The History Press

The Eerie and Ominous in Kentucky 

Kentucky is no stranger to strange occurrences. From weird encounters with the Grim Reaper to local graveyard dogs, the Bluegrass State has its share of odd stories. Learn about local ghosts who’ve haunted areas for years. Encounter body snatchers and some very odd modes of death. Go on the hunt for Daniel Boone’s bones and witness the marvelous twisting tombstone. Witness the people who uncannily predicted their own death. Author Keven McQueen details these creepy stories and more. 

Discover the Black pioneers who shaped St. Lawrence County through grit and determination. From its origins as part of New France through the Civil War and eventual industrialization of the region, St. Lawrence County has been shaped by all too often overlooked Black families and individuals. Author Bryan S. Thompson reveals the history of the African American community in New York's North Country.

Vermont’s hills hold the echoes of a spirited past. Haunting stories and wandering ghosts are found in numerous burial places from the Riverside Cemetery in Burlington to the Green Mount Cemetery in Montpelier.

The Bowman mausoleum in Cuttingsville contains some heartbreaking symbolism. Throughout the state, disturbing tales of mountain madness, murder and “vampires” can be found carved in stone. Discover the graves of humble farmers with independent spirit like Justin Morgan, Ethan Allen, and “Snowflake” Bentley who changed the course of history. The ancient gravestones in Rockingham were once removed and put on exhibit in New York City, while innovative gravestone carvers from Barre to Bennington left artistic interpretations of death to awe and inspire.

Author and tour guide Roxie Zwicker explores these historic and legendary graveyards.

Meet one of Richland County’s most colorful citizens .

There are those who thought Phebe Wise was a witch. More thought that the cranky old lady was “tetched,” meaning crazy. And she was crazy—like a fox. An eccentric who outwitted violent robbers, a mad stalker, and a society that expected her to marry and raise children, Phebe alternated between dressing up in men’s clothes and strutting to town in an antique ball gown, the trail dragging behind her in the dirt. If anyone had the gall to stare, she’d cuss them out. She was in touch with a different world, and she used it to help launch the career of a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, Louis Bromfield.

Local author and historian Mark Sebastian Jordan unravels the myth and history of Phebe Wise.

The rise of the crimson and gray.

In 1987, Dennis Erickson arrived in Pullman, Washington to take over the struggling Washington State University football program. Under his leadership, the Cougars ended 1988 with a 9-3 record and a victory in the Aloha Bowl. In just two years, the team had transformed, and Erickson’s lifelong friend, Mike Price, took over in 1989 to build on that legacy. By the end of Price’s tenure, WSU had appeared in five bowl games including two Rose Bowls, eclipsing the four bowl games in the entire program’s history. The coaches also produced a number of high-profile NFL quarterbacks, including Drew Bledsoe and Ryan Leaf.

Join author Ben Donahue as he explores how the Washington State University Cougars went from doormats to perpetual contenders.

Strange things are afoot in the Buckeye State/

Across city and country, Ohio echoes with tales of creatures, ghosts, and other unexplained phenomena. A monster that appeared to be half man and half dog and wielding a 2-by-4 terrorized a small Northwest Ohio town during the summer of 1972. Over the years, visitors to a quiet Cincinnati suburb claim to have been accosted by a human-size, leathery frogman lurking near the riverbank. For generations, hikers and hunters have reported seeing Bigfoot throughout forests across Ohio, and some of the most notorious and well-documented UFO encounters on record have taken place here./

Authors M. Kristina Smith and Kevin Moore parse urban legends from history as they explore the unnatural side of Ohio’s heritage.

In just over a decade, a tiny, do-it-yourself stand-up scene on the North Side of Chicago produced some of the most successful and influential stand-up comedians of their generation. Hannibal Buress, T.J. Miller, Kyle Kinane, Cameron Esposito, Pete Holmes, Beth Stelling, Matt Braunger and Kumail Nanjiani make up a partial list of names of comics who emerged from a scene that had very little industry attention—or even a home club.

It was also a scene that took a backseat to the city’s vaunted improv institution, and if we’re being completely honest, it was a scene where comics mostly performed to drunks in the backs of dingy bars on their off nights. None of it was glamorous. None of it should have worked at all. But somehow, some way, the comedians from this scene have managed to etch their own names into the Chicago comedy pantheon. The Perfect Amount of Wrong is the story of that scene, as told by its veterans.

Burlington has long been known as the shining jewel in Vermont's crown, but a current of darkness flows beneath this charming port on Lake Champlain.

There is a sordid side to the city that top-ten lists routinely call one of the country's most livable cities,” with stories of dirty cops, notorious ladies of the night, knife wielding psychopaths, lovers off the deep end and famous serial killers.

