New Book Releases

Haunted Marietta: History and Mystery in Ohio's Oldest City explores the supernatural side of the state's first settlement. Visit a crumbling 1855 mansion whose original owner still roams the halls, sit in the plush red seats of an abandoned theatre and climb an ancient Indian burial mound. Encounter river pirates, fugitive slaves, an axe murderer, jealous lovers and inept morticians. Haunted Marietta delves into various types of otherworldly phenomena, examines the difference between ghost stories and reports of supernatural activity and discusses why certain people become spirits. From an 1815 goblin sighting to a bartender's brush with the unexplained, local author Lynne Sturtevant covers it all.

The infamous Vaudeville ghost that still puts on a show at the Strand, the mischievous, piano-playing poltergeists of the Arts Castle and the bearded ghoul that speeds at a hellish pace down North Franklin Street in a horse-drawn carriage--these are the otherworldly denizens of Delaware, Ohio. Local ghost expert John B. Ciochetty's collection of haunted lore will have skeptics and believers alike looking over their shoulders as they walk down the darkened city streets. Behind the folklore and legends, readers will find the strange but hard facts of history that have given rise to tales of the city's restless spirits. Join Ciochetty as he explores the other side of Delaware to discover its spine-tingling, haunted history.

Stroll along silent corridors of an abandoned asylum and linger among graves of Civil War dead—and discover the eerie ends of Stark County's departed souls.

Ghostly diners, violent crimes of passion, phantoms peering from theatre balconies, canal workers who still walk the towpaths—the haunted history of Stark County includes characters and legends as bizarre as they are terrifying. Take a bone-chilling journey with Sherri Brake, owner of Haunted Heartland Tours, as she recounts tales of superstitious pioneers and the horrors of the great influenza epidemic of 1918.

The Ohio State Reformatory has a century long history of housing thousands of the most dangerous criminals, and the angry ghosts of the past still roam the corridors.

First opened in 1896, the Ohio State Reformatory intended to do what their name implied, to reform young offenders, but eventually came to house the most dangerous criminals in society. Built on a former Civil War camp ravaged by disease, one can only imagine the unease creeping through the cells and down the dark corridors, made famous as the backdrop for the The Shawshank Redemption. The prison grew to hold more than a thousand prisoners, suffering what were described as brutalizing and inhumane conditions. Ghost tour guide Sherri Brake escorts the reader on a tour of the dark and violent history of one of America's most notorious prisons, the spirits of these men still haunting these halls, forever searching for justice... or revenge.

The residents of Lake Erie's North coast have trouble leaving-even after they die. The area is flooded with the spirits of locals, some friendly, some not. See the sorrowful eyes of the Hauntingly Beautiful High School Student, who floats the corridors looking for her lost boyfriend, and head to an old Port Clinton hotel to watch the ghost of a maintenance man wander haphazardly through the inn, making routine repairs. Read about the figure that lurks in the clock of the Port Clinton Courthouse every night, never moving, simply watching, until disappearing with the sun. Local ghost tour guide Victoria King Heinsen has a personal connection with every story, and her firsthand accounts will turn every paranormal skeptic into a believer.

Behind Put-in-Bay's breathtaking scenery and wild nightlife is a side of the island that will make your hair stand on end.

Passersby claim to see the ghost of assistant lighthouse keeper Sam Anderson, who jumped to his death in the turbulent water of Lake Erie during an 1898 smallpox outbreak. Doors open and close of their own accord, and some say a spirit named Benny tosses things around at the Put-in-Bay Brewery and Distillery. Stage actor T.B. Alexander married the granddaughter of famous abolitionist John Brown and became one of the island's most noted mayors. His ghost is said to linger in the historic barroom of T&J's Smokehouse. Author William G. Krejci hosts this tour of the darker aspects of island life.