Berks the Bizarre

Charles J. Adams, III has done a splendid job collecting folklore and legends of Berks County, Pennsylvania in his book, Berks The Bizarre, but reality is you can throw a dart at a map of North America and regardless of where it lands, there will be a book's worth of folklore and legends waiting for you there as well. Yet, though Berks County is not really special in its collection of mystery and folklore, Adams has done a great service in cataloging these stories simply because stories of "ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties" form an important part of the genius loci of a cultural area even for those who do not live there. And stories like these were meant to be read. So enclosed are fifty-one chapters of hauntings, the Jersey Devil, a dragon or two, the cursed, and the doomed, and the eccentric and even Old Splitfoot himself to read in front of a warm fire when the chill night wind sends clouds racing against the moon. They may only be urban legends of old, but they sure are fun.