Few places are as obsessed with the paranormal as New Jersey, and the area once known as West Jersey is a hotbed of supernatural activity. The ghost of a young boy in Mannington appears to welcome guests and partygoers to a historic bed-and-breakfast. The tortured soul of a weathered sea pirate remains in Greenwich, still imprisoned after three hundred years. Malevolent spirits haunt the abandoned Salem County Insane Asylum, menacing those who dared venture to the solitary confinement rooms in the basement. Paranormal investigator and researcher Kelly Lin Gallagher-Roncace shares frightening New Jersey folklore that makes for great fireside storytelling.
This is my second book, a collection of ghost stories and tales from me and my friends and colleagues. I have shared some experiences both scary and funny.
The Jersey Devil isn’t the only supernatural entity that stalks the Garden State: Here are tales of pirates, patients, and prisoners, oh my! Few places are as obsessed with the paranormal as New Jersey, and the area once known as West Jersey is a hotbed of supernatural activity. The ghost of a young boy in Mannington appears to welcome guests and partygoers to a historic bed-and-breakfast. The tortured soul of a weathered sea pirate remains in Greenwich, still imprisoned after three hundred years. Malevolent spirits haunt the abandoned Salem County Insane Asylum, menacing those who dare venture to the solitary confinement rooms in the basement. Paranormal investigator and researcher Kelly Lin Gallagher-Roncace shares frightening New Jersey folklore that makes for great fireside storytelling. Includes photos! “During Gallagher-Roncace’s time as a reporter for the South Jersey Times, she created a weekly column called ‘Paranormal Corner,’ where she would divulge into anything ‘weird’— UFOs, Bigfoot, Jersey Devils and hauntings. Through her exploration with her paranormal investigation group Jersey Unique Minds Paranormal Society — also known as JUMPS — she experienced ‘the feels’ for the first time in the old Bunker Hill Presbyterian Church.” —The Washington Township Sun
Gloucester's historic docks have some strange stories to tell and the city's twelfth-century cathedral also has its secrets. From a ghostly procession at Berkeley Castle to the Grey Lady at the old Theatre Royal, this new and fascinating collection of strange sightings and happenings in the city's streets, churches and public houses is sure to appeal to anyone intrigued by Gloucester's haunted heritage.
Spine-chilling tales of ghosts, ghouls and the undead have been gathered here from every corner of the Cotswolds, revealing in heart-stopping detail this region's unexplained events and the creepy elements that lurk just beneath its rolling hills and beautiful vistas. These stories, illustrated with more than sixty photographs, include: King Charles I's headless haunting of Chavenage House; the ghost of Warwick Castle as he emerges from his portrait; the ghouls of the Ram Inn, the most haunted building in Britain; the banshee of Banbury Cross; and a ghostly Guy Fawkes and his conspirators who still plot to blow up Parliament. In this volume, descriptions of Cotswold architecture and history are woven into thrilling stories of supernatural happenings, promising those with an interest in the paranormal terrifying dreams for years to come.
The area known as Dogtown -- an isolated colonial ruin and surrounding 3,000-acre woodland in storied seaside Gloucester, Massachusetts -- has long exerted a powerful influence over artists, writers, eccentrics, and nature lovers. But its history is also woven through with tales of witches, supernatural sightings, pirates, former slaves, drifters, and the many dogs Revolutionary War widows kept for protection and for which the area was named. In 1984, a brutal murder took place there: a mentally disturbed local outcast crushed the skull of a beloved schoolteacher as she walked in the woods. Dogtown's peculiar atmosphere -- it is strewn with giant boulders and has been compared to Stonehenge -- and eerie past deepened the pall of this horrific event that continues to haunt Gloucester even today. In alternating chapters, Elyssa East interlaces the story of this grisly murder with the strange, dark history of this wilderness ghost town and explores the possibility that certain landscapes wield their own unique power. East knew nothing of Dogtown's bizarre past when she first became interested in the area. As an art student in the early 1990s, she fell in love with the celebrated Modernist painter Marsden Hartley's stark and arresting Dogtown landscapes. She also learned that in the 1930s, Dogtown saved Hartley from a paralyzing depression. Years later, struggling in her own life, East set out to find the mysterious setting that had changed Hartley's life, hoping that she too would find solace and renewal in Dogtown's odd beauty. Instead, she discovered a landscape steeped in intrigue and a community deeply ambivalent about the place: while many residents declare their passion for this profoundly affecting landscape, others avoid it out of a sense of foreboding. Throughout this richly braided first-person narrative, East brings Dogtown's enigmatic past to life. Losses sustained during the American Revolution dealt this once thriving community its final blow. Destitute war widows and former slaves took up shelter in its decaying homes until 1839, when the last inhabitant was taken to the poorhouse. He died seven days later. Dogtown has remained abandoned ever since, but continues to occupy many people's imaginations. In addition to Marsden Hartley, it inspired a Bible-thumping millionaire who carved the region's rocks with words to live by; the innovative and influential postmodernist poet Charles Olson, who based much of his epic Maximus Poems on Dogtown; an idiosyncratic octogenarian who vigilantly patrols the land to this day; and a murderer who claimed that the spirit of the woods called out to him. In luminous, insightful prose, Dogtown takes the reader into an unforgettable place brimming with tragedy, eccentricity, and fascinating lore, and examines the idea that some places can inspire both good and evil, poetry and murder.
Take a step back into ghostly history as you tour Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown in the Historic Triangle. Visit Jamestown Island where Captain John Smith and the first English colonists settled. Stroll around Yorktown and follow the same footsteps of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington as they walked along Duke of Gloucester Street. Hear odd noises and see apparitions at the Peyton Randolph House, Cornwallis's Cave, Wells's Corner, Sherwood Forest, the Rosewell Plantation, and many, many other places. Be prepared to get to know the ghosts of this Historic Triangle and its surrounding areas. They're dying for you to read their stories.
In almost every town in America there are places where strange things happen. The perfect companion to The International Directory of Haunted Places, this revised and updated edition of Haunted Places is both a fascinating and unusual travel guide as well as an indispensable casebook for those interested in the paranormal. From buildings and parks believed to have resident ghosts and poltergeists to areas where Bigfoot or UFO sightings are most frequently reported, Haunted Places will lead you to more than 2,000 sites of paranormal activity across the United States. Organized alphabetically by state, each entry is referenced to an extensive bibliography of sources-with descriptions, addresses, phone numbers, Web sites, and travel directions provided for all locations.
