Coming Soon

Author Robert Redd dives into the stories you won’t find in any orange juice–dispensing Florida Welcome Center. Swaying palms, sandy beaches and the promise of a good life have beckoned generations to Florida. But the Sunshine State’s allure is appealing to the upstanding and vile in equal measure. A key member of the Abraham Lincoln assassination conspiracy moldered in Florida soil—the same goes for the failed assassin of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Henry Flagler pushed the Florida legislature to alter divorce law so he could extricate himself from one marriage and start anew with a woman nearly four decades his junior. The Ashley Gang left a trail of bank robberies, stolen cars and dead bodies across South Florida. And from bootleggers to land boom con men to especially aggressive insurance fraudsters, Floridians have a history of making money the dirty way.

Noble County boasts small-town charm and attractions all year long.

And ghosts. The county’s only movie theater is patrolled by the well-known manager, who died in 1995. Two of the highest hills in the state are haunted, one after a hanging and another because of a murder immortalized by Indiana’s poet laureate. The sprawling Kneipp Sanitarium received a visit from the Virgin Mary herself and became a battleground of good versus evil. Former residents of the county poor farm still roam the building. Then there’s the “Thing in the Basement.”

Join authors and historians Mark and Emily Hunter as they tour the dark and spooky corners of Noble County.

Punctuated by quaint towns, historic tourist sites, rolling farmland, recreational areas and picturesque lakeside escapes, Lenawee County also has its darker side.

A ghostly woman in white is said to haunt the Clinton Inn, and specters at the Adrian’s Croswell Opera House refuse to give up the limelight. Around Cambridge Township, Native American spirits cannot rest due to a disturbed grave. The former Mineral Springs Hotel of Adrian is haunted by guests that never checked out. A shadowy creature lurks around the small village of Ridgeway, and an evil spirit cursed a lake near Manitou Beach.

Join Dr. Julieanna Frost as she delves into the history and folklore behind some of Lenawee County’s best-loved spooky legends.

Author Sharon Pajka guides readers a spine-tingling journey through the Old Dominion’s haunted cemeteries. An eerie din provides the soundtrack at Arlington Cemetery, while the gauzy visage of a lady in red flits among heroes’ gravestones. Civil War soldiers meet in perpetual conflict at Mount Hebron Cemetery, and Thomas Jefferson’s restive spirit makes itself known at Monticello. From the ghost that haunted Hollywood Cemetery for months after the Capitol disaster in 1870 to multiple presidential tombs throughout the state where visitors routinely catch a chill, souls find eternal rest to be a fleeting notion in Virginia. Join author Sharon Pajka on a spine-tingling journey of haunted cemeteries throughout the Old Dominion.

Murder, mystery and misdemeanors in Solano County’s seat.

From the very beginning, Fairfield hosted its fair share of criminal activity. City founder Robert Waterman, a famed sea captain accused of beating his own crew during the “hellship trials,” walked away a free man, but the fallout paved the way for seamen’s rights. A spree killer set the state mass murder record in the 1920s, and several decades later, Fairfield was chosen as the location for serial killer Juan Corona’s trial. Mass murders, missing children, political scandals and even a case involving an Armijo High School graduate turned Russian spy all have their roots in this California town.

Author and accidental historian Tony Wade shines a light on the dark past of Fairfield, California.

In Portage, the past is present in the strangest ways.

Every night at 8:15 p.m., a homeowner watched a transparent man wearing a stovepipe hat and carrying a suitcase walk through her living room. A child playing with a dowsing rod in her grandmother’s house communicated with the spirit of a boy lingering in the attic. A young lady looking at an old, empty house saw an old woman move a curtain and peek at her, but when she blinked, the curtain and the old woman were gone.

Shelley Mordini, founder of Baraboo Tours and coauthor of Haunted Baraboo, and Sharon Hart Addy share these and other spine-tingling stories from Where the North Begins.

Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley have a rich and varied history, but some of its darker chapters have remained hidden. These include an abandoned road guarded by an invisible entity, factory ghosts, a monstrous serpent, unnerving cemetery lore, demonic houses and a haunted restaurant. Once declared dead due to decades of being inundated with industrial and chemical pollutants, the Naugatuck River has been brought back to life by environmental stewardship, which has been a welcome benefit to residents. However, the river’s cleanup has also awakened supernatural stories that carve a paranormal path from the stream’s source in northwest Connecticut to its confluence with the Housatonic. Local author and historian Michael Bielawa reveals the eerie dark side of the river and this fabled valley.

Join world-renowned paranormal researcher and author Nicole Beauchamp on a tour of ten of the most haunted hotels in the Quarter. The French Quarter, New Orleans’ oldest neighborhood, brims with eerie history and supernatural lore, drawing those intrigued by the unexplained. Explore the legend of Maurice Bergere at the Hotel Monteleone, the sinister spirit in Room 208 at the Andrew Jackson Hotel, the restless souls haunting the Bourbon Orleans Hotel, the phantom Axeman lurking in the shadows of the Haunted Hotel and the spirits that crawl into bed with guests at the Olivier House Hotel—and many more.

A haunted legacy on the Lynnhaven.

On the banks of the Lynnhaven River stands Ferry Plantation, former home of several prominent Virginia Beach families—and one of the most haunted places in the state. A spectral nanny is said to still care for ghosts of children, and an upstairs landing hosts the spirit of an artist that continues to paint for all eternity. The lingering presence of a young woman mourning the death of a fallen soldier haunts the halls, along with other mysterious sightings. The house has witnessed tragedy, death and celebrations, and all have left their mark.

Join author Kristen P. Ellis as she explores the history and haunts of Virginia’s Ferry Plantation.

The Spooky Side of Paradise

Travel a few miles from the beaches and resorts of Southwest Florida and a darker, different side of the Sunshine State surfaces. In Arcadia, the spirits of tormented children rise from the grave to play tag near their headstones. A murdered fisherman walks on water near Marco Island, screaming with the voice of a hog. Walking through downtown Fort Myers may mean walking into the ghost of man in a top hat who hops from building to building. And it all might be caused by a curse on an old Spanish tyrant. Join author Christopher Balzano as he explores some of the creepiest ghostly legends and chilling hauntings of the Gulf Coast.

Join author Joseph Buga on an exploration of this working-class and indefatigable city. Passaic has a history that stretches the imagination. Back when the place was called Acquackanonk, it played a crucial role in the American Revolution. Later, its hospitable attitude toward immigrants established Passaic as a beacon of both stability and innovation. By the late 1800s, the city was becoming a national leader in all things textile and rubber—Edison used Passaic wire to electrify Lower Manhattan. Allen B. Dumont established WABD in Passaic, the fourth national TV network alongside ABC, CBS and NBC. The Passaic High School “Wonder Team” boasted the longest high school winning streak in any sport, and a Passaic athlete became the “world’s fastest man.” Passaic pop legends the Shirelles and Joey Dee and the Starlighters made it big and influenced an upstart British group, the Beatles.

A legendary Coast Guard hero, Jack Downey saved more than 700 lives in 5,000 daring New England rescues.

During a storied forty-two-year Coast Guard career, John “Jack” Downey, a Rhode Island native, would be credited with saving more than 700 mariners in distress during five thousand rescues in New England waters. Across thousands of missions, Downey and his crews rescued 11 passengers from the ferry Sea Comet and 108 elderly passengers from the Pilgrim Belle, and he participated in search-and-rescue efforts for the air crashes of JFK Jr. and EgyptAir 990.

A natural-born leader, Downey was named the Coast Guard’s first Ancient Keeper for his lifetime commitment to keeping people safe on the seas.

Authors Captain Russ Webster and Captain Michael Cicalese recount the extraordinary career of this lifesaver and how he honored the old ways of the sea while serving in three different government departments.

A Massacre, a Hellhound and Billy the Kid’s Many Victims.