Author and tour guide Thea Lewis showcases the cunning culprits who would go to any lengths to get what they wanted, and finally got what was coming to them.

Indiana Authors Awards (Nonfiction) 2024

More than two centuries removed from its founding, Indianapolis has seen its share of landmarks and landscapes pass into memory. Some have totally vanished, such as the National Road covered bridge over the White River, the Marion County Courthouse, the 1835 Indiana Statehouse and the previous headquarters for the long-standing Flanner House organization. Others still exist, but not in their original location or form, like Pogue’s Run, the Central Canal through downtown and the remnants of structures at Riverside Park. Indianapolis historian Edward Fujawa explores the history of lost sites, how they appear today and how some are still used or repurposed.

Stories from the beheading of an Englishman to the buried ships of Robinson Landing. The streets of Alexandria have born witness to singular individuals and stirring events in their long history. In 1623, just across the Potomac River, an English adventurer walked into an Indian village and literally lost his head. In 1654, a notorious woman became the first European to own land in what would become Alexandria. A hundred years later, George Washington and General Braddock marched from Alexandria to a massacre and in 1814 the British looted the city. Read the true history of Robinson Landing, the seedy story of Del Ray and the tale of Major George Patton and the 1930s cavalry at Fort Myer. /Author Ted Pulliam follows his popular Historic Alexandria with a deeper look into the fascinating past of the city on the Potomac.

Authors Ryan Starrett and Josh Foreman chart a Gulf Coast odyssey with French adventurers, English colonists, Spanish Dons, American filibusters, Indian warriors, African Maroons, and pirate outlaws. For centuries, the shoreline between Galveston and Tallahassee was marked by the desperate deeds of men who fought for God, gold, and glory, as well as those who simply wanted to be left alone. Regardless of motive, the Gulf Coast has seen its share of seafaring warriors and miscreants, from the Tattooed Serpent and Osceola to Iberville and Davy Crockett. It harbored privateers and pirates such as William Augustus Bowles and the Brothers Laffite.

In addition to its well-known associations with doctors and diagnoses, the city of Rochester offers a string of curiosities to those willing to look closely .

How did a secret bomber mission to Moscow during World War II lead to thousands of fighter planes flying through Rochester and the subsequent construction of a giant IBM manufacturing plant here? What was Rochester's contribution to the 1980 Olympic Hockey Miracle on Ice? Who was dubbed the “Greatest Doctor in the World”, and why? Who were the regular folks without whom the great Mayo Clinic might never have become a medical mecca?

Rochester Stories: A Med City History Paul Scanlon answers these and other questions in this enlightening and sometimes humorous study of Rochester's past.

Trace the haunted heritage of America’s Mother Road across Oklahoma. Route 66 may seem like a quieter thoroughfare than it was in its heyday, but the ghosts of Oklahoma’s past bustle along unabated. When the sun sets on the Road of Dreams, the shadows of its roadside attractions take on a nightmarish cast. British airmen disappear into the mist above Miami. Phantoms stir in the Dust Bowl’s shallow grave. A westbound Frisco train hops the rails outside Kellyville. Author Tanya McCoy expertly weaves amongst the spirits still traveling along Oklahoma’s historic Route 66

Read the missing stories of DC’s precolonial history. Native Americans lived on the land that is now Washington, DC for several thousand years before English settlers arrived in the early 1600s. The Native people had villages, quarries and burial grounds throughout the city, ranging from what is now Rock Creek Park to the grounds of the White House. These sites speak of the history of the Anacostans and the preceding tribes who once walked the land under historic sites and museums that now neglect them. Local author Armand Lione details the record of the Native tribes of the District and deals with the complex question of why these stories have not been offered to the public.

Sports in the Steel City has never reached the highs and lows that fans in Pittsburgh experienced in the 1970s. Most remembered may be the multiple championships celebrated in city during the era, including two World Series titles, four Super Bowl victories and a NCAA football championship. Despite those successes, fans still recall major tragedies such as the deaths of Bob Moose, Roberto Clemente and others. Local authors present essays on the triumphs, tragedies and championships that defined the 1970s for the city of Pittsburgh and Steel City sports. 

Founded in 1741 as the burial ground for the Second Parish of Dedham, Old Parish Cemetery encapsulates the history of the town of Norwood from its beginnings in 1736.

Today, volunteers, with the support of town officials, are working to preserve this historic site.  Dormant since the mid-1900s, and virtually surrounded by commercial structures, Old Parish Cemetery offers a contemplative green space for those seeking solace and peace. Its memorials are rich in lessons about the cultural and social evolution of the community.

Historian and author Patricia Fanning guides the reader through the history of Norwood as she tells the engaging stories of those buried here.

