BOOK REVIEW
Winfield heads to the village' in search of ghosts
by ROBERT E. KUPCZYK Entertainment Associate Editor

"Village Ghosts of Western New York, Book One: Actors in the Half-Light," by Mason Winfield (Western New York Wares, Inc., 2006); $13.95.

Local supernatural historian and author Mason Winfield's first idea for his fifth book was to highlight 50 or 60 "of the most interesting haunted sites in WNY," he writes in the introduction to "Village Ghosts of Western New York, Book One: Actors in the Half-Light."

But, the initial idea needed tweaking. "It sounds funny, but a study of our famous haunted sites could miss most of our famous ghosts," Winfield writes.

So he decided to write two books, one dealing with the ghostly personalities of WNY (Book One), and the second dealing with famous haunted places (tentatively titled "Supernatural Stages," scheduled for next fall). According to Winfield, Book One is broken up into 10 historic personalities who have come back as traditional ghosts; a handful of generic, localized ghosts who may not be identifiable; and influential spirit-communicators or "spirit guides" who have WNY roots. The book is an entertaining mix of ghosts, ghost stories, and local history from Winfield, one of WNY's best-known authors, and an authority on the supernatural in this region.

In the first chapter, some local ghosts who appear (and disappear) include Red Jacket, Jemima Wilkinson (The Gray Lady), Elbert Green Hubbard, Michael Shea, Buffalo boxer Jimmy Slattery, and five others. The second chapter deals with ghostly forms (Little Girl Ghosts, Women in White, animal ghosts); vanishing hitchhikers; The Pigman of Angola's Holland Road; Tanya, the resident ghost of Grand Island's Holiday Inn; Seven Specters of Old Fort Niagara; and other ghostly beings. The third chapter is rounded out by Merry Wanderers or "spirit guides."

Winfield's writing is very reader-friendly to fans of both the supernatural and local history. He also adds some comic asides. For example, speaking on Little Girl Ghosts (LGG), Winfield writes "In Buffalo, for instance, the LGG of the Town Ballroom sold me some bad Girl Scout cookies in the spring of 2006."

"Village Ghosts of Western New York, Book One: Actors in the Half-Light" is available at local bookstores and at www.wnybooks.com.