Thanks to its bloody range war, Lincoln County hosts a wide array of restless spirits. La Llorona glides across the Bonito River and stalks the streets of Carrizozo. Old Ruidoso, the ghost steer, bellows from the mountains, sparking tales of ill omens and the relocation of an entire town. The clang of the shackles that restrained Billy the Kid reverberates through the Lincoln County Courthouse. Shadow people inhabit dark corners of Fort Stanton, while the ghosts of Aztec mummies guard a treasure in the Capitan Mountains. And the clear waters of Bonita Lake hide the blood-soaked history of Bonito City.

Author John LeMay explores the dark side of Lincoln County.

There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places. -  Wendell Berry

This is the story of a dramatic landscape in an improbable location. Since the last continental glacier receded, the rollicking falls of the Big Sioux River were exposed as a geographical anomaly. Early inhabitants of the Northern Plains were amazed that a stair-stepping series of waterfalls existed in the midst of vast, rolling prairie. Today’s visitors marvel that this rugged, dynamic setting survives in the heart of thriving, bustling Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Environmental author Peter Carrels recounts the human activities and inclinations that first disfigured and then later rescued this distinct, unexpected landmark known today as Falls Park.

Tucked along the north bank of the Columbia River lies Pearson Field, thought to be the nation’s oldest continuously operating airfield.

The golden age of aviation in the Pacific Northwest began at this spot with the touchdown of a dirigible bearing airmail letters, but that was only the first of many remarkable moments. From its conversion into a sawmill to provide spruce for World War I warplanes to hosting unexpected Russian airmen, Pearson Field adapted to serve the region through wars and peace alike. The Army Air Corps called it home for decades, and it attracted aviators like daredevil Silas Christofferson and Tex Rankin, who ran his own flight school.

Author Martin Middlewood dives into the stories of the men and women who turned a grassy field into the historic site it is today.

Specters and apparitions roam the badlands of New Mexico, where the law was scarce but criminals were plenty.

Ruthless outlaws like Thomas “Black Jack” Ketchum and Billy the Kid met their end here but left a legend, and possibly vengeful spirits, behind. The worst prison riot in the United States occurred just outside of Santa Fe at the New Mexico State Penitentiary, and rumor has it that the abandoned complex is haunted by the horrors that occurred. In Taos, the graves of three suspected witches lie under a layer of cement to keep them from rising again.

Author Donna Blake Birchell explores the dark side of justice in the Land of Enchantment.

In 1980, a record-breaking thunderstorm unleashed a disastrous amount of water on the tiny town of Brady’s Bend.

In a mere forty minutes, the community was annihilated by a catastrophic flash flood. Residents ran for their lives, and nine people drowned. Although rescue and recovery soon followed, the harrowing experience left a mark on the survivors that remains decades later.

Author and Brady’s Bend native Lisa Olszak Zumstein tells this community’s story in full and reveals how this devastating storm mirrors numerous others in the Appalachian corridor.

It has been four centuries since the first Roosevelt arrived in New Amsterdam as a humble farmer.

The Roosevelts became one of America’s most distinguished families—one with ties to many sites in New York City. A brownstone on East 20th Street where Theodore Roosevelt was born and developed his love of nature. A twin brownstone next door where his uncle Robert instilled in the future president an interest in conservation, while having multiple affairs and even starting a second secret family with a mistress. And the double townhouse on East 65th Street built by Sara Delano Roosevelt so the growing family of her son, Franklin, would have a suitable place to live while she meddled in their lives. Historian Bill Bleyer details the unique places in the city where family members lived and worked and unveils the private interactions behind this famous American family.

Mayhem on the Mat in Memphis

For most of the twentieth century, professional wrestling was the most popular sport in Memphis. It not only had great entertainment value but also reflected the city’s culture of cruelty, kindness and violence. The vibrant professional wrestling culture that developed in Memphis—with its emphasis on elaborate promotions, strong characters and wild performances—transformed the sport and made the Bluff City one of the most significant wrestling centers in the United States. Join author G. Wayne Dowdy as he chronicles Sputnik Monroe’s successful battle against segregation and the Jerry Lawler/Andy Kaufman feud and introduces wrestling legends like Jackie Fargo, Tojo Yamamoto, Bill Dundee, Handsome Jimmy Valiant, Kamala the Ugandan Giant and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.