When it comes to understanding the dead, there is something unusual about the Hudson Valley; so many ghost stories have come out of this region. Some have become a part of our national lore such as Washington Irving’s retelling of the legends about Rip Van Winkle and Sleepy Hollow. Most, however, have remained in the Valley where they have been retold from generation to generation. Ghosts in Residence is a collection of stories told by – and in many cases, witnessed by – renown photographer H.A. von Behr during his time living in the Hudson Valley.
The intimate stories have, since the original publication of this book, become classics in the region and taken on a legendary quality all their own. The book also includes original black and white photographs taken by von Behr of the houses, graves, and people featured within. From the hauntings of dilapidated country manors and castles, unexplained phenomena along the Valley hillsides, and strange apparitions found lingering within ancient Quaker cemeteries, this collection of stories reveals the otherworldly legacy of the Hudson Valley as a place of ancient spirits.
H.A von Behr began his career as a research metallurgist, but photography drew his interest from childhood on, and in 1931 he started his own studio in New York City. A few years later he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain and was awarded the Diplome D’Honeur L’Association Belge De Photographie et De Cinematographie. His pictorial photographs have been awarded prizes in London, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Boston, Chicago, and New York. He has been an instructor of Photography at New York University, introducing Photo-Journalism there and he has written and illustrated many magazine articles. A number of famous men and women have had portraits done by Mr. von Behr, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Gloria Vanderbilt, Mrs. Charles Dana Gibson, Lee Remick, Claudio Arau, Sir William Elliott, Count Felix von Luckner and the Eisenhower grandchildren. Retired from his studio and residing in Manhattan, he and his wife, Ruth, are nature lovers and try to retreat to their woodland farm in Columbia County, New York as much as possible. It is there that he is inspired to do much of his writing.
H.A von Behr began his career as a research metallurgist, but photography drew his interest from childhood on, and in 1931 he started his own studio in New York City. A few years later he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain and was awarded the Diplome D’Honeur L’Association Belge De Photographie et De Cinematographie. His pictorial photographs have been awarded prizes in London, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Boston, Chicago, and New York. He has been an instructor of Photography at New York University, introducing Photo-Journalism there and he has written and illustrated many magazine articles. A number of famous men and women have had portraits done by Mr. von Behr, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Gloria Vanderbilt, Mrs. Charles Dana Gibson, Lee Remick, Claudio Arau, Sir William Elliott, Count Felix von Luckner and the Eisenhower grandchildren. Retired from his studio and residing in Manhattan, he and his wife, Ruth, are nature lovers and try to retreat to their woodland farm in Columbia County, New York as much as possible. It is there that he is inspired to do much of his writing.
