In their illuminating book A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America’s Ghosts, Hieber and Janes delve into the history, social trends, prejudices, and advances in scientific understanding that underlie and shape the stories of ghostly women in the United States. I came away from reading this book with a much greater understanding of how the stories we tell about ghosts reflect how we Americans feel about ourselves and our own, often bloody, history.

Hieber and Andrea have clearly done exhaustive research to write A Haunted History of Invisible Women. They’ve waded through an abundance of information and separated fact from speculation. Though this book focuses on ghosts and apparitions, this should not be mistaken for a collection of ghost stories; it’s more an analysis of ghost lore in the United States. The selected use of ghostly artwork and photographs throughout the text helps to enhance the writing. The stories included are often eerie and upsetting (more so because they are true!), but A Haunted History of Invisible Women aims to educate more than frighten.

The authors also include their own personal experiences of haunted places and their perspectives as ghost tour guides on the supernatural tourism industry as a whole. They insist on the importance of behaving in a respectful, ethical manner when relaying stories of real people’s lives, both in their writing and on their tours.

I really liked how Hieber and Janes chose to organize this book. They open with dual introductions where they list their credentials, explain the need for a book exploring the relationship between women and ghosts in the U.S., and discuss how universally important questions about justice, the afterlife, and spirituality are filtered through the particular lived realities of people seen in the ghost stories they tell.

After the introduction, the book is divided into seven parts each dealing with a specific category of spectral hauntings (Death and the Maiden; “Witches”; Mothers and Wives; Bad Girls, Jezebels, and Killer Women; “Madwomen”; Spinsters and Widows; and Frauds, Fakes, and Mythmaking). Hieber and Janes use these titles as a kind of tongue-and-cheek acknowledgement of how often and easily women are categorized and punished for stepping outside of social norms. They spend a good portion of the book breaking down and analyzing the existence and persistence of these categories into the present day. This adds sympathy, depth, and dimension to the often tragic and sensationalized stories of these women. There are many examples of this, but one that sticks with me is Sarah Winchester whose independence and intelligence was often overlooked in favor of stories about her instability both during her life and after her death.

Each part of A Haunted History has its own introduction before it dives into specific ghost stories. I say “stories,” but much of the book reads more like a series of fascinating case studies examining the facts and fiction of each case and explaining how it ties into the broader historical movements and cultural anxieties of its time. They also examine how stories change and which stories stay with us (such as the Salem Witch Trials) and which stories, though they might have been sensational at the time, fade into obscurity. All of these stories lead back to a central question: why are we still so obsessed with ghosts, and what does this obsession say about us as Americans and as humans?

The book concludes with an insightful afterword by Linda D. Addison and an impressive bibliography.

A Haunted History of Invisible Women made me aware of how much I don’t know despite my love of the darker side of things. I recognized some familiar names, such as the infamous Lizzie Borden and Mary Surratt, but many of these stories and women were unfamiliar to me. Hieber and Janes really make a case for how unfairly overlooked many of these women were in life, and how they continue to be either invisible or misrepresented in death. So much of what we learn in school is dry facts told from the perspectives of just a few people, and it makes it easy to forget that while historical events are happening, real people are living real lives. For many of the women in these stories, lack of agency, inability to hold property or get a job, and lack of a support network brought about the circumstances of their tragedies.

Though many of these stories are tragic, not all of them are. I loved learning about women who successfully broke through conventions and barriers such as Mary Becker Greene, the first woman in the U.S. to get her steamboat pilot’s license. She loved her ship so much her spirit reputedly never left it.

I often end reviews by saying I could go on writing for much longer, but I think this is especially the case with A Haunted History of Invisible Women. It’s a fascinating read, and it will make you reassess the nature and importance of ghost stories. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in haunting and the paranormal, as well as anyone interested in the less well-known history of the United States. Though women were (and are) often relegated to the sidelines, their contributions are still important, though the evidence of their impact is sometimes as spectral and hard to pin down as their ghosts.

Rating: 4.5 stars

"Be confident in your own decisions. Act boldly without care of gossips. Be unique. Own the mystery for yourself." - Sarah Winchester

Overall I loved this book. It was informative, but also so easy to read, and didn't feel like a non-fiction book. There were several stories throughout this book that I didn't know a lot about. Of Course, everyone knows about the Salem witch trials, Lizzie Borden, and of course the Winchester house. Finding out the real history behind all of them especially the Winchester house which has so many false stories told about it was so interesting. I liked how the authors focused on how profiting off of others' pain, especially that of people who were enslaved and now still said to be haunting places is not a good one.

