Ghosts of Newport: Spirits, Scoundres, Legends and Lore

By John T. Brennan and John Brennan

Book Overview

Ghosts of Newport plumbs the depths of Newport's history and reveals a host of chilling tales in which fact and folklore intertwine.

Today's Newport attracts countless visitors from around the world; its streets are alive with art, culture, wealth and beauty. Yet the city harbors echoes of a dark and turbulent past, including a variety of haunted sites: the Jailhouse Inn, Astor's Beechwood, the White Horse Tavern--America's oldest tavern--and many more. These stories show a side of Newport that history books alone could never tell, and help you peer past the city's gilded fa ade to discover dark secrets sure to spook and surprise.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1596293357
• ISBN13: 9781596293359
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: History Press
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Great surprise

While the focus is on, as the subtitle proclaims, "Spirits, Scoundrels, Legends, and Lore," the book provides a large amount of background on Rhode Island, the Providence Plantations, and, of course, Newport itself. If you ever go to Newport, one-time playground of the world's wealthiest men, this book is almost essential; and even if you never plan to go, it's interesting, well-written, and nicely illustrated. I was grabbed in the first chapter by the story of the Jailhouse Inn, a renovated colonial prison: "The Newport Jailhouse was not designed to be completely escape-proof. It was never considered particularly strong or secure. Especially early in Newport history, jail sentences were rare; colonists preferred public humiliation as punishment for crimes." I was surprised by how well written and well researched this book is. Most of the photography was very good, too - and there's lots of it (though some photos are a bit muddy, which I believe is the publishers' fault based on my experience with print).