In 1948-49, Nebraska experienced a winter like never before. Brutal cold, unbearable winds and record snowfall made roads impassable and life difficult for locals. Farmers and ranchers struggled with hunger due to a dwindling supply of coal and food. The governor requested federal aid, and the U.S. Air Force dropped bales of hay into pastures for animals. Many locals perished in the weather, and icy roads forced the state to redesign and rebuild highways. Author Barry Seegebarth details the tragedy and courage of the Nebraska winter of 1948.

In the early 1790s, a Lutheran family in Appalachia fell victim to a menacing spirit that Lutheran, Methodist and Episcopal clergy as well as Folk magic practitioners failed to remove. The entity, which came to be known as the Wizard Clip, was said to cut or slice anything made of cloth or leather. Was it a ghost or a demon? After years of torment, the deeply Protestant family finally found respite from a seemingly impossible ally, a Catholic exorcist. This legend has eerie parallels to lore of ghosts and witches from the Old World as well as the early American Republic. As American religious leaders sought to find a place for their congregations in a post-Revolutionary time of enlightened secularism, tales like these helped churches define themselves, and this particular story was used to distinguish Catholic supernaturalism from later spiritualism. /Author Michael Kishbucher tells a spooky and incredibly compelling story that shines a light on the region’s religious history.

Meet the Chicagoans who had the vision -- or the chicanery -- to turn a worthless marsh into the amazing cityscape that is modern Streeterville. The towering buildings between beautiful Lake Michigan and Chicago's Magnificent Mile didn't just happen. Follow the development from mud and sand to office towers and exclusive residences. The cast includes Cap'n Streeter, real estate genius Potter Palmer, developer Jerrold Wexler, and architect Mies van der Rohe, as well as activists who fought against development. Author Wayne Klatt traces the evolution of the Streeterville neighborhood from lake shore mansions, through a postwar fallow period, and then to an energetic burst of construction that gave Chicago its new downtown.

Digging into a forgotten past – and the dead left behind.

San Francisco is famous for not having any cemeteries, but the claim isn’t exactly what it seems. In the early 20th Century, the city relocated more than 150,000 graves to the nearby town of Colma to make way for a rapidly growing population. But an estimated fifty to sixty thousand burials were quietly built over and forgotten, only to resurface every time a new building project began. The dead still lie beneath some of the city’s most cherished destinations, including the Legion of Honor, United Nations Plaza, the Asian Art Museum and the University of San Francisco.

Join author Beth Winegarner as she maps the city's early burial grounds and brings back to life the dead who've been erased.

What goes bump in Boise?



Searching the darkness of the City of Trees reveals what lurks in the liminal spaces. Idaho’s capital city is dotted with haunted residences, hotels and penitentiaries where many still reside in death. Two youngsters lives were cut short, but their spirits never left their childhood homes. Strange specters prowl the foothills, including hooded figures seeking sacrifices. Strange objects patrol the skies. Spooks haunt local prison cells and frighten at a historic fort. Authors Mark Iverson and Jeff Wade collect ghoulish tales that have become local folklore, while setting the record straight. 

Explore the haunted lore and inexplicable tragedies of North Central Texas. North Central Texas is home to some former residents who just won’t leave. Encounter spirits of affluent families lingering in their mansions and the specters of notorious outlaws still trapped in their jail cells. Uncover the mysterious demise of Garland’s Smiley family and the grisly secrets of a Grayson County slaughterhouse. Track down the stone angel who flaps her wings when no one is watching. Learn why the elevators at the Adolphus Hotel frighten guests and plumb the ghostly currents that flow through the town of Mineral Wells. Author Teresa Nordheim ventures into the past of a region with more unnerving shadows than a North Texas Thunderstorm.

Author Heather Leigh Carroll-Landon guides readers on a spine-tingling tour through Florida’s haunted lighthouses. Lighthouses dot the Florida coast, there to help seafarers navigate their way to shore. But when tragedy comes for Florida, it often blows in from the sea, giving the lighthouses and the cursed men and women inside a first look at horror. The lively spirits of teenage sisters inhabit the St. Augustine Lighthouse, where an accident claimed their lives, suspending them in their playful youth. A storm wiped out the Sand Key Lighthouse in 1846, claiming the lives of 16 whose spirits now chatter away—generally in contented tones but sometimes straying into anger. A Civil War casualty roams near the Amelia Island Lighthouses, holding to a promise to see his love one last time before departure.

A small town no more.

Happy Valley’s transformation from an isolated, rural farming community to one of the most popular places to live in the Portland metro area didn’t happen all at once. With its fertile volcanic soil, it was once the ideal place to settle for many families coming to the Oregon Territory, including the Deardorffs and the Talberts. As the town slowly grew, residents like James Robnett, the first mayor and Ed Rebstock, known as “Mr. Happy Valley,” left their marks on the locals and the land. When the town’s population exploded in the 1990s, newcomers brought prosperity and growing pains as they sought a balance between green spaces and urban amenities.

