Weird Hauntings: True Tales of Ghostly Places

I want to point out something first--I don't scare easily. It takes a LOT to scare me...but this book did the trick! It's full of true tales of ghosts. It's divided into sections--haunted houses; terrifying travels; historic haunts; otherworldly outdoors; ghostly graveyards; hostel environments; eerie eateries, spooky saloons; school ghouls and institutional apparitions. Most of them include actual photos of the sites or some obviously faked (but eerie) pics of the ghosts. Some of the tales are kind of fun and cute but most are pretty scary. Reading this on a dark night with the wind blowing outside can really work on you. There's nothing explicitly violent or graphic but they give you enough information to figure things out. Scary and, for a horror fan like me at least, kind of fun. Recommended for horror fans but be warned! This book REALLY works!

I finished reading this book a few days ago. You know a book is good when the reader is actually sad about finishing it. This is a compilation by many authors, done in a style similar to Weird NJ magazine. It's really great. Some of the addresses of the haunted sites are given, sometimes with a caveat that the particular location is a private home and the (living) residents don't want to be disturbed. I enjoyed the Hawaiian ghost story about the cemetery lei the best. No one should be bored reading this. Weird Hauntings is great fun and I would highly recommend it.

In this book, the authors of Weird U.S. have compiled with the help of Joanne Austin a collection of ghostly tales having to do with haunted houses, spooky roads, historic buildings, graveyards, hostels, restaurants, saloons, schools, institutions etc. Not only are the stories well-written, but there are actual photographs, and also pictures added for creepy effect throughout the book. It makes not only for an interesting read for anyone interested in supernatual phenomena, but serves to enlighten us as to some of the creepy places in the US!

America's most haunted places are featured in a fine survey which includes both spots well-known and open to the public and private residences alike. Each story is a firsthand tale that reviews sites ranging from haunted houses and graveyard to scary theatres, saloons and more. Besides the attention to descriptive detail, color photos and sidebars of information throughout differentiate WEIRD HAUNTINGS: TRUE TALES OF GHOSTLY PLACES from competing titles and make it particularly interesting for general-interest holdings; especially those seeking catchy covers and contents suitable for eye-catching display. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

And that's the truth. When I bought this book at Barnes and Noble last Friday (along with Conan: The Ultimate Guide to the World's Most Savage Barbarian), I got spooked when I first read it by myself. There is a wealth of information regarding the ghosts that haunt us from beyond, plus a vampire legend and serial killer legends. This is a great book, and it now sits on my closet shelf, along with all my other frequently-read books. I recommend it for anyone who has an interests in hauntings or spirits of the dead.