WOMEN IN WHITE - Review

Women in White – The Haunting of Northeast Florida, Elizabeth Randall with Photographs by Bob Randall, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., Atglen, PA, 2015, 160 pp. $16.99.

Elizabeth and Bob Randall are transplants from The Great Northeast (Maine and New York to be specific). They began exploring their new home state and, although calling themselves “ghost agnostics”, began visiting reputedly haunted sites.

        Women in White is well written, and possibly the best guide book I’ve ever read. There are details that will have visitors looking for “spooky” locales off the beaten path.  If you’re not into ghosts, Women in White can act as your guide book to obscure Florida historical sites such as the Franklintown Cemetery or NaNa, the sand dune at American Beach. Bob’s photos add to the flavor of the book.

        Elizabeth artfully captures the history of Florida as it progressed from Native American times to today. At various times in its history, Florida has been colonized by Spanish, British, French; it seceded from the Union; and as Obi Wan Kenobi would say, it has been a “wretched hive of scum and villainy.” Pirates, gun-runners, bootleggers, and slave traders plied their trade in the deep natural harbors. It became Hollywood East during winter months, visited by the rich, famous and sometimes notorious.

        Elizabeth and Bob interviewed “[m]any sincere and honest people … [who] claimed to have seen ghosts, apparitions, unexplained mist, and always a Woman in White.” Elizabeth notes that “a northeast Florida State of Mind is dominated by wispy tales of Women in White.”

        That’s the one unfortunate aspect of Women in White: there are few actual tales of women in white. Yes, there are stories of ghosts, and we hear FOAF (friend of a friend) tales of ghostly sounds and apparitions, but there are few first-hand accounts, and details are scarce.

        Each site gives the “Haunting”, followed by the “History”. In most cases, the history is twice or three times longer than the haunting. Any quotes from potential witnesses are in small italic print that is difficult to read.

        Several chapters mention male ghosts, or even groups, but I was disappointed in the lack of actual Women in White. The book promises “29 tales…dominated by the wispy trails of strange female spirits…” That just isn’t so. I would call Women in White a history book with a few ghosts thrown in.

        If you’re looking for some spooky sites to visit in northeastern Florida, Women in White will give you 29 places to check out, and information on possible ghostly activity. But if, like me, you’re looking for first-hand accounts of women in white, you may be disappointed.

- Shari Donaldson