In ‘Southern Mystical Moments’, Patricia Graham uses several short tales to familialize us with the unusual inhabitants of the deep south.
The ‘boojum’,something akin to sasquatch, an owl that brings tidings of an unpleasant end to a loveLy day, and an encounter with a river monster can send a tingle down your spine.
These short stories do a fine job of retelling the lore of the areas, as I compared them with tales shared by story tellers in the Ozarks where I was raised.
I enjoyed the ‘regional language’ used by speakers, rather than the homogenous English we are expected to use today, it presents a flavor of the strong independent mountain people in these tales.
The book ends with a novella, “Magic Under the Willow Tree” written by Verna C. Humphrey weaves a tale of the inherent magic of the willow tree, accepted from time immemorial and a touch of Voodoo to bring about a reincarnated love.
I plan to share this book with my grandkids and great-grandkids so they will not lose the rich legacy of things unseen that abounds among the mountain people, both here and in the Great Smoky Mountains.
I want to thank the authors for bringing them to life.