Ghost on Black Mountain

Steeped in the tradition of Southern backwoods lore, Ann Hite has crafted a strange and deliciously dark mountain tale, replete with secrets and ghosts and eerie twists that kept me guessing. This is the kind of old-time storytelling one would hope for while sitting on a warped front porch on a starless night.

From the moment I started reading "Ghost On Black Mountain," Nellie Pritchard walked into my heart and took up residence. And she didn't come alone. Others followed.

Along with four other women who narrate this page-turning tale, young Nellie must learn the hard way that sometimes our choices in life will haunt us forever. All five women are intricately connected to one man, Hobbs Pritchard, the menace of Black Mountain. A mean-spirited moonshiner who runs this Depression era mountain village like a crime boss, Hobbs first woos young Nellie Clay from a church soup line in Ashville where she and her mama are serving folks worse off than themselves. Hobbs cast his spell over this naïve seventeen-year-old with his smooth talking ways and blue eyes that made Nellie "see life his way in an instant."

Despite her mama's warnings - she saw death in the tea leaves - Nellie marries Hobbs Pritchard and they head back up the mountain to a big drafty house with a gigantic fireplace and a window that overlooks the nearby woods and tumbling river. It's the view from this window where Nellie gets her first warning that her life with Hobbs, who she barely knows anything about, has put her in danger.

In this beautifully crafted story, so rich and vivid in character and voice, warnings appear to Nellie in many forms. First there's the man standing at the edge of the woods, then a young black girl who can see things beyond her years, and a gentle woman standing at the bottom of the stairs. But will Nellie heed their advice and go home to her mama, or ignore their warnings and keep suffering under the cruel hands of her husband?

Sightings of ghosts, missing persons, and tightlipped neighbors all play a part in this drama where people are hesitant to talk for fear of their lives or reputations. Even when I wasn't reading, I was conjuring up these characters in my head. I found myself thinking in their voices. Wondering what was going to happen next. Nellie, Josie, Shelly, Rose, and Iona were pulling me back to Black Mountain. To unfinished business. These women had stories to tell and I was their captive audience.

There are so many good lines in this novel, too many to mention in a brief review.

But the two lines that stopped me in my tracks and seem to embody everything good about Ann Hite's novel, come at the end of a scene when Nellie's mama, Josie Clay, is reflecting on a comforting visit from her own mother shortly after her mother's death: "Mama loved me enough to come see me before she left the world. She wasn't no ghost, just a spirit on its way to heaven. Amen."

Like the mountain itself - populated with strong women, restless spirits, and unspeakable secrets - once this story gets in your blood, you can never leave it.

I highly recommend this book. I'd give it six stars if I could!

Kathleen M. Rodgers ~ author of the novel Johnnie Come Lately (Camel Press 2/1/15)

"On Black Mountain, ghosts roam almost as freely as the living, carrying dark pasts and warnings of what's to come. In her haunting debut, Ann Hite weaves together the stories of five Southern women whose lives are irrevocable changed by one man and the act that kills him."

After reading the title and description of this book, I was intrigued enough to buy it. Black Mountain is a real location very near where I live, so I was immediately attracted to that as well. I admit I wasn't totally sure what to expect going in but I did expect a good ghost story. What I got was so much greater. Told from five different women's perspective, Ghost on Black Mountain tells the story of Hobbs Pritchard and how his life and actions affected each one of them. It shows that every action affects every future event, and not only in the lives of the one performing the action. Each woman's family was affected as well, and did not always understand why.

While ghosts are involved in this story and are characters themselves, the author doesn't make them the main story. Instead, we are taken into these women's lives and experience what each one is feeling and what they are going through. There are a lot of mother-daughter relationships portrayed in the book, and we learn that even though those relationships may be rocky, the bond between them is fierce and strong.

Ghost on Black Mountain is one of the best books I have read in a while, and I would highly recommend it to everyone!

Just for fun, I read Ann Hite's Ghost on Black Mountain under the covers on Halloween night. As a Christian who almost never reads ghost stories, this book shattered my bias. This masterfully crafted work of literary fiction is a cross-over meant for all. If you delight in eerie ghost stories, this book is a must read. For those who only read Christian fiction, the teachings of Christ sparkle on the pages of this book like jewels hidden between the lines. Ann Hite pulls you into the character's lives and hearts and weaves a compelling spooky mountain tale that haunts you (in a good way) long after you've finished the read.

The main character, young and naïve Nellie Pritchard, meets Hobbs Pritchard while serving in a church food line in depression-era North Carolina. Then, the trouble begins for sweet Nellie.

Ann Hite breaks her novel into six parts, told from the point of view of women connected to the charismatic Hobbs Prichard. Each woman's viewpoint allows us to better understand Nellie, her choices, and her life on Black Mountain. Nellie is warned by the living and the dead to escape from the mountain and from Hobbs, but she mistakenly holds onto love and vows and the good only she sees in her husband, while she puzzles together the truth.

Themes of abuse and love, the powerful and the weak, forgiveness and revenge are beautifully woven into this tale. Mystical settings, eerie atmosphere, beautiful prose and characters with depth unite in this delightful unforgettable tale.

I purchased this book because I was a little short on my purchase for free shipping and this book was a suggestion by Amazon. After reading the brief description, I took a chance, not really knowing what to expect. Am I glad of that! From the moment I read the first chapter, I couldn't put the book down. It is an emotional and riviting story and makes you ask yourself if you believe in ghosts. Friends who have read the book were equally enthralled. Don't miss this book!

I love Ann Hite's writing and there is such beauty in her writing voice. I find myself even taking her quotes out of context because they are so beautiful. But within the context of the story, they are even better. This is a great story with wonderful, memorable characters which are nuanced and complex. She does a wonderful job with multiple voices, weaving meaning through generations, offering the reader twists and surprises as well as continuity. I didn't want to put this book down. It kept me curious and engaged. I only wish Ann Hite had written even more books to enjoy.

Dr. Tracy Brower, author, Bring Work to Life by Bringing Life to Work: A Guide for Leaders and Organizations

***Spoilers below ***
I thought the writing good but the story didn't develop.
I really enjoyed the first part but, for me, the others parts were essentially repetitions. Only the last 20 or so pages carried the story forward. There were constant references to shadowy figures that could be taken as ghosts. Mostly they could also be seen as just the person's projections. So mostly, you could take "ghost" out and say so-and-so felt oppressed.
A lot of telling. We're told Hobbs was a baddie. I wasn't convinced that we'd seen enough badness for Nellie to kill him. I wasn't convinced that she'd live with guilt. She was young. She'd just shrug it off. The 2 deaths at the end were a bit too convenient.

I did read the whole thing but through gritted teeth.

Growing up in Georgia, I heard a lot of ghost stories. They usually involved hands that weren't attached to bodies, dark shadows in moonlight, or the lone hitchhiker that turned out to be Jesus.
Ann Hite does not tell those kind of ghost stories. She is a masterful writer and storyteller. In Hite's hands, the Ghosts on Black Mountain become characters readers will want to linger with, head or no head, full moon or no moon. Hite's story has more twists and turns than Bloody Highway 11. Settle back for a ride that you won't soon forget.

I began reading this book as soon as I brought it home and couldn't put it down until I had read the entire book. You begin to think you know what will happen next and then you are surprised.

I loved the book - the 'circle' of characters was tied together so well, you wanted more of them.

Great read.

I was captivated after the first five pages, and could not put it down. I loved the character development, and especially enjoyed the way the story culminated in the end. I highly recommend - you will not be disappointed.