Susquehanna Legends

The rugged hillscapes of Pennsylvania have for centuries been fertile ground for legends and folk tales; this collection features many of the finest stories of the region.

Some of the yarns date back to a time before white European settlers arrived in the area; repeated and shared over many generations, their narratives often employ nature and natural phenomena as both setting and plot device; mountain ranges, ponds and lakes, dense woodlands. The appearance of ghosts or spirits is melded with the reality of life; living in the lap of nature was no easy business, with Native Americans and settlers alike fending with the weather and wilderness dangers.

The author casts himself as a mere compiler of various legends that have circulated in Pennsylvania for countless years. Pursuing accuracy and honesty rather than literary convention, the stories are transcribed as closely as possible to versions passed down in the oral tradition. Writing in the early 20th century, Henry Shoemaker’s personal view is that the tales defy convention; many lack the traditional happy conclusions and end on a gloomy or spooky note. Nevertheless, their value – both as historic recollection of a Pennsylvania long-departed, and as folk literature – stands undoubted.