Legends & Lore of Western Pennsylvania
Legends & Lore of Western Pennsylvania

Author: Thomas White

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2009-06-01

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 1625842643

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Thomas White spins a beguiling yarn with tales that reach from the misty hollows of the Alleghenies to the lost islands of Pittsburgh. Oppaymolleah's Curse. General Braddock's buried gold. The original man of steel, Joe Magarac. Such legends have found a home among the rich folklore of Western Pennsylvania. White invites readers to learn the truth behind the urban legend of the Green Man, speculate on the conspiracy surrounding the lost B-25 bomber of Monongahela and shiver over the ghostly lore of Western Pennsylvania.

Witches of Pennsylvania
Witches of Pennsylvania

Author: Thomas White

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2010-12-03

Total Pages: 125

ISBN-13: 1625845871

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A folklorist chronicles the history and lore of witchcraft in the Keystone State from William Penn’s 17th century witch trial to 20th century occultism. As English and German settlers migrated to Pennsylvania, they brought their beliefs in magic with them from the Old World—sometimes with dangerous consequences. In 1802, for example, an Allegheny County judge helped an accused witch escape an angry mob. But Susan Mummey was not so fortunate. In 1934, she was killed in her home by a young Schuylkill County man who was convinced that she had cursed him. In other regions of the state, views on folk magic were more complex. While hex doctors were feared in the Pennsylvania German tradition, powwowers were and are revered for their abilities to heal, lift curses and find lost objects. In this revealing study, author Thomas White traces the undercurrent of witchcraft and occultism through centuries of Pennsylvania history.

Gangs and Outlaws of Western Pennsylvania
Gangs and Outlaws of Western Pennsylvania

Author: Thomas White

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2012-07-24

Total Pages: 131

ISBN-13: 1614236097

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Violent bank heists, bold train robberies and hardened gangs all tear across the history of the wild west--western Pennsylvania, that is. The region played reluctant host to the likes of the infamous Biddle Boys, who escaped Allegheny County Jail by romancing the warden's wife, and the Cooley Gang, which held Fayette County in its violent grip at the close of the nineteenth century. Then there was Pennsylvania's own Bonnie and Clyde--Irene and Glenn--whose murderous misadventures earned the "trigger blonde" and her beau the electric chair in 1931. From the perilous train tracks of Erie to the gritty streets of Pittsburgh, authors Thomas White and Michael Hassett trace the dark history of the crooks, murderers and outlaws who both terrorized and fascinated the citizenry of western Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

Author: Matt Lake

Publisher: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.

Published: 2009-05

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9781402766862

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A illustrated collection of tales about weird places and folk traditions in Pennsylvania to be used as a travel guide.

Forgotten Tales of Pittsburgh
Forgotten Tales of Pittsburgh

Author: Thomas White

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2010-11-09

Total Pages: 108

ISBN-13: 1614235406

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Such was the wisdom of the Pittsburgh Daily Gazette and Advertiser in 1866 when describing a railway boss's threat to decapitate a former employee. Pittsburgh has many such stories of strange but mostly true events. Local author Thomas White delves into these lost tales, from Lewis and Clark's inauspicious start involving an intoxicated boat builder to the death ray of inventor Nikola Tesla. A 1907 lion attack at Luna Park, death by spontaneous combustion, Jack the Ripper's rumored visit to the city and an umpire who was rescued from an angry crowd by Pirates players are all part of the forgotten history of the Steel City.

Supernatural Lore of Pennsylvania
Supernatural Lore of Pennsylvania

Author: Thomas White

Publisher: American Legends

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781626194984

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Strange creatures and tales of the supernatural thrive in Pennsylvania, from ghostly children who linger by their graves to werewolves that ambush nighttime travelers. Passed down over generations, Keystone State legends and lore provide both thrilling stories and dire warnings. Phantom trains chug down the now removed rails of the P&LE Railroad line on the Great Allegheny Passage. A wild ape boy is said to roam the Chester swamps, while the weeping Squonk wanders the hemlock-shrouded hills of central Pennsylvania, lamenting his hideousness. On dark nights, the ghosts of Betty Knox and her Union soldier beau still search for each other at Dunbar Creek. Join Thomas White and company as they go in search of the truth behind the legends of supernatural Pennsylvania.

Haunted Roads of Western Pennsylvania
Haunted Roads of Western Pennsylvania

Author: Thomas White

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015-09-28

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 1625855982

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The twisty roads—and twisted tales—of the Appalachian Mountains make for distracted driving in western Pennsylvania. Ghostly travelers are said to wander the lonely roads of western Pennsylvania. A creeping fog rises from Blue Mist Road, and stories of car crashes, lynchings and even strange beasts haunt this isolated stretch outside Pittsburgh. Is it the angry spirit of a jealous husband or a gypsy king who stalks Erie County’s Axe Murder Hollow? Shades of Death Road in Washington County may be host to phantom coal miners killed during a deadly labor dispute. With firsthand accounts and historical research, authors Thomas White and Tony Lavorgne travel the backcountry roads and byways of western Pennsylvania to discover their ghost tales and mysterious legends. Includes photos! “The authors include a history of each road along with the supernatural legends and other unexplained activity. Surprisingly, they are able to provide possible explanations for most of the alleged hauntings, but admit that they cannot account for every one, which allows the roads in question to keep their allure and spooky possibilities.” —PopCultureGuy

Witch of the Monongahela, The: Folk Magic in Early Western Pennsylvania
Witch of the Monongahela, The: Folk Magic in Early Western Pennsylvania

Author: Thomas White

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 1467145157

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In the ancient hills and misty hollows of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, generations of locals have passed down stories of a woman with mysterious magical powers. People came from near and far to seek healing and protection through her strange rituals. Some even believed she could fly. Named Moll Derry and nicknamed the Witch of the Monongahela, her legend has been documented by writers and folklorists for more than two hundred years. She is intertwined in many regional tales, such as the Lost Children of the Alleghenies and Polly Williams and the White Rocks. Author Thomas White separates fact from fiction in the many versions of Moll Derry and recounts Western Pennsylvania's folk magic history along the way.