The beautiful state of Montana, home to Little Bighorn and a portion of Yellowstone National Park, brings us ghosts and goblins aplenty. S.E. Schlosser travels to the Treasure State to research the folklore of the land where Custer made his last stand. The rich heritage of Montana is dripping with historical lore. Out here in Big Sky Country, the phantoms roam as free as the buffalo.

Schlosser has a wonderful vernacular, and her ability to spin a tall tale is impressive. She brings us a phantom haunting a mine in Butte, a UFO that visits an unwitting farmer in Wibaux County and, in Billings, an unexpected twist that changes the life of an accomplished attorney. She posits how, from his point of view, a ghost ends up rooted to one spot, unable to escape and doomed to forever repeat his fatal accident as he unwittingly haunts those who traverse his lonely stretch of road. She draws us into the point of view of an elderly Lakota grandmother who was a young girl at the Battle of Little Bighorn. I had to wipe a tear or two, it was so realistic.

In Spooky Montana, Schlosser sometimes writes in the first person, sometimes in the third, but always in an engaging way that brings the reader into her version of the folklore of the region. She puts her own spin on things as she crafts each tale into a short story that would appeal to any fan of spooky legend and lore. But just how tall are these tales? I'll leave that for you to decide.