Jannette Quackenbush — Folklorist and Author of the Haunted Ohio Archives

Real Ghost Stories from Historical Sources

About the Haunted Ohio Archives

The Haunted Ohio Archives are a long-term folklore and history project founded and curated by folklorist and author Jannette Quackenbush. Established in 1999, the archives preserve Ohio’s authentic ghost stories and legends through verifiable documentation and firsthand research. Each account is drawn from primary historical sources—not modern retellings or commercial ghost-tour lore—and reflects the true intersection of fact, tragedy, and memory within the state’s past.

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How She Gathers Research

Jannette’s work begins where folklore and history meet. Every haunting, legend, and ghost story she documents is traced back to its earliest verifiable source—whether it lies in a forgotten newspaper clipping, a faded diary entry, or the memory of an old-timer who still remembers how the story was told.

Her research process combines archival investigation and fieldwork. She combs through 19th- and early-20th-century newspaper archives, courthouse records, WPA folklore manuscripts, and county histories for firsthand accounts of deaths, disasters, and unexplained events. She conducts verbal interviews with residents and descendants, often comparing multiple tellings of a story to locate the most authentic version.

Much of her time is spent in historical societies, small-town libraries, and university special collections, where she examines letters, diaries, and regional folklore manuscripts rarely seen outside local archives. She also uses digital databases such as Chronicling America, Newspapers.com, and the Library of Congress collections to cross-reference names, dates, and events, ensuring that each haunting is tied to a documented historical moment.

Every story in the Haunted Ohio Archives reflects that balance of folklore, documentation, and place—the way a ghost story should be told: grounded in truth, supported by record, and whispered from the lips of those who lived it.

Unlike compilations of modern ghost-tour lore, the Haunted Ohio Archives focus solely on verifiable accounts drawn from primary historical evidence and archival research.

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About Jannette Quackenbush

Jannette Quackenbush is a folklorist, author, and researcher who has spent more than forty years studying American ghost stories and Appalachian folklore. She has written over forty books on regional hauntings, legends, and hiking trails, including the Haunted Ohio, Haunted West Virginia, and Haunted Pennsylvania series. Through her organization 21 Crows American Folklore Archives, she continues to document and preserve the authentic stories that shaped the cultural landscape of the United States.