Neshaminy Journal Spotlights ​Molly Maguires, Paranormal Investigator

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The Bucks County Writers Workshop has released its spring/summer edition of the "Neshaminy Journal: The Bucks County Literary Journal," featuring stories about the county's past, present and future.

Here's a sampling of what you'll find inside the pages of the latest edition of the journal:

• Given the two sides of his personality, Eric Mintel seems like a character plucked from a fantastical work of fiction. One night he’ll take the stage as a jazz pianist, and the next night he’ll head to an historic building, a tract of uninhabited forest, or some other destination known for curious goings-on and don a much different hat—that of a paranormal investigator. In his thorough profile of Mintel, managing editor William J. Donahue explores Mintel’s obsession with hauntings, cryptids, and UAPs, short for unidentified anomalous phenomena.

• In a fascinating essay, Don Swaim recounts the violent history of the Molly Maguires, a 19th century Irish-American secret society that clashed with the ugly realities of the Pennsylvania coal industry. Focusing on the excesses and injustices of unchecked American capitalism as well as the unrelenting rage of laboring men fighting for basic rights, Swaim’s article resounds with both the past and the present.

• Also included is a memoir by Carl Reader about a moving performance from recently deceased Philadelphia singer-songwriter and rock legend Essra Mohawk staged at John and Peter’s Place in New Hope, one of Bucks County’s iconic performance venues.

Additional highlights:

• An exploration of the scandal surrounding the infamous Lenape Stone by Kerry Stickel
• An article on VAMPA, the Vampire and Paranormal Museum of Bucks County
• An interview with Bucks County painter Jay McPhillips
• A profile on prolific Pottsville-born writer John O’Hara
• Two stories from the late Christopher Morley
• Poetry by Talia Borochaner, Mary Grace Mangano, Arlene Geller, Claire Hadida, and Cheryl Salerno

The Spring/Summer 2025 issue of Neshaminy: The Bucks County Literary Journal is a publication of the Bucks County Writers Workshop and can be obtained at local bookstores and online from Amazon.com. The Journal welcomes submissions. More information at neshaminyjournal.org.