Join author Mark W. Hurlburt as he traces the origins of Happy Valley.

Tales from North Carolina’s high country. The Toe River winds its way past the peaks of Mount Mitchell and into the valley that bears its name. Mineral mines go back to the earliest days of Yancey County and encouraged some of the first settlers to come to the region. Mitchell County’s Bakersville experienced violent unrest, with a riot and a lynching, in 1892—but did it actually happen? The section of the Blue Ridge Parkway that runs through Avery County was left incomplete for years because of a property dispute with the owner of Grandfather Mountain. Take a journey along forgotten rail lines, through abandoned communities and past sites whose histories have shaped this valley’s story just as the river has shaped its landscape. /North Carolina historian and author Michael C. Hardy explores the hidden historical gems of the region.

Spectral miners and lingering spirits

Once Arizona's biggest economic base, mines and the towns that sprang up around them can be found scattered across the state. Stories of paranormal encounters in places like Jerome, Bisbee and Prescott persist, while ghost towns are rumored to host a multitude of lingering spirits. In Ajo, the dead are said to wander through the old Phelps Dodge Hospital, and legend has it that the shades of miners long gone still work the Vulture Mine, looking for the next big gold strike. Do the spirits of Geronimo and his warriors still roam the land they fought so hard to keep?

Join historian Parker Anderson and paranormal expert Darlene Wilson as they uncover the fascinating history and haunts of Arizona’s mining towns.

Wandering spirits, vengeful ghosts, and unexplained sightings in Tucson, Arizona.

The benign, candle-carrying ghost of Mayor Levi Manning is reported to roam the halls of Manning House, while a frightening presence is said to lurk in the projectionist room at the Fox Theatre. In Room 242 of the Hotel Congress, guests have described a woman in white sitting at the end of the bed, while other spirits have been spotted in the halls. From the Mission San Xavier del Bac, built in 1700, to the grounds of the University of Arizona, stories of paranormal encounters abound. 

Join author Daryl F. Mallett and discover the thrilling and bone-chilling history of the Old Pueblo.

Discover the spooky history of New York's central region From the edge of the Adirondacks, to the heart of Syracuse and everything in between, central New York boasts some of the most haunted history in the state. Utica, Rome and Cazenovia all have historic tales of ghostly moments and unexplained aparations. Join author Dennis Webster as he reveals the hidden haunted history of central New York.

Minnesota is often called the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but it could also be called the Land of 20,000 Bridges. /

During the early days of the state, the Mississippi River and its many tributaries barred and disrupted transportation and commerce. To span these obstacles, communities battled to build and maintain bridges. Their efforts created a variety of bridge designs and purposes—from small hiking and biking bridges to concrete beams across rural rivers. Across the area, one can behold wonders like the beautiful Stone Arch Bridge, the La Crescent Swing Bridge, the Point Douglas Drawbridge, the elegant Winona Main Channel Bridge as well as other massive structures crossing the Mississippi.

Studying and photographing these amazing structures, local author Steve Gardiner celebrates the innovation and determination of Southeast Minnesota./      

Like so many cities bordering Lake Michigan, Racine has a long and storied history. Some of that history is stranger than fiction.  

The Live Towerview neighborhood, brimming with stories of the city’s earliest burial sites, is a hotbed of ghostly activity. Former asylums like the ambitious Taylor Home Orphan Asylum and the infamous Racine County Insane Asylum are filled with chilling tales of the unexplained. The local Masonic Temple houses the restless souls of some of the city’s earliest residents. So do Chances Food & Spirits and Ivanhoe, two of the most haunted taverns in southeastern Wisconsin. Historian Rory Graves uncovers some of Racine’s most notorious haunts./

Historian Rory Graves uncovers some of Racine's most notorious haunts.

Author Kathy Benjamin accompanies the pioneering women of the Lone Star State’s funeral business. The intimate task of caring for the dead had long fallen under women’s sphere of responsibilities. But after the Civil War, the sudden popularity of embalming offered new financial opportunities to men who set up as undertakers, pushing women out of their traditional role. In Texas, from the 1880s to the 1930s, women slowly regained their place by the bier. Many worked while pregnant or raising children. Most shouldered the additional weight of personal tragedies and persistent sexism. All brought comfort to the bereaved in the isolation of the Texas frontier, kept its cities free of deadly disease and revolutionized an industry that was just coming into its own.

