Beyond Spirit Tailings

Montana is alive with things that go bump in the Big Sky night. A World War II serviceman who lingers in a Billings business, a dearly departed priest who still hitchhikes around Helena, and a Hamilton socialite who adorns her mansion with the scent of roses--these are a few of the creepy tales from across the state collected in Beyond Spirit Tailings. Passed down through generations, these stories illustrate the subtle presence of the past in the everyday lives of modern Montanans.

Ellen Baumler has again traversed the state, interviewing and researching carefully to present history with a ghostly twist. Her first book, Spirit Tailings, brought Montana's colorful historical tapestry to a new range of readers who will be delighted by this second volume. Beyond Spirit Tailings again offers ghostly encounters from Montana's heritage places, but Baumler also branches out to explore such historical mysteries as the monster said to lurk in the deep waters of Flathead Lake, the power of an ancient object revered by native peoples, and a possible explanation for the suspicious death of Thomas Francis Meagher. Richly embroidered with Montana's unique historical legacy, these eerie and mysterious tales will leave readers looking over their shoulders, sleeping with the lights on, and always craving more.

Ellen Baumler is an award-winning writer and serves as the interpretive historian for the Montana Historical Society. Her other books include Spirit Tailings: Ghost Tales of Virginia City, Butte, and Helena and Girl from the Gulches: The Story of Mary Ronan, both from the Montana Historical Society Press.