Because the national press isn't giving Kentucky a hard enough time (albeit deservedly so), the international press is piling on.

The March 12 edition of Britain's The Economist, regarded as one of the best English-language news sources out there (I read it!), includes an article on ghosts in Old Louisville (hey, that's us!):

At 48 square blocks, Old Louisville is one of America’s largest historic districts, and has a reputation as one of the most haunted. It abounds in brick and stone Victorian-era mansions. With their ornate turrets, spires, gabled windows and forbidding facades, many of them certainly look haunted. And given their age and size, most of them must have had people die in them at some point.

Don't expect the article's conclusion to make it into any of the state's propaganda though:

Kentucky may abound not in restless spirits, but in people who believe in them.

Of course, it's no surprise that so many Kentuckians believe in this foolishness. Faith in the ridiculous is a Kentucky value (like thinking Kentucky values means independence and entrepreneurship rather than reliance on government programs and the Heavy Hitter).

Or maybe it's all that use of Kentucky's cash crop that's making locals see ghosts.

Photo: The Economist