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When Youngstown State University distinguished associate professor of history Amy Fluker’s new book debuted at the Society for Civil War Historians conference in Richmond, Virginia, it marked the completion of a project started by her late mentor, John R. Neff.

“Haunted by Memory: Ghost Stories of the American Civil War,” released in May, grew from Neff’s decade-long research into hundreds of ghost stories found in Civil War-era and postwar newspapers, veterans’ publications and regimental histories. After Neff passed unexpectedly in 2020, his wife asked Fluker to finish the project.

“Yes, a million times, yes,” Fluker said. “It was just the honor and privilege of my life to be able to do that.”

Coauthored by Neff and Fluker, the book examines stories told by people who lived through the Civil War, exploring grief, memory and the lasting trauma of the war from 1861 through 1932. Fluker’s research also inspired her to create a haunted history course at YSU, blending her teaching and scholarship and helping students explore how ghost stories can reveal enduring truths about the human experience.