Les Dames d’ Escoffier New York, the most influential and accomplished women in the food world, present their favorite recipes for everything from simple weekday meals to spectacular party dishes.  Authors Silvia Baldini and Sharon Franke showcase seventy-six family recipes and pairings by Pascaline Lepeltier, MOF, and including a dedication by Lidia Bastianich to LDNY founder Carol Brock and a foreword by Carla Hall. From Lidia’s “Cavatappi with Asparagus and Spinach Pesto” or Ellie Krieger’s recipe “Family Favorite Minestrone, to a stunning “Radicchio Salad with Radish, Basil, and Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette” by two-Michelin star Chef Melissa Rodriguez, these recipes are for every occasion and for every level of skill.Discover the dishes and recipes that some of the most heralded women in the food business, in the greatest city in the world for food, cook when they are in their own home kitchens.

Rediscover Cleveland’s Forgotten Hauntings/

Hiding in obscure corners and in plain sight, chilling tales from Cleveland’s paranormal past await reawakening. A tale from 1840 places the city’s first haunted house on the windswept commons south of town. Hanged murderers were said to roam the corridors of the Old County Jail, and the 1885 disinterment of the old Cleveland Medical College graveyard led to reports of nocturnal phantoms throughout the excavation. With the construction of Bulkley Boulevard in 1912, many West Side homes were demolished. Also destroyed was the entrance to what neighbors menacingly called The Cave of Apparitions.

Take a step back in time with author and investigative historian William G. Krejci on this journey through Cleveland’s long lost ghostly past.

The Houses Lutherans Built

Large groups of German immigrants began arriving in Cole County in the 1830s. By 1843, thirty-seven of them banded together to establish the first Lutheran church in the county—Zion Church. The following year, the second Lutheran church was founded near Taos, while the pastors at Zion helped establish a third congregation in Lohman in the 1850s. Doctrinal disputes inspired members to leave the church in Lohman and establish a new Lutheran congregation in Stringtown after the Civil War. Over the generations, Zion—the “Mother Church”—disbanded but other Lutheran congregations developed in Centertown, Honey Creek, Russellville, Jefferson City and near Brazito. Local author Jeremy Amick details the rich history of Lutherans in Cole County.

Author Mark Neaves guides readers on an incredible tale through the life of one of America’s greatest adventurers.  Born into slavery in the Mississippi Delta in 1847, Holt Collier was taught to hunt at an early age, killing his first bear at age 10, the first of 3,000 bears he killed during his lifetime, more than Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone combined. The number sounds impossible, until considered in the context of a life that reads like the stuff of fiction. When war erupted in the South, he remained loyal to the Confederacy, a teenager off to war. By the turn of the century, he’d become such a legendary hunter he was tapped to lead Teddy Roosevelt on a hunt that gave birth to the “Teddy Bear.” As a former slave, Confederate soldier, and professional hunting guide, Holt goes down as an American legend.

Explore the origins of Wood County lore .

Ghostly tales abound from fallen war heroes of Bowling Green State University to the darkened woods of Holcomb Road. The spirit of Frank Simonds, a venerated World War I veteran who nearly got away with murder, may linger around Main Street in Bowling Green. A soldier who died in a desperate attempt to save hundreds still guards Fort Meigs. Though nothing stands there now, the spot of the infamous Woodbury House remains a terror—just as it was for the earliest settlers in the area./

Wonder-seeker and amateur folklorist Melissa Davies reveals the stranger side of local history./

Explore ghastly history and lasting lore!

The legend of local miner Teodor Glava, the Lafayette Vampire, has reached near cult status, with people from all over the country visiting his gravesite. Buried bootleggers lost to an underground tunnel explosion purportedly haunt Louisville’s Main Street. Local teenagers explore the outskirts of Old Town Lafayette to confront the legendary La Llorona, who preyed on curious children and adults. And, an infamous Headless Horseman stalks Spruce Lane, a dirt road in old town Louisville. Sorting out fact from fiction with some tantalizing first-hand accounts, author Doug Conarroe takes a critical look at these and other myths, legends and ghost tales.

Crawfordsville, Indiana, has a rich history of spiritualism and paranormal lore. /

In the late 1800s and early 1900s mediums were trained in the city, and spiritualism was preached from the street corners. Spirit photography was all the rage, and many flocked to town to have their photos taken with ghosts. The Crawfordsville Monster caused a nationwide stir after terrorizing the town for several days and being spotted by more than 100 people. Urban legends also abound in this small city, including legends like the cursed chair of Oak Hill cemetery, Spooky Hollow and the Old Hospital./

Authors Christopher and Christina Hunt share these tales and others devoted to the mysterious past and darkly thrilling secret life of the heart of Montgomery County.

Dastardly Deeds of Corruption and Violence.

Known for friendly people, traditional family values, and the Packers, Green Bay is a big city with a small-town feel. But resting beneath its welcoming demeanor is an underbelly of wickedness that has been there from its very formation.