"Profiteering from a system of slavery and patriarchy by reselling the ghost stories of enslaved people is, to put it mildly, morally questionable"

I also liked how they didn't try and sensationalize any of the stories and make them appear larger than life, they got to the bottom of them and really did their research to make sure that they were telling these women's stories as they should be told and with dignity.

This book covers the vast majority of the U.S. with stories from New York, Salem Massachusetts, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and many other small cities across the country. Leaving a little something for everyone in this book from ghosts, spiritualism, mystery, and history.

Review posting on my blog on September 22nd.

Review being posted on my Instagram on September 24th.

This was an interview telling of the many female ghosts that haunt the United States. From witches, to mothers, murderers, to lonely women who chose to end their lives - you will find a little bit of everything in this book.

It was an easy-to-read book, with well laid out sections. Most of the stories I was already familiar with, but I did run across two or three I didn't know very well.

If you are looking for a great weekend read, this is it!

"From the notorious Lizzie Borden to the innumerable, haunted rooms of Sarah Winchester's mysterious mansion, this offbeat, insightful, first-ever book of its kind explores the history behind America's female ghosts, the stereotypes, myths, and paranormal tales that swirl around them, what their stories reveal about us - and why they haunt us...

Sorrowful widows, vengeful jezebels, innocent maidens, wronged lovers, former slaves, even the occasional axe-murderess - America's female ghosts differ widely in background, class, and circumstance. Yet one thing unites them: their ability to instill fascination and fear, long after their deaths. Here are the full stories behind some of the best-known among them, as well as the lesser-known - though no less powerful.

Tales whispered in darkness often divulge more about the teller than the subject. America's most famous female ghosts, from from 'Mrs. Spencer' who haunted Joan Rivers' New York apartment to Bridget Bishop, the first person executed during the Salem witchcraft trials, mirror each era's fears and prejudices. Yet through urban legends and campfire stories, even ghosts like the nameless hard-working women lost in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire - achieve a measure of power and agency in death, in ways unavailable to them as living women.

Riveting for skeptics and believers alike, with humor, curiosity, and expertise, A Haunted History of Invisible Women offers a unique lens on the significant role these ghostly legends play both within the spook-seeking corners of our minds and in the consciousness of a nation."

I love how women's history is being reclaimed everywhere, even in the supernatural.

A Haunted History of Invisible Women by Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes is a well done and engaging look at the true stories behind the legends of ghosts and the supernatural.
As the book description says, "From the notorious Lizzie Borden to the innumerable, haunted rooms of Sarah Winchester's mysterious mansion, this offbeat, insightful, first-ever book of its kind explores the history behind America’s female ghosts, the stereotypes, myths, and paranormal tales that swirl around them, what their stories reveal about us—and why they haunt us…" the book deals with the history, facts, exaggerations and lies that surround some of the hauntings and is not just a collection of ghost stories. It also looks at how societies views of women have shaped the stories and legends around the ghosts.
One thing I wish that had been expanded upon a little more was the fact that some of the ghost stories are also cautionary tales and how that fits within the original history.
As someone who has a heavy interest in the paranormal and history there were still some facts and information that I found surprising--the part about Savannah, Georgia and it's embracement of Dark Tourism is a prime example.
I found this to be a very engaging, entertaining, and educational book.
I would like to thank #NetGalley, and #KenisngtonBooks and the authors for the eARC of the book and Kristen Vega for the physical copy (and the cool Black Leaves) of #AHauntedHistoryofInvisibleWomen.

A light and readable - but never glib - history of female ghosts in America, sure to please fans of Lore or My Favourite Murder. Hieber and Janes bring the ghost tour experience to the page, exploring the tales of far-flung locations such as Salem, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and New York, while always pairing their ghostly tales with both a keen eye for sociological and historical context, and a sense of deep and genuine empathy for their subjects. The history aspects of the book lean more towards pop than academic (I spotted a few urban legends in the Salem chapters that have been debunked by more recent scholars) and I would not recommend it as an independent source. But as a compendium of ghost stories, it's an outstanding contribution to the genre.

A Haunted History of Invisible Women is a collection of stories about women who may have a ghostly presence and their lives. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book, or even why I chose this book since I’m not a huge ghost person, but the book was different than I expected. The different stories highlighted the lives of many different women, going into detail of who they were and providing interesting insight on their lives and afterlives. Overall this was an interesting read and I enjoyed getting to know these different women and their stories. This isn’t pure, spooky ghost encounters and stories, there is background information and insight about each woman and I enjoyed that part of the book. This isn’t the type of book I would typically read, but I’m glad I gave it a chance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of the book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC for review!

