How did early humans view life after death? Is the concept of mind over matter a real possibility? Have UFOs visited our planet? In the Almanac of the Uncanny more than 500 illustrated stories take you back in time to be entertained and intrigued by mysteries from the earliest recorded time to the present. Thoroughly researched by experts, and including the latest findings, this unique volume gives a compelling account of realms as yet not fully explained.

    Treasury. And Alva Vanderbilt squandered tens of thousands on one evening to crack the closed social circle of the Mrs. Astor. And when Jay Gould, of Black Friday fame, sent his card to one of the Rothschilds, it was returned with the comment, "Europe is not for sale." It was this climate of mid- and late-nineteenth-century excess that fostered the most rapid period of growth in the history of the United States, replacing the unyielding Puritanism of Cotton Mather with the flexible creed of Henry Ward Beecher. National Book Award nominee Milton Rugoff gives his uniquely revealing view of the Gilded Age in this collective biography of Americans from 1850 to 1890. Writing on the political spoilsmen, money kings, parvenus, forty-niners, lords of the press, sexual transgressors, and women's rights leaders, Rugoff focuses on thirty-six men and women from almost every walk of life. His exponents include U.S. Grant, John Charles Frémont, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jim Fisk, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Horatio Alger, free-love advocate Victoria Woodhull, first female surgeon Bethenia Owens-Adair, Brigham Young's rebellious nineteenth wife Anna Eliza Young, Boston Brahmin Charles Eliot Norton, Gold Rush pioneer Sarah Royce, black visionary Sojourner Truth, and to critique American society, Walt Whitman. In examining the Gilded Age, Milton Rugoff offers fresh glimpses into the lives of the celebrities of the era, as well as some lesser-known Americans, while at the same time revealing the roots of problems that still plague us today.

    These haunting tales from the high country include mysteries surrounding many well-known buildings and landmarks, some of which might be inhabited by restless spirits to this day! Features over four dozen stories from Little Bighorn, Cheyenne, Santa Fe, Denver, Butte, Salt Lake City, and more.With 27 b/w photographs.

    The city’s real story—told by Maureen Ogle in this lively and engaging illustrated account—is as fabulous as fiction. In the two centuries since the city’s pioneer founders battled Indians, pirates, and deadly disease, Key West has stood at the crossroads of American history. In 1861, Union troops seized control of strategically located Key West. In the early 1890s, Key West Cubans helped José Martí launch the Cuban revolution, and a few years later the battleship Maine steamed out of Key West harbor on its last, tragic voyage. At the turn of the century, a technological marvel—the overseas railroad—was built to connect mainland Florida to Key West, and in the 1920s and 1930s, painters, rumrunners, and writers (including Ernest Hemingway and Robert Frost) discovered Key West. During World War II, the federal government and the military war machine permanently altered the island’s landscape, and in the second half of the 20th century, bohemians, hippies, gays, and jet-setters began writing a new chapter in Key West’s social history.

    Researcher Shanon Sinn found his curiosity piqued by stories of mysterious sightings on the island—ghosts, sasquatches, sea serpents—but he was disappointed in the sensational and sometimes disrespectful way they were being retold or revised. Acting on his desire to transform these stories from unsubstantiated gossip to thoroughly researched accounts, Sinn uncovered fascinating details, identified historical inconsistencies, and now retells these encounters as accurately as possible.Investigating 25 spellbinding tales that wind their way from the south end of the island to the north, Sinn explored hauntings in cities, in the forest, and on isolated logging roads. In addition to visiting castles, inns, and cemeteries, he followed the trail of spirits glimpsed on mountaintops, beaches, and water, and visited Heriot Bay Inn on Quadra Island and the Schooner Restaurant in Tofino to personally scrutinize reports of hauntings. Featuring First Nations stories from each of the three Indigenous groups who call Vancouver Island home—the Coast Salish, the Nuu-chah-nulth, and the Kwakwaka’wakw—the book includes an interview with Hereditary Chief James Swan of Ahousaht.

    It was only natural that man, after gazing at such scenic wonders, would turn some of the mystery he felt into legend. Sometimes these legends attempted to explain natural phenomena, sometimes they attempted to explain an occurrence that appeared to be supernatural, and sometimes they grew up around the eccentric characters that were drawn to the isolation of these mysterious hills. This collection of eighteen stories presents some of the mystery and awe that the mountains convey, and it may alter your perception of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains forever. You may never stand atop Roan Mountain during a storm without thinking you hear a ghostly choir. You may gaze at the top of Chimney Rock during a hazy summer afternoon and wonder if it really is a ghostly cavalry fight you see. If you spend the night near High Hampton, you may find yourself listening for the call of the lonesome white owl. If you stand at Wiseman's View, you will probably think that you, too, can see the Brown Mountain Lights. Standing atop Clingman's Dome, you may wonder if there really is an enchanted lake where animals flock to heal their wounds somewhere in the valley below. And you will always wonder if the fly you hear on your mountain walk means that Spearfinger is lurking nearby.For several years, folklorists Randy Russell and Janet Barnett have taught a course about Southern folklore at the North Carolina Center for Advancement of Teaching in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Russell is also the author of several mysteries, including Edgar Award nominee Hot Wire. They live in Asheville, North Carolina.

