Publication Date: January 13, 2026
In the isolated coal mining town of Sulphur Creek in the late 1800s, young Sammy Murphy’s world is a blend of shadowy tunnels and unspoken secrets. Born into solitude and pushed into reclusion, Sammy’s quiet life starkly contrasts with the booming industry that surrounds him. But as he searches for connection in an era of ruthless expansion, he finds himself at odds with forces far greater than he imagined.
Enter Barry Bacon, an ambitious industrialist who fancies himself a peer to magnates like Andrew Carnegie. Driven by unbridled ambition, Bacon’s dreams stretch far beyond the soot-covered rooftops of Sulphur Creek. But as the weight of his empire bears down, his unchecked arrogance threatens to unravel everything he’s built.
As Sammy faces an unexpected awakening brought forth by a fleeting love, and Bacon’s empire teeters on the brink of collapse, both men must face truths that transcend time—true love extends beyond mere attraction and real power is more than forceful arrogance.
Set against the raw, unforgiving landscape of America’s industrial ascent, Ghost Town is a gripping novel of ambition, isolation, and the pursuit of connection. With richly drawn characters and a hauntingly relevant message, it echoes through history, exploring what it truly means to lead, to love, and to belong.
A Pennsylvania mining town in the late nineteenth century endures calamity and corruption, but its pioneering people band together in tragedy in Ghost Town by James R. Gregory.
Sammy Murphy, the last living resident of Crystal Creek, is on his deathbed in 1964 when he relates his memories of the coal mining town and the calamities that befell it.
Born in 1872, Sammy and his Irish immigrant parents, Paddy and Margaret, set up camp in Crystal Creek, deep in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. Industrialist and entrepreneur Barry Bacon employs the men in his coal mine, which includes Sammy and his father. In his off time, Sammy explores the valley and discovers an abandoned cabin at the head of the valley, elevated above the rest of the village. He soon makes the cabin his sanctuary, which he escapes to when he wants to be alone—or to take a certain lass he has a crush on. But there are problems in Crystal Creek—which residents call Sulfur Creek for the stink of the mining runoff that pollutes the water—that Bacon, as creator of the village, ignores to the detriment of the villagers.
Juxtaposing the harsh conditions of the coal miners with the gilded elegance and indifference of American industrialists to workers’ plights, the story is an entertaining blend of Sammy’s life as he finds love, loses it, and finds it again with someone new. But the darker threads are what drive the plot, as Bacon encourages Sammy’s father to oversee operations after a flood washes away the railway bridge necessary to the town’s survival—he must leave town to plead for the bridge to be rebuilt.
What Paddy Murphy does not know is that Bacon has no intention of returning, taking all the money in his safe with him. Weeks pass, and the miners confront Paddy about their missing wages, knowing Bacon has deserted them. The Bacon coal mine, which the magnate refused to reinforce with proper wood supports, rests on “coal pillars” that are not up to engineering standards.
Gregory’s action moves away from Crystal Creek as its remaining citizens pack up to find work in nearby Schanztown, downstream of a large lake and dam. Meanwhile, Sammy nurses a broken heart in his secluded cabin, promising his parents he will meet them in Schanztown when the time is right. He does, and meets Rosey McGovern, a feisty redhead who is Sammy’s equal in every way. They marry in 1888 and head back to Sammy’s cabin for a honeymoon, right as the winter snows begin to melt and spring rains threaten rising waters.
In Schanztown, Sammy’s parents and friends look forward to another Decoration Day event celebrating Union Civil War veterans. Meanwhile, George Graham, boss of the town’s Cumbria Iron Works, takes his concerns about necessary dam repairs to the River Fork Hunting & Fishing Club, who oversee the lake. The man who will oversee the repairs? Edward Blake, the alias of Barry Bacon, is now a dandy about town.
This part of the story is a lightly veiled version of the real Johnstown Flood of 1889, which killed more than 2,000 residents in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Gregory’s characters are fictitious, but they are nevertheless based on the avarice and negligence of the dam owners in failing to properly repair it. When the dam breaks, Sammy and Rosey are safely ensconced in their love nest, unaware of the tragedy befalling their families. Blake, aka Bacon, escapes during the flood and retreats to the ghost town of Crystal Creek. Gregory sets up a clever run-in with Bacon and the newlyweds that carries the story through the last section. Will they realize what Bacon has done? And will justice be served?
This is a short, speedy read of a novel that reads like a Western set among the mountains of the East. Sammy’s unfortunate lack of education and proper English is reflected in clumsy dialogue, but he is a likable character, as are the independent and fiery women who populate the tale.
Ghost Town tells the tale in microcosm of the haves versus the have-nots, as well as the resilience of a community to band together when disaster strikes. 
Dr. James R. Gregory has enjoyed a forty-year career as the cofounder of a highly successful corporate brand management firm headquartered in New York City with offices worldwide. Jim has written five business books on creating values with brands: Marketing Corporate Image, Leveraging the Corporate Brand, Branding Across Borders, The Best of Branding, and Powerhouse: The Secrets of Corporate Branding.
Since selling his company in 2013, Jim has focused his creative efforts on biographical books, Columbia—The Street and Small Fortunes, and short novels and novellas designed to be read over a weekend, earning him the designation of “King of the Short-Reads.” His most recent novels are Zephyr’s War, Killer App, and Artifacts. Now, he is proud to release his latest book, a historical novel called Ghost Town.
