Phantom Fiddler: and Other Notable Tales

Joe McHugh, an accomplished storyteller and old-time fiddler, has put down his bow and picked up the pen to entertain us with a collection of supernatural tales about violins and fiddlers. A hotel haunted at midnight by the eerie sound of a fiddle, a dancing skeleton and a pirate’s buried treasure, a romantic rivalry between sisters that leads to foul murder, an ill-advised bargain with the Devil during the rough and tumble days of the California Gold Rush, these are just a few of the unexpected delights to be found within these pages. Each is an original tale, inspired by ancient myths and folk beliefs, and told with reverence for this most mysterious and seductive of all musical instruments—the violin.

Joe McHugh is a traditional storyteller, musician, and award-winning public radio journalist. In 1970, he purchased an eighty-acre farm in Gilmer County, West Virginia, where he raised goats, chickens, and draft horses. He also fell in love with the traditional music and storytelling of the southern Appalachian mountains. He has served as a consultant for numerous government agencies and non-profit organizations including the United States Justice Department, California Department of Education, National Council of Family Court and Juvenile Judges, and California School Library Association. His radio work has been featured on numerous public radio stations around the country as well as Morning Edition, Inside Appalachia, and Voice of America. He is married to Paula Blasius-McHugh who is a musician and artist. They have performed together at libraries, schools, festivals, and colleges throughout the United States and in England, Scotland, and Ireland.