New Books Publishing Today
There's a certain chill in the air this time of year, and we don't mean the weather. As the leaves start turning and Halloween decorations creep onto porches earlier every season, we figured it was the perfect moment to introduce you to our newest lineup of books, and this batch has a delightfully spooky streak running through it. From ghost stories rooted in real local legends to true tales of hauntings that have been passed down for generations, these new titles are perfect for anyone who loves history with a little extra goosebumps mixed in. So light a candle, maybe keep the lights on, and let's take a look at what's new.
New Local History Books Now Available
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Containing stories from the historical record and interviews with today's practitioners, Maryland Witchcraft has a little something for the history buff, the modern wiccan, and the merely curious alike.
In the dark history of witchcraft in America, other states dominate the popular mind, but Maryland, too, has blood on its hands.
Found guilty of witchcraft, Rebecca Fowler met her death by hanging. If she had been accused in a different colony, the end would perhaps have been different, but in Maryland, witchcraft meant death. The end was not so quick for Moll Dyer. Chased out of her house by fearful neighbors, she fled into the bitter winter night. Facing similar accusations, Hannah Edwards and Virtue Violl stood trial but escaped such a dire fate.
This region’s history is filled with eerie tales of ghostly encounters that suggest that the line between the living and dead is thinner here. The river starts near Waupun, Wisconsin, where the nearby Wisconsin State Prison Cemetery contains a dark entity that haunts the grave of the man that killed her. It travels southward through towns with veiled stories of things that go bump in the night. Towns like Beloit, Wisconsin, where the students at the local college have shared stories of the entities that linger in the halls.
Crossing the state line, the city of Rockford, Illinois, has its own claims of ghostly encounters. The river finally joins the Mississippi in Rock Island, Illinois. Ghosts of the gangsters that once called this area home still reign at the Rock Island Roadhouse.
Haunted Colleges and Universities in Virginia
Colleges are more than classrooms and quads. They are living relics where history lingers and, sometimes, refuses to stay quiet. A phantom hugger roams the President’s House at William and Mary, and the grave-robbing secrets of historic medical schools refuse to be forgotten. A strange mist engulfs Cemetery Road of the University of Virginia. Rumors swirl of the cursed Ogden Circle at Hampton University and of hidden passageways and witches at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Virginia’s Haunted Highways is a chilling journey through the forgotten corners of the Old Dominion, where every mile of cracked asphalt and winding highway whispers stories of bloodshed, betrayal, and the unexplained.
From colonial-era graveyards and Civil War battlefields to ghost towns, haunted roadsides, and legendary bridges, bone-deep local legends and first-person encounters await. You’ll meet outlaws and soldiers, nurses and mourners, spirits who never left, and roads that offer far more than scenery.
Haunted Castles of New England
Ghostly legends are usually associated with the turreted fortifications found throughout Europe and the English countryside. However, New England is also home to several haunted castles filled with paranormal activity, each boasting its own unique legends and lore.
The medieval-style Hammond Castle in Gloucester, Massachusetts, is said to be haunted by the ghost of its former owner, John Hays Hammond Jr. Meanwhile, Castle Craig, which overlooks the Hanging Hills in Meriden, Connecticut, is rumored to be guarded by a legendary black dog, believed to be a harbinger of death.
The history of New York is inseparable from the history of sailing on the Hudson River. Beginning with Henry Hudson in 1609 the Dutch and English extended their empires into the Hudson Valley and extracted its bounty via sail.
Control of the Hudson River was a lynchpin for American victory in the Revolutionary War and New York City's 19th-century rise to global prominence was powered by the sailing vessels on its waterways. Upriver, sloops and schooners delivered goods from the nation's interior and international whaling businesses operated from Hudson and Poughkeepsie and Kingston and Newburgh became noted shipbuilding centers. Yacht racing and ice yachting emerged as popular sports among wealthy families like the Astors and Roosevelts. Sailing clubs preserved these traditions into the 20th century. Since the 1960s, activists including Pete Seeger have used sailboats to galvanize a movement to revive the river ecosystem. Today, the river is home to new generations of sailors continuing these traditions into a fifth century.
The Jersey Shore region encompasses communities in Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May Counties. It is a region rich in athletics, and since the late 19th century, several athletes from the region have had significant impacts on sports like baseball, swimming, and football, among many others. The Jersey Shore communities have been connected to notable sports figures, including Doc Cramer, Gertrude Ederle, and Vince Lombardi. Over the years, the region has also been a favorite destination for star professional athletes in search of training camps and facilities along New Jersey’s scenic seashore. Athletes, especially boxers and baseball players, have flocked to the Jersey Shore to hone their skills and prepare for some of the biggest events in sports history.
Whether you're the type to read ghost stories with the lights off or the type who needs a little daylight courage first, we think this new crop of books has something for every kind of history lover this Halloween season. These aren't just spooky stories for the sake of a good scare. They're real pieces of local history, passed down through generations and brought back to life on the page. All of today's new releases are available now at arcadiapublishing.com wherever you like to get your books, and we'd love to hear which one gives you chills. Until next time, stay curious, and maybe leave a light on tonight.