Forgotten Tales of Vermont by William M. Alexander; published in 2008 by The History Press in Charleston, South Carolina; softcover; 157 pages; $14.99

Reviewed by Jennifer Hersey Cleveland

Forgotten Tales of Vermont is an amusing collection of bits of lore, bizarre newspaper accounts, and wild tales, sometimes right from the horse’s mouth.  Forgotten Tales might not have been the most apt title, however, as many of the stories are quite well-known by Vermonters.  But read from the perspective of someone from away, as we native Mainers say, it is a treasure trove.

Newport native William M. Alexander decided that some of the stories told across a wood fire in the good ole days should be recorded in one volume.  And thus Forgotten Tales of Vermont came to be.

Most residents of the Kingdom are familiar with stories about the fur-bearing trout of Lake Memphremagog, the Glover pond that “ran away,” and Willoughby Lake’s giant snake, allegedly slain by a boy from Newport.  Other tales might only be known and retold in small locales, such as the Hayden family curse in Albany or the death of three people in a snowstorm that brought the town of Danville shame.

Unless one is an avid reader of Vermont folklore, which this reporter is (God bless you, Joe Citro), other tales will come as a complete surprise, even to the most native of Vermonters.  Slice-of-life interviews complete many of the stories by lending a sense of immediacy and authenticity.

The book is just the right size to pack along on an autumn hike, but please, dear reader, not near Brunswick Springs, where one might find himself at the mercy of the spirits of Native Americans who haunt it still today.

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