Murder in the mountains. Scandal in the suburbs. These true stories are stranger than fiction — and they happened closer than you think.
Our curated collection of regional true crime reads feature notorious cases and unsolved mysteries from all across the country. Perfect for beach reading, late-night scrolling, or keeping you up just a little too late.
How well do you really know your town?
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Grave Robbery. Explosives. A Missing Body.
In 1911, Erie, Pennsylvania was rocked by a gruesome crime: the Scott Mausoleum desecrated, a corpse stolen, and a chilling threat sent to one of the city’s wealthiest men. With rival detectives, national headlines, and whispers of extortion and murder, this sensational case gripped the country.
Author Justin Dombrowski uncovers the shocking truth behind Erie’s most macabre scandal.
In 1936, Helen Clevenger was found murdered in Asheville’s grand Battery Park Hotel. The case ignited a media frenzy—and a racially charged rush to judgment. Despite shaky evidence and a coerced confession, a Black bellhop was convicted after just four days.
Was justice truly served? Author Anne Chesky Smith unravels a haunting Southern mystery that still sparks debate today.
In 1945, a WWII veteran was found shot four times—twice in the back—in a quiet Abingdon boardinghouse. The shooter? His landlady, who ditched the gun and went to the movies. She claimed it was suicide. The state called it murder.
Author Greg Lilly unravels the sensational trial that captivated the nation.
In 1788, a smooth-talking ex-schoolteacher claimed a ghost guarded hidden Revolutionary War treasure in Morristown, NJ—and only he could banish it. The town’s elite believed him… until the hoax unraveled.
Author Peter Zablocki digs into the legendary Morristown ghost scam and the truth behind the fable.
In 1948 rural Georgia, a powerful landowner brutally killed a tenant farmer—and thought he could get away with it. But he crossed into Coweta County, where Sheriff Lamar Potts was waiting.
The true story behind Murder in Coweta County, winner of the Edgar Award and made famous by Johnny Cash and Andy Griffith, is a gripping tale of justice that still resonates today.
In 1970s San Francisco, a serial killer known only as The Doodler haunted the LGBTQ community—leaving behind haunting drawings and at least five dead. Despite survivors and suspects, the case remains unsolved.
Author Kate Zaliznock reopens one of San Francisco’s most chilling cold cases.
Séances, Suspects, and a Summer Tragedy br> In 1967, 19-year-old Brenda Joyce Holland vanished from Roanoke Island. Five days later, her body was found in the sound. Whispers of séances, a suicide, and a hidden grave followed.
Journalist John Railey digs deep into the long-cold case, revealing what really happened to Brenda Holland.
In 1934, Maurice Denning helped lead Nebraska’s infamous Ghost Gang—and became one of America’s most wanted men. But after a final raid, he disappeared without a trace. No arrest. No body. Just rumors.
Author Brian James Beerman dives into one of the Midwest’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
In the 1950s, truckers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike began turning up dead—victims of a chilling spree by John Wesley Wable. A deadly chase, a dramatic trial, and lingering mysteries still haunt the case.
Author Richard Gazarik tells the true story of the “Turnpike Phantom Killer.”
Fred Wilkerson disappeared without a trace—until investigator Clay Bryant reopened the cold case and uncovered a chilling plot of greed, deception, and murder.
In this gripping true crime story, Bryant brings a killer to justice and a grieving family the closure they never thought they'd get.
