Tim Prasil

author of "Spectral Edition: Ghost Reports from U.S. Newspapers, 1865-1917"

December 9, 2016

Tim Prasil (aka Tim Prchal) teaches English at Oklahoma State University. He has written articles printed in many academic journals. He edits anthologies of supernatural fiction from the 1800s and early 1900s. His composite novel, "Help for the Haunted: A Decade of Vera Van Slyke Ghostly Mysteries," was honored in the 2016 Celebrating Books by OSU Authors.

Between the American Civil War and the nation's entry into World War I, a wave of ghost reports appeared in U.S. newspapers. Haunted houses, haunted roads, haunted families, and other spectral manifestations were treated as legitimate news. Tim Prasil has collected hundreds of these articles, and "Spectral Edition: Ghost Reports from U.S. Newspapers, 1865-1917" displays the scariest, strangest, funniest, and most intriguing of them. 

Along with nearly 150 complete ghost reports, Prasil includes a well-researched Introduction, useful footnotes, rare newspaper illustrations, and an essay about how an alleged ghost encounter in Memphis ignited a debate about responsible journalism. "Spectral Edition" explores a curious chapter of U.S. newspapers and an era when the American press challenged scientific and religious skepticism with open-minded consideration of the possibility that specters return to haunt us!

 

URL: https://library.okstate.edu/news/celebratingbooks/2018-honorees/tim-prasil

Last Updated: 19 January 2021