This is one of the few non-fiction books I've read this year. Our writers bring us 0n a journey through time, showing us the true stories that bring us some of our most famous ghost stories. Looking at history through a feminist lens, we see why these stories persevere even today.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. The writing was easy to follow, and the stories chosen were exciting and different. I had only heard of three women mentioned before reading, so I felt like I learned a lot.

Be aware, that while we talk about ghost stories, this book does not dwell on the hauntings, but on the true stories of the people who lived. Often proving that our view of these women of the past is wholly incorrect.

The conversations started by the authors are really interesting, and I think lots of amazing points were made. However, at times it felt that it lingered too long on the feminist theory instead of the true lives that we were discussing. Yes, I think it is important to talk about WHY we see women a certain way, and how the patriarchy affected their lives when they lived, but to ONLY speak on that seems a little redundant and minimalizing of their stories.

Overall, this was a great read and perfect for the autumn if non-fiction is your speed instead of horror or other spooky genres. Highly recommend to those who love feminist theory and ghost stories!

This book takes a feminist view of famous ghost stories involving women. The writing is fairly academic in style but the stories are interesting.

This book regales us with not only tales of America’s most famous female ghosts, but stories of lesser known hauntings, as well as witches. At times this book is fascinating, but other times I felt that the book rambled and then other times I felt that the story seemed to drag a bit. Overall, if you have an interest in ghosts, then this is definitely worth checking out.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Kensington Books for an advanced copy of this book on both parapsychology and the lives of women.

Male ghosts seem to have a history. A Lord of the manor, known for his cruelty, a man so evil that hell didn't want him, so he's stuck in his ancestral home moving things and scaring tourists. Possibly a criminal hanged for his evil deeds, or done in by a vengeful, but wrong posse, who scares people by putting tables on ceilings, or spoiling milk. Women ghosts, in many ways, just want to be acknowledged, maybe for the first time, in their life or spectral life. A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America's Ghosts by Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes set out to share the stories and tales of women, who even in death seem too haunted by their lives to find their just sleep.

The book begins with a brief intro by both authors discussing their interests in the paranormal and why they enjoy and feel a need to share these stories. From there the book is broken into different sections, featuring different types of hauntings and reasons. Famous ones, infamous, unknown to a lot of readers, witches, murder victims and more. When possible evidence is cited but a few are stories based on stories, which is fine. The authors work separately on issues, but join together on the bigger stories.

Not just a book on hauntings and things that go bump, but a look at the roles of woman throughout American history. Witches are discussed, how women were accused either for speaking out, stepping out, or for just getting too old or owning too much property in a community. The ghosts in some chapters are sometimes reasons to discuss women in various eras, and how little has changed today. The tales are interesting, sometimes very sad, as a story about woman killing herself over being ruined by a man, could be a story from today, not just 150 years ago. The research is interesting with plenty of footnotes, which I enjoyed as much as the regular writing.

This is not a Scary Tales kind of collection. More of a study of women and how even death seems to stack the odds against them. Much of this information was new to me, and I enjoyed reading and learning from this book quite a bit. For fans of the paranormal, and for people who like to think, even when reading ghost stories.

This was not what I expected, and I admit that I didn't finish the book. The authors showed such a lack of passion for their subject that I became bored very quickly, Their approach was distant, aloof, and contained so many generalizations that for me all credibility was lost. I once experienced a ghost and it was very real indeed.

I found this book very informative. It was more about the injustice of women throughout history and not so much of the ghosts themselves or the sightings. As a feminist, I enjoy reading about women who history and the world in general have forgotten about.

3.5 Stars. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I saw this available and eagerly awaited a copy. I find ghost stories interesting and looked forward to reading. Although the book mentioned individual ghost stories, it did not get into any more detailed accounts or experiences about the stories. The meat of the book was really about how women over and over throughout time were often victims of society and circumstances.

If you are looking for a well written book detailing the history of injustices against women and their rights, then this is the book for you. If you are looking for detailed ghost stories with eye- witness accounts, you will need to look elsewhere.

Very informative and easy to read. Great if you wanted to do research on ghosts, women's status in society throughout history, or a general essay for a women/genders studies class. Reads in part like a ghost tour (as one of the authors is a ghost tour guide) and in part like a textbook. Again, great for research but maybe a tad repetitive for casual reading (unless you're super into the subjects!)

A very interesting well researched book. If you're looking for just spooky stories, this book is not for you. It was very heavy on the history and had a very skeptical outlook on the hauntings. I do believe it achieved it's goal though of giving these women their real stories back instead of just the spooky tales people tell of them. I did like how the book was broken down into categories so I was able to skip around to the areas I may be more interested in with ease.

