I bought this book a few years ago because I was really intrigued by the concept.
Unfortunately, it was this exact thing that made me disappointed with large sections of the book. Despite being named Trucker Ghost Stories, the collection is not limited to trucker stories or even just ghost stories. There were a number of stories that were just people driving around and a few out of place alien tales. I feel that the book could have been a much tighter and stronger one if it had been cut down to just stories that fit the title description. Annie Wilder was able to find more than enough of those.
These paranormal yarns are collected from average people and little editing has been done to them, if any. While some stories are creepy and well told, a lot of them read like business emails or someone just telling their story quickly during a break so that they can get back to their lunch. The book could have used more editing. It got difficult to read stories where every other sentence ended with "you know". Last lines would ruin the story as the narrator felt the need to sum up the story and spoon-feed the creepy part to the reader. There was a number of times where I was taken completely out of the story when I reread the same sentence over and over, but could never make sense of it.
It is hard to judge a book with so many different authors. There were a lot of fun stories and myths, but there were others that didn't seem all that paranormal, such as one where a trucker saw a man wearing all black walking alongside the road. And that was it. Just a guy wearing black being nearby. And there were some stories that just sounded like someone was repeating the plot of a horror movie. They were so over the top, it would be hard to take it seriously even if you are the kind of person who takes ghost stories seriously.
With these stories being put down in print, it loses a lot of the fun of swapping ghost stories--the ability to watch someone's face as they excitedly launch into their tale, being able to ask questions and get more details, reading how much that person believes in it as they talk, and finding out what happened after the ghost disappeared.
Overall, the part I found scariest was getting detailed accounts on how many truckers fall asleep behind the wheel. A large percentage of the stories involve crashes and innocent people dying because a trucker was asleep or not paying attention to the road.
From now on, I will definitely be less at ease if I'm driving behind a big rig late at night. This is probably not the thing Wilder meant to make me feel scared of in the dark, but she did get results.
much love,
hedgie
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