It’s back. ‘The Springer Ghost Book’ returns with more haunted tales, color photos

The Springer Opera House in Columbus has released a second edition of “The Springer Ghost Book,” written by retired producing artistic director Paul Pierce.

“I never in my life expected that I would become the ghost expert of the Springer Opera House,” Pierce told the Ledger-Enquirer before the Dec. 19 book signing in the Springer’s lobby.

Pierce said he was cynical about the ghost stories people told him during his early years as the Springer’s artistic director until he had his own experience, told in the book as “The Mocking Man.”

“That was a turning point at which I went back to a lot of the people that told me their ghost stories and began writing them down,” he said.

The first edition was published in 2003. According to a Springer press release, that printing of 2,000 books sold out.

“Since then, people have come up to me in the grocery store, buttonholed me at shows and said, ‘Hey, you should have put me in your book. I’ve got a ghost story,’” Pierce said.

This second, collector’s edition is a hardcover with dust jacket. It includes seven new stories and features 31 color photographs.

“I think I’m a better writer in 2025 than I was in 2003, so I really have kind of rewritten the whole book,” Pierce said.

“People still talk about the first Springer Ghost Book,” Springer Opera House CEO and executive producer Danielle Patterson-Varner said in a news release, “It sold out because our community loves these stories and loves this building. That same fascination fuels our ghost tours, which have become one of the most popular ways to explore the Springer after dark. This new edition carries that spirit forward. I expect it will disappear from the shelves just as quickly as the first.”

Pierce gave his take on the authenticity of these ghost stories.

“There are many, many, many spirits, and I think that they’re here because we’re here,” he said, “I believe they are attracted to what we do on this stage, that the art that we create and the devotion that we put into these characters and these stories are something that attracts spirits from the other side.”

The first batch of The Springer Ghost Book second edition is available only at the Springer Opera House and priced at $38.99 at the Springer’s Box Office during business hours, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Call the Springer at 706-327-3688 for more information.

The Springer conducts monthly 45-minute ghost tours of its main theater for $25 per person. The next date scheduled for the public is Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Email ghosttours@springeroperahouse.org to plan a private tour.

This story was originally published December 22, 2025 at 1:06 PM.