Interesting, informative, and sometimes insulting.

I am somewhat torn about this book. There were some things to love about it and some things to hate as well.
Being someone who is intrigued by the spiritual and historical and having read/enjoyed some of Leanna’s fiction work, the premise and authors of this book intrigued me and led me to want to read it.

Quite a number of the ghost tales were known to me—in fact, one of them was very well known as I spent a semester at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama in high school in a program called Step Ahead where incoming high school seniors could take two classes (for credit) in the summer. I was pleased that one of the first tales told in this book was about the red lady from there. That summer I lived on campus, we used to walk down to the dorm (Pratt Hall) where the poor girl supposedly died and talk about how tragic that was. A few times, it seemed there was a face at one of the windows on the top floor. Perhaps a flight of fancy since we were told the room had been boarded up. Nevertheless, it was nice to see the story in this book.

Clearly, the authors did a wonderful job fully researching the various stories they chose to share. The way the tales were sorted into categories made sense and the organization was well done. The book had a nice flow to it and a good variety of stories.

Some of the prose was a bit too woke and strident for me. There were also some places that it seemed as if the authors were lecturing or looking down on the reader. It was odd to me for them to basically attempt to shame the very demographic of people who would be attracted to reading the subject matter of this book. It was also strange since one of the authors owns a ghost tour company and the other one leads ghost tours. If you make your living from the industry, how can you legitimately look down on your customers? Seems a bit cynical to me. I almost stopped reading a couple of times because of this, but eventually picked it up again as the actual ghost stories and histories of the places were intriguing.

Overall, I enjoyed this one (except the parts where I felt insulted). I recommend the book for the stories and thorough historical research. Just skim over the parts where the writers’ judgment of the reader is problematic. I’m giving this one 3.5 stars for the historical detail and quality of the tales.

I received a copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. September 27, 2022 release date.

I have long had a quiet interest in things ghostly and haunting for a very good reason. I have had experiences with spirits and had hoped these authors would bring new information to my attention. There is good information here, but it is rather meager regarding personal experiences of either of these two authors. As someone familiar with the subject I would have welcomed more individual experiences. The segments where one or the other author was relating personally experienced activity at a specific location was more engaging for me instead of being just a recitation of facts (or fiction as some stories represent). If you have done any exploration into the phenomenon of witches, ghosts, haunts or spirits, you will have seen how women were so often victims of society and made scapegoats because they didn't have anyone to stand up for them and defend the charges against them. Society tends to come down harshly on someone who is different and Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes have done an excellent job of illustrating how this has happened to women over and over through time. What they have also shown is how some women managed to overcome their position in society to find a place to survive and even thrive in a world that makes most people just a little bit nervous.

If this is your first step in exploring the world of the paranormal, you will certainly find an abundance of information to help you find your way through the subject. This book can certainly point you in the direction you need to go in order to focus on one type of hauntings. I couldn't help but smile while reading the chapter devoted to the hauntings in Savannah, Georgia. Those folks are certainly willing to do (or say?) whatever it takes to keep the ghost tours going strong in their city. Who would have believed that ghosts could foster an entire tourism category in the life of a city.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an e-galley of this book.

I received an arc of this book and sadly dfn halfway through. While the premise of the book is promising I found it was not what I expected. There was a lot of this will be explained later in the book or references to other chapters so it didn't flow well. I expected more ghost stories where instead there were just small albeit interesting stories added in with mostly explanations that went with each chapter.
Now if you are looking for a history of women in history especially when it comes to injustices in women's rights you will probably really enjoy this book. It just wasn't a good match for me.

Authors and ghost tour guides Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes tell the stories of America’s female ghosts, discussing how they fall in the landscape of gender and time.

I enjoy a good ghost story, which was why I requested this book on NetGalley. However, what I learned was far beyond the scope of merely spooky tales, and I really enjoyed this. The authors relate the stories of the ghosts with particular emphasis on the women’s place in space and time, expanding the way I looked at them.

Yet at the same time, the stories managed to be humorous and heart-rending and spooky. I especially liked the story in the chapter “An Unreliable Narrator,” which tells the story of a certain strange house in New York City.

However, I did think the authors sometimes wrote with sweeping generalizations about both ghosts and gender, and the tone of the writing became a little dramatic at times. I also wished that the authors would have included more stories about women from marginalized backgrounds – while they discussed the paucity of stories about such ghosts, I thought it would have been interesting if they could have included more of the stories they did find.

Overall, a fascinating read for those who believe in ghosts as well as those in search of good historical yarns.