Joe Tennis Haunts the Friends on Veterans Day!

Sort of reviewed by Jeanne

I would very much like to review Joe Tennis’ new book, Haunts of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Highlands, but the sad truth is that Bristol Public Library doesn’t have a copy for me to check out—yet. It is on order. However, I believe I can safely say that this is going to be a shivery, wonderful book with tales you’ll remember not just because of the spooky content but for the way they’re written. I can say this because I’ve enjoyed reading Mr. Tennis’ column in the Bristol Herald Courier and his occasional feature articles. He has produced some marvelous books,too.

Take Southwest Virginia Crossroads (917.557 TEN Main & Avoca) for example. It’s a wonderful piece of local research. Joe not only gives a brief history of places around the area, but he talks about specific sites to visit and things to do. He dispenses a wealth of fascinating facts and tidbits of trivia with both humor and pride in the region. I learned quite a lot about places I thought I knew and discovered a number of others I’d like to visit. If I were to recommend one Southwest Virginia guidebook to someone, this would be the one.

Unless, of course, the person was traveling Hwy. 58 across Virginia, in which case I’d give them Beach to Bluegrass: Places to Brake on Virginia’s Longest Road (917.55 TEN Main & Avoca). Joe does his usual wonderful job of finding interesting places and telling us all about them. He has an eye for uniqueness and the talent to tell about it.

It’s not just Virginia, either. He wrote the text for Sullivan County (976.896 TEN Main & Avoca), one of the books in the “Images of America” series. Most of the books in this series consist of photos with little information: nice, but sometimes they raise more questions than they answer. Joe does a great job of putting each photo in context, of giving enough background so that you can appreciate what you’re seeing. He also gives each part of Sullivan County (Bluff City, Blountville, etc.) an introduction, making this a handy little reference book as well as a charming source of photos from ‘way back when.’

I even know how well he does with ghost stories, thanks to The Marble and Other Ghost Tales of Tennessee and Virginia (133.1 TEN Avoca; GEN 133.1 TEN Main). It’s definitely a notch above the usual ghost tale book, and not just because they’re local. He gives us a clear sense of place, for one thing; for another, he manages to find the human element in the story. While the stories are rooted in a specific place, he avoids using dialect or making the characters look foolish. It’s the human aspect that gives these little ghosts their power, though: we can identify with the characters in the story.

So I’m sure that Haunts of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Highlands will be a real treat, even sight unseen. If you’d like to check my surmise, you can put a copy of the book on reserve at Main.

If you prefer to hear your tales from the source, you are in luck! Mr. Tennis will be presenting a special selection of ghostly tales for the Friends of the Bristol Public Library in the Henry Kegley Meeting Room on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 7 pm. Since it’s Veterans’ Day, the stories will all involve veterans. The program is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase. (Note: Main & Avoca will actually be closed that day in observance of the holiday, but Main will open the large meeting room for this event.)

EDIT: I found my very own copy of Haunts and have been enjoying it. I especially liked the story involving the Crown of Feathers. If you haven't heard of that, it's a strange formation found inside feather pillows, usually after someone has died. I saw some in a museum once, and thought them wondrous strange. I hadn't thought of them for years, until Joe's story conjured them up again for me. And yes, the book is as good as I thought it would be!