Haunted & Paranormal

Established in 1836, Philadelphia's Laurel Hill Cemetery was one of the earliest rural cemeteries in America. The picturesque views and outstanding horticulture, along with sculptures and monuments designed by notable artists and architects--like Alexander Milne Calder, Alexander Stirling Calder, Harriet Frishmuth, John Notman, and Thomas Ustick Walter--attracted thousands of visitors. Laurel Hill became the desired place of burial for Philadelphia's elite and the final resting place for those with last names like Widener, Wharton, Meade, and Elkins. The cemetery's design was much admired and widely imitated, both locally and nationally. While the 20th century ushered in a steep decline for Laurel Hill, the establishment of a friends group in 1978 and the cemetery's designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1998 signaled a transformation for the cemetery. Laurel Hill entered a new century as a revitalized and relevant institution. Once again, the cemetery is regarded as an important part of the community, a worthy destination for visitors, and a place to share in the stories of the men and women whose lives shaped both Philadelphia and the nation.

In Sorcery in Salem, local author John Hardy Wright examines the witchcraft delusion that afflicted Salem Village and Salem Town in the winter of 1691-92. Twenty inhabitants lost their lives at that time; nineteen were hanged on Gallows Hill, and one elderly man, Giles Cory, by remaining mute as a personal protest to the proceedings of the court, was pressed to death under heavy weights. Once the prosecuting examinations began on March 1, 1692, local authorities were uncertain what course the following trials would take. Spectral evidence, in which the shape of a suspected witch tortured people, was a primary indication of guilt, as was the "touch test," in which a victim was released from the witch's power upon the laying on of hands. Not being able to correctly recite the Lord's Prayer was also damning.

Tacoma hides in the shadows of Seattle, but what hides in the shadows of Tacoma? The city's paranormal history is riddled with Native American culture, spiritualists, mysterious deaths, tragedy, and curses that dwell in the dark. Much of Tacoma is built directly on top of sacred lands, and many natives to the area can attest that the city is haunted by its past. Desecration of graves can leave troubling results. Hexed citizens can perish. An untimely death can leave behind a soul. These unfortunate circumstances bring forth tales of the strange and unexplainable. Are we alone in Tacoma or accompanied by ghosts of the past?

These stories and more are wrenched from the gravest parts of America's past--real lives of people on plantations from Savannah and the coast of the Carolinas.

A shackled West African tribe drags themselves off aslave ship while singing, drowning in a Georgia creek to avoid being sold. Mysterious letters from a long-ruined church near Mepkin Abbey solicit a man to join faith. A French teacher disappears from a school after marking final exams in blood. An Egyptian mummy triggers a heart attack in a city museum. Most of these stories deal with the hub of the East Coast slave trade, Charleston, South Carolina. All are richly illustrated with both historic and contemporary images. Dwelling in the affairs of plantation life is to tread the fires of emotionally raw history. Sifting through the folklore and legends, the old hushed embers of the south ignite once again in this collection. While these stories relate encounters with the supernatural, readers will find that what actually happened here doesn'talways need a ghost to be disquieting.

A thrilling collection of tales and a unique guide for the intrepid supernatural sleuth-seeker who knows that dead do not always rest in peace.

At the heart of Peoria's Haunted Memories is the rich and compelling history and folklore of the Peoria area. Buildings and cemeteries in and around the city provide ideal stomping grounds for many restless specters. In this collection of haunted sites, the reader will be introduced to some of Peoria's best-loved mansions, institutions, and graveyards, as well as many of its more illustrious citizens. From Bartonville State Hospital to Bradley University, historic downtown theaters, hotels and taverns, and local churches, where ghostly congregants and ministers continue to worship, this book presents these ghost stories and legends for the fi rst time together in print.

Historic, haunted, chilling tales of the town of Naperville, Illinois as told by America's Ghost Storyteller. A must-read for fans of the paranormal.

Established in 1831, Naperville is one of the oldest settlements in the Greater Chicago area. The city's rich and fascinating heritage has been carefully passed down from one proud generation to the next; however, nowhere has Naperville's ghostly oral tradition and haunted history been preserved until now.

Most of Naperville's unique legends--compiled for the first time ever in these pages--arose from accounts of actual historic events and from the lives of notable personages in the city's long history. As the tragic events and persons faded from living memory, all that might remain of them would be ghost stories whispered by firelight and, later, by flashlight tucked under a teenager's chin at slumber parties.

Some eerie legends in these pages have origins that are lost in time, and still other hair-raising ghost stories included in this work are chilling contemporary, firsthand accounts of paranormal encounters within Naperville's sprawling boundaries . . . perhaps from even just down the street.