncated form in Clark’s Kentucky Almanac, 2006 edition. Some people, it turns out, are awfully good at predicting when the Reaper will be coming for them.

       “Some Bluegrass Ghosts.” Several ghost stories from Kentucky’s good old days, emanating from locations all around the state. To the best of my knowledge, very few (if any) of these cases have been described in modern publications.

       “Embalming in the Old Days.” When I was shopping the manuscript around, the acquisitions editor at one press told me that she liked the book, but felt she could never submit it to her board of directors because it was “too gross.” I think this may be the chapter she had in mind.

       “A Ghost’s Disgusting Gifts and Other Louisville Hauntings.” More little-known ghost stories, all of which are centered in Louisville.

       “A Morbid Miscellany.” A smorgasbord of graveyard lore ranging from the humorous to the horrific, including such wholesome after-dinner topics as grave robbery, premature burial, and—well, adipocere (“grave wax”).

       “The Ghost of the Mother of a Druggist.”  An account of a haunted house in Richmond. Pretty creepy.

       “The Last Word: A Collection of Kentucky Epitaphs.” A gravestone with something funny written on it is one of the most sublime sights life has to offer. If there is a pretty sunset behind it, that’s even better.