The city’s downtown district rests atop one of Wisconsin’s oldest burial sites, and the west side was the location for the state’s second recorded hanging, which was at the time the punishment for murder. And the city’s beloved football team once drafted one of America’s worst serial killers.

Compiling stories of stolen skulls, underground gangs, and crimes so horrendous and shocking they made national news, Timothy Freiss reveals a side of Green Bay few have seen.

Join author Lisa M. Russell on a tour through these icons of Georgia backroads.  At one time, Georgia had over 250 covered bridges. By 1955, that number had shrunk to 75. By the 1970s, only 25 remained. But thanks to preservationists and Georgia's Department of Transportation, sixteen historic bridges have endured. Meet the bridge builders—including an enslaved apprentice who out-built his “master,” and travel back in time underneath the elegance of these simple yet masterfully crafted structures.

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt changed America with a government on the side of the people that put Americans back to work and inspired confidence that the nation could overcome the Great Depression.  This is the story of their progressive legacy when FDR was Governor during the era of Prohibition and the advent of radio in the Roaring Twenties, a decade that ended with the Great Depression upending life for most Americans. This is the story of how as Governor of New York he tried the programs that became the New Deal that transformed America. It was the place where his warm, easily relatable voice heard on the radio for the first time created a bond of trust with the public that inspired confidence at a time of great fear.Author Michael J. Burgess reveals the often overlooked history of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in Albany at the helm of the Empire State.

Pittsburgh’s small but lucrative Cosa Nostra mafia family was on the rise in 1985 with a newly crowned Don...

The men who came to dominate the rackets in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and West Virginia opened the family to massive profits from drug trafficking and a street tax on other criminal activities. At the same time, the Youngstown, OH faction of the family launched a brutal mob war against the weakening Cleveland mafia and the Altoona, PA crew violently clamped down on their city.

Discover gritty stories of a made member who controlled who a local police department hired, an informant who betrayed his own mafia grandfather and father, numerous unsolved murders and a mob mole in the Pittsburgh office of the FBI.

This is the tale of a mafia family at the pinnacle of its power, willing to do anything to hold on to that power and its downfall in the criminal underworld.

Iconic vistas, eerie roadside attractions and celebrity ghosts.

From the stark beauty of the Mojave Desert to the haunted Santa Monica Pier, California’s Route 66 is a truly spirited road trip. The road is lined with ghost towns such as Ludlow, a town that lived and died twice, and Goffs, now a dusty museum where the shades of the past walk the streets. In Barstow, a hundred-year-old rail station hosts long-dead passengers still waiting for their trains, and in Monrovia, the Aztec Hotel entertains spirits from a bygone era, as does the Pasadena Playhouse, the official state theater of California.

Join author and paranormal historian Brian Clune as he explores the haunted history of the Mother Road.

Journey to the burial places of the people who lived in Poe’s world.

Edgar Allan Poe considered himself a Virginian. Credited with originating the modern detective story, developing Gothic horror tales, and writing the precursor to science fiction, Poe worked to elevate Southern literature. He lived in the South most of his life, died in Baltimore and made his final home in Richmond. His family and many of his closest associates were southerners. Visit the graves of the people with whom he worked and socialized, who he loved and at times loathed and gain a fuller understanding of Poe’s life. These were individuals who supported, inspired, and challenged him, and even a few who attempted to foil his plans. Professor and cemetery historian Sharon Pajka tells their stories.

Every city has its odd and scary side, and Dayton is no exception. /

 The ghost of Paul Sorg still sits in his favorite seat in the Sorg Opera House more than a hundred years after his death. The so-called phantom terrorized truck drivers crossing the Englewood Dam before disappearing for good. The famed Butter Street Monster roams Germantown. Magee Park is home to numerous bigfoot and ghost sightings—and even a unicorn sighting. A building of many names, the tower on Patterson Boulevard in Kettering near Hills and Dales Park has been the source of many stories for generations, but only now is its true story finally told./

Dayton native, author, and host of the Dayton Unknown blog Sara Kaushal leads a chilling tour of Gem City’s strange and unusual history./

Through grit and determination, the founding Black families of Sourland Mountain and surrounding Central New Jersey put down roots, built homes, established churches and navigated their lives in an unforgiving world.

Through extensive research and interviews authors Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills reveal stories of the families who shaped the region for generations.

Charleston Like It's Never Been Seenb/>

Hand-colored, vivid details bring these historic photographs to life like never before. Witness the beginnings of the sweetgrass basket tradition. See the bleak devastation on Meeting Street after the Civil War. Note intense contrast in blues and grays of prisoners captured at the Battle of Bull Run. Explore the Battery as it looked in the 1800s. And dazzle in the bright fashions of flappers at the dawn of “the Charleston” dance craze. Author Mark Jones and artist Lewis Hayes bring a new vision to Holy City history.

