Old Ghosts of New England represents a unique marriage of the travel guide and the book of ghost stories – a traveler’s guide to the many purportedly haunted inns, restaurants, lighthouses, pubs, museums, parks, graveyards, and schools in the New England states – as well as a few of the region’s most infamous haunted houses. Painstakingly researched, this book delves deep into the histories of New England’s “old ghosts” and provides pictures, maps, directions and contact information so that readers may conduct their own investigations into the paranormal phenomena of New England.
Old Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, is the third-largest National Preservation District in the United States and the largest Victorian-era neighborhood in the country. Beneath the balconies and terraces of the district's Gothic, Queen Anne, and Beaux Arts mansions, current residents trade riveting stories about their historic homes. Many of these tales defy rational explanation. When David Dominé moved into one of these houses, he dismissed local rumors of a resident poltergeist named Lucy. However, before long, unnerving, disembodied footsteps and mysterious odors caused him to flee his home in the middle of the night. Since that night, David Dominé not only embraced the possibility of supernatural phenomenon but also turned it into a popular tour series and best-selling collection of books, which have brought new attention to this iconic neighborhood. The book that launched the guided tours, Ghosts of Old Louisville, introduced readers to the hauntingly beautiful Lady of the Stairs and the Widow Hoag, who waits eternally near Fountain Court for a lost child who will never return. These tales of things that go bump in the night not only reveal why Old Louisville is considered the "most haunted neighborhood in America," but also help to preserve this historically and architecturally significant community.
'It's enthralling stuff, mixing the scholarly with the accessible and placing storytelling right at the heart of the human experience.' - History Revealed 'A fascinating journey' - Yorkshire Post 'Marvellous...Finkel is an expert in Mesopotamian cultures at the British Museum, and is one of the most clever, and nicest, of people it has ever been my pleasure to encounter...A fascinating journey' - The Scotsman There are few things more in common across cultures than the belief in ghosts. Ghosts inhabit something of the very essence of what it is to be human. Whether we personally 'believe' or not, we are all aware of ghosts and the rich mythologies and rituals surrounding them. They have inspired, fascinated and frightened us for centuries - yet most of us are only familiar with the vengeful apparitions of Shakespeare, or the ghastly spectres haunting the pages of 19th century gothic literature. But their origins are much, much older... The First Ghosts: Most Ancient of Legacies takes us back to the very beginning. A world-renowned authority on cuneiform, the form of writing on clay tablets which dates back to 3400BC, Irving Finkel has embarked upon an ancient ghost hunt, scouring these tablets to unlock the secrets of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians to breathe new life into the first ghost stories ever written. In The First Ghosts, he uncovers an extraordinarily rich seam of ancient spirit wisdom which has remained hidden for nearly 4000 years, covering practical details of how to live with ghosts, how to get rid of them and bring them back, and how to avoid becoming one, as well as exploring more philosophical questions: what are ghosts, why does the idea of them remain so powerful despite the lack of concrete evidence, and what do they tell us about being human?
When Lacy wakes up dead in Westminster Cemetery, final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe, she's confused. It's the job of Sam, a young soldier who died in 1865, to teach her the rules of the afterlife and to warn her about Suppression—a punishment worse than death. Lacy desperately wants to leave the cemetery and find out how she died, but every soul is obligated to perform a job. Given the task of providing entertainment, Lacy proposes an open mic, which becomes a chance for the cemetery's residents to express themselves. But Lacy is in for another shock when surprising and long-buried truths begin to emerge.
Much has been written about the laogai (sometimes likened to the Soviet gulag) in the People's Republic of China. Depending on the source, the prisons are described as nonexistent, enlightened institutions, or hellish places that subject the inmates to degradation and misery. The system is commonly thought of (by admirers and critics alike) as having a measurable impact on the national economy and providing significant resources to the state. Based on research in classified documents and extensive interviews with former prisoners, judicial personnel, and other insiders, and featuring case studies dealing with the three northwestern provinces, this book examines such assertions on the basis of the facts about this underexamined subject in order to arrive at a detailed, objective, and realistic picture of the situation. In the case of each province under study, the authors discuss the history of the provincial prison system and the impact that each has had at the macro, meso, and micro levels.
"The best seller in New England on ghosts. All first-person adventures and misadventures of two ghost-busters who not only confront spirits in haunted houses, inns and museums, but snap their pictures as well. Eight photos of ghosts accompany the stories. You will find fascinating history, spine-tingling terror and surprising humor in this book."
Vengeful ghosts, sea monsters, and America's most haunted lighthouse figure prominently in this collection of eerie in tales from the Old Line State. From the rugged Appalachian Mountains, to the metropolitan center of Baltimore, to the Atlantic Coast come a variety of stories and legends, including Dorchester County’s Suicide Bridge, Fort McHenry’s gruesome hanging ghosts, and a sea captain’s widow whose sad wailing can still be heard coming from her final resting place in the family graveyard.
Think about fear for a moment. Think about what fuels your darkest dreams. Revenge. Greed. Murder. Sadism. Erotic nightmares. Ghosts. Vampires. Madness. Lovecraftian horrors beyond the stars. Or perhaps ghouls from beyond the grave. You'll find them all here, and more, in this stunning collection of 12 macabre tales from J.F. Gonzalez, co-author of the cult-classic horror novel Clickers, and one of dark fiction's rising stars.