    Thirty years later, my ghosts have returned and they are creepier than ever. I've seen full-bodied apparations, felt a dark presence practically breathing down my neck, and everyday I work with a ghost who seems more curious than anything. If you like reading ghost stories, you'll enjoy Book 1 of the Creepy series. If you like true ghost stories and short fiction with a supernatural twist, you'll love it!" ~ Jeff BenningtonSTORIES IN CREEPY BOOK 1:The Rumblin'The Shadow ManMurdoch's EyesThe Ghost Named EarlSomeone in the Basement

    From its first known appearances in New Orleans of 200 years ago, here are the fetishes and formulae, the rites and dances, the cures, charms and gris-gris. Here were the witch-doctors and queens, and in particular Doctor John, who acquired fame and fortune, and Marie Laveau, who with her daughter dominated the weird underworld of voodoo for nearly a century." Kirkus Reviews "Robert Tallant speaks with authority . . . ." New York Times "Much nonsense has been written about voodoo in New Orleans. . .here is a truthful and definitive picture." Lyle Saxton Both of Robert Tallant's highly praised books about the practice of voodoo in New Orleans have been re-issued in paperback. Originally published in 1946, Voodoo in New Orleans examines the origins of the cult voodooism. The lives of New Orleans's most infamous witch doctors and voodoo queens have been re-created in this well-researched account of New Orleans's dark underworld.

    H. Holmes and the funeral train of Abraham Lincoln, the spine-tingling sights and sounds of Chicago's yesteryear are still with us . . . and so are its ghosts.Seeking to find out what we really know about the ghastly past of this famously haunted metropolis, professional ghost hunter and historian Adam Selzer pieces together the truth behind Chicago's ghosts, and brings to light never-before-told first accounts. Take a history tour like no other of the famous and not-so-famous haunts around town. Sometimes the real story is far different from the urban legend--and most of the time it's even gorier.

    Still, he knew what he had seen."Again and again the evidence in these haunting tales points to the same conclusion. Examine for yourself accounts of eerie phenomena such as: the man who had a premonition of his own death, the ghost who solved a murder, the revenge of the murderer's skull, the lieutenant who flew back from the, and more.All of these stories have been thoroughly investigated. Many have been reported in the newspapers or court transcripts. None has ever been proven the results of a hoax. There has never been a satisfactory explanation for any of these events except...ghosts.If you read these tales when you're alone at night, be careful. The truth is more frightening than fiction.

    Famous for its witch trials, the storied North Shore seaport also has a dark history of smugglers and deadly fires. It is considered one of New England's most haunted destinations. Inside Howard Street Cemetery, the ghost of accused witch Giles Corey wanders among the gravestones. Outside the Ropes Mansion, the ghost of Abigail Ropes can be seen peeking out of the windows. The Gardner-Pingree House on Essex Street is host to the spirit of sea captain Joseph White, a man whose murder in 1830 inspired literary giants like Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Join author and paranormal journalist Sam Baltrusis on a chilling journey through the streets of Salem as he chronicles the historic haunts of the Witch City.

    Their hair-raising investigations, fueled by their unique abilities and a healthy dose of scientific method, have made them the subject of a hit TV show: the SCI FI Channel's Ghost Hunters. Now their experiences are in print for the first time, as Jason and Grant recount for us, with the help of veteran author Michael Jan Friedman, the stories of some of their most memorable investigations. The men and women of T.A.P.S. pursue ghosts and other supernatural phenomena with the most sophisticated scientific equipment available -- from thermal-imaging cameras to electromagnetic-field recorders to digital thermometers -- and the results may surprise you. Featuring both cases depicted on Ghost Hunters and earlier T.A.P.S. adventures never told before now, this funny, fascinating, frightening collection will challenge everything you thought you knew about the spirit world.

    Inlanders may be skeptical regarding the sometimes miraculous, often horror-filled tales that make up coastal folklore, but Outer Bankers accept the incredible as fact.The phenomena of the Outer Banks range from phosphorescent lights appearing and disappearing over Pamlico Sound to the strange fate of a crewless ship marooned on deadly Diamond Shoals. Legendary heroes such as Captain Jim Baum Gaskill are often truly heroic.. or they may be scurrilous, like Old Quork and Blackbeard. But they all loom larger than life, with deeds and personalities unique to coastal Carolina. But this book is more than a collection of coastal legends. It is an affectionate portrait of the people who daily pull a living out of the treacherous waters of the Atlantic... and a tribute to the hardiness and courage that has made the Banker a rare breed... a breed whose true stories are, indeed, stranger than fiction.

    A box set consisting of three Bill Bryson books, 'Notes from a Small Island', 'Notes from a Big Country' and 'A Walk in the Woods'.

    They are the portal to connect with a world that resides beyond our imagination.We are drawn to supernatural stories and mysteries – they have the power to evoke curiosity and widen our perception.But the stories you’re about to uncover aren’t some spiritual mumbo jumbo… each one has a compelling truth attached to it supported by convincing evidence.In Ghost Stories, you’ll unearth a goldmine of haunting stories that will leave goosebumps from head to toe. Inside, you’ll discover: 20 bone-chilling ghost stories that will challenge your sanity and force you to question reality The story of the ghost who testified to a murder mystery The ghastly story of Taunton State Hospital – and what it’s infamous for What’s really hiding in the veins of the famous Roosevelt Hotel The frightening secret hiding in an innocent-looking doll The mystery behind the never-ending construction of the Winchester Mystery House The silent empire that exists beneath the streets of the ‘City of Love’ The dark chapter in the history of Cannock Chase Does science approve of paranormal activities – and does it matter?And so much more!A horror movie or book may scare the soul out of your body, but you at least have the relief that it’s all fiction. What’s more terrifying is when such stories have happened in real life… and make Stephen King’s stories look like lullabies.While these supernatural stories might seem fabricated, there's always some truth in them… and that’s what makes them more terrifying.There are powers in the cosmos that can’t be explained, but it doesn’t change the fact that there’s always an explanation – it depends on how willing you are to explore things further...