Journey down one of the most important roadways in the annals of Illinois transportation history. Stretching from Chicago to Cairo, the Egyptian Trail was one of the earliest “improved” roadways in Illinois. Dating to 1915, it was the longest road in the state, running four hundred miles through 20 counties and over 60 towns. The project was the brainchild of two Mattoon men, Dr. Iverson Lumpkin and Ernest B. Tucker, who realized the southern reaches of the state should be linked with Chicago along the same path as the Illinois Central Railroad. Though long forgotten today, the trail also served as the basic template for the route of Interstate 57. Author James R. Wright takes a road trip through the fascinating heritage of the Egyptian Trail.

The Path to Freedom in Missouri and Illinoisb/>

People enslaved here experienced the same horrors as those held captive in other states, and their stories of courage and perseverance are amazing. Priscilla Baltimore purchased her own emancipation and founded a freedom village. Caroline Quarlls escaped to Canada. Many who fled for their lives spent time bunkered in the basement of Hanson House. The region's Congregationalists brought a fiery. brand of abolitionism. And Prairie Park still holds the faded “haint” blue paint traditionally used on slave dwellings. Author Julia Nicolai details these and other adjective stories.p/> 

Virginia’s long history and many beauties attract millions of visitors each year—and some never leave. With some of the oldest inns in the country, Virginia has a multitude of options for travelers to sleep among the spirits. The historic Cavalier Hotel is haunted by the ghost of Adolph Coors, the beer magnate. Market Square Tavern is one of the original buildings in Williamsburg, and has some of the oldest haunts—including, possibly, Thomas Jefferson. The spirit of Mary Hooker still watches over her beloved home at King George's Bell Grove Plantation. The family of the former owner of Natural Bridge Hotel are said to still walk the halls of historic building—after he killed them. /Plan a ghostly journey along Virginia’s byways with author and paranormal expert Susan Schwartz.

Nestled in the town square of Concord, Massachusetts, the windows of the Colonial Inn have gazed upon more than three centuries of bloodstained history.

Known for its role in the American Revolution, the Inn was originally built as three separate buildings with the oldest section of the property dating back to 1716. A stone's throw from Old North Bridge, the Inn is notoriously haunted by the ghosts from its Revolutionary War past. Guests report phantom footsteps, disembodied voices, and spirited soldiers lurking in the shadows of the labyrinthine hallways and empty rooms of this infamous inn.

Local author Sam Baltrusis has worked the graveyard shift at Concord's Colonial Inn trying to unravel the chilling mysteries and lingering legends associated with one of the country's oldest and most haunted hotels.

U.S. Route 44 stretches across New England from Massachusetts to Connecticut before completing its circuit in New York State, 237 miles later. Along the way, travelers may encounter the infamous Bridgewater Triangle, take a haunted tour of Plymouth, or see the ghosts of Chepachet.

Follow in the footsteps of famous science fiction horror writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft from Providence to Glocester, Rhode Island. Follow the road through small towns and dark forests where sightings of UFOs and cryptids have surprised travelers for years.

Join authors Tom D’Agostino and Arlene Nicholson as they explore the dark corners of New England’s most haunted highway.

The coldest cases from Middletown, USA/

With dozens of unsolved murders spanning decades, Muncie and surrounding Delaware County might have more killings without justice than any American community like it. In 1962, Maggie Mae Fleming was shot to death as she sat in her living room. Paula Garrett was bludgeoned in her home in 1979, and her son, who survived the attack, wants justice. Garth Rector, killed in 2008, could have been murdered by any number of people he knew—or dated./ 

Journalists and award-winning true crime authors Douglas Walker and Keith Roysdon shine a spotlight on the victims, and on their loved ones and the investigators still hoping for resolution to long-cold murders./ 

Explore accounts of Oklahoma’s Freedmen as told by their descendants in these stories of resistance and resilience on the Western frontier. The Freedmen of Oklahoma were black people, both enslaved and free, who had been living among the Indian nations. After the official abolition of slavery in 1866, they forged an identity as their own people as they faced the challenges of the western frontier. By 1906, before Oklahoma statehood, over 20,000 people were classified as “Freedmen” from Five Tribes: Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole Nations. For decades, their descendants have been rediscovering their family history and restoring its place in the larger narrative. Angela Walton-Raji has compiled this collection of stories, told by descendants from all five tribes, to ensure that the Freedmen of Oklahoma claim their vibrant part of the state’s heritage.

Uncover the suppressed testimony of the Lone Star State’s uncomfortable past. Tinseltown almost always gets Texas wrong. The “Searchers” never did that much searching, the “Giants” were hardly ever big in terms of character and The Last Picture Show was just the beginning of a disturbing reveal. As acclaimed writer Stephen Harrigan suggests, the Lone Star State was not exactly a Big, Wonderful Thing, and for too many Texans, nothing was ever “Awright, Awright, Awright.” A Black civil rights champion was assassinated in 1976, and the incident was buried. A “Cowtown Catcher in the Rye” was published in 1940, and the country club set made it disappear. And the war machines of Hitler and Mussolini were perfected with Texas oil during the Spanish Civil War. Author E.R. Bills challenges his proud neighbors, earnestly asking them to take a hard look at their past and examine their own historical amnesia, cultural fragility and fierce denial.

Cape Cod, one of the nation's oldest regions, can claim many firsts, but not as many as some want you to believe.

Boastfulness, tall tales and plain stretching the truth about history is widely practiced in this tourist mecca. Even esteemed institutions such as churches and historical societies are nimble in the art of gilding the lily. Discover where The Wizard of Oz /film really premiered, whether Mercy Otis Warren had a hand in writing the Bill of Rights and who invented the hole in the doughnut. Along the way, you’ll find out where the country's oldest Congregational meetinghouse is located, and whether Mad Jack was a thieving scoundrel.

Local author and historian James Ellis separates fact from fiction. 

Baseball’s Mr. Sunshine/

A beloved son of Western Pennsylvania, Chuck Tanner spent a career in baseball both as a player and manager. He lead the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1977 to 1985 and helped capture the 1979 World Series. Tanner was key in developing the relief pitcher through his work with Goose Gossage and he played a role in the careers of numerous players such as Willie Stargell, Dave Parker and more.  Through extensive research and interviews, author Dale Perelman presents the life and career of Chuck Tanner.

Butler County has a long and storied history with some spooky twists .

When European settlers arrived, they found not only Native settlements but also earthworks that remain a mystery—as are the strange lights still seen near them. The disturbed spirit of a frontier soldier roams the basement of the Soldiers, Sailors, and Pioneers Monument, and Busenbark is haunted by the Hatchet Man, who committed his crimes 175 years ago. At Miami University, the ghost of Helen Peabody wanders the building that bears her name. Just outside of town, many drive to see the Oxford Ghost Light, and a weekend visit to the Screaming Bridge of Maud-Hughes Road is a high school rite of passage.

Hamilton native and owner of an actual haunted house Daniel D. Schneider explores the terrifying train tracks, creepy canals, scary streets, and bewitched bridges of Butler County.

The Quad Cities have a rich history of brewing that started with the influx of German citizens in the 1800s. Breweries were established on both sides of the Mississippi River. Some of these historic breweries managed to reopen after Prohibition, but national competition ultimately closed the last of these stalwarts in 1956. In 1989, Iowa created a special class “A” brewpub permit, and the first of many brewpubs in the area, Front Street Pub & Eatery, opened in 1992. Blue Cat Brew Pub, on the Illinois side of the river, opened shortly after. The brewing renaissance has helped to establish the Quad Cities as a craft beer destination. Join authors Michael McCarty and Kristin DeMarr as they celebrate the heady heritage of the region.

Everybody knows about Disney World, Universal, EPCOT, Sea World and a slew of other Florida attractions. But how about bygone Sunshine State attractions such as Texas Jim's Sarasota Reptile Farm and Zoo, the Skull Kingdom, the House of Mystery or Dixieland Amusement Park. Many were roadside stops started by families as an extension of a fruit stand or market. Oranges and sodas in the front, alligators in the back. Many of the attractions were free, designed to lure customers for the fruit stand or store. Others changed a small fee. Some became nationally known, such as Cypress Gardens, where Johnny Carson not only broadcast, but water-skied. The roadside attractions had their heyday from the 1920s to the coming of Disney in 1971. It was a much simpler time, and a large tree known as The Senator could become a top attraction, along with a St. Petersburg drug store. Revisit these lost attractions with author Jim Clark.

Across the state of Michigan, uneasy spirits stir in what should be their final resting places .

At Reynolds Cemetery in Jackson, the ghost of Eunice White, traveling from nearby Woodlawn Cemetery, can be seen visiting her father’s grave. A mysterious lady in white roams the center of Lovejoy Cemetery in Durand. An apparition of the pacing man appears at Mount Joy in St. Johns. And only the bravest dare visit the Upper Peninsula’s Mission Hill Cemetery, where a Native American spirit might appear to point them in the right direction.

Author and paranormal investigator Bradley P. Mikulka leads a tour of some of the Wolverine State’s many haunted cemeteries.

Monroe County is home to some of the creepiest, most haunted sites in Michigan.

Soldiers killed in the Massacre at River Raisin in