It is unthinkingly said and often, that America is not old enough to have developed a legendary era... Yet the record of our country's progress is of deep import, and as time goes on the figures seen against the morning twilight of our history will rise to more commanding stature, and the mists of legend will invest them with a softness or glory that shall make reverence for them spontaneous and deep. -Charles M. Skinner, in the Preface Here in two concise volumes are the complete writings of folklorist Charles Skinner, originally published in nine books in 1896, and considered a primary source by generations of researchers and readers of American cultural history and literature. Volume 1 includes the supernatural and spooky stories of the Hudson Valley-including the "best known of American legends," that of Rip Van Winkle-and Manhattan Island, the Delaware region and New England. With such evocative titles as "Father Moody's Black Veil," "The Lost Grave of Paine," "The Devil's Stepping Stones," and "The Dead Ship of Harpswell," these thrilling tales are as eerie as they are enlightening. AUTHOR BIO: In addition to his extensive collections of folklore, CHARLES MONTGOMERY SKINNER (1852-1907) also authored Little Gardens: How to Beautify City Yards and Small Country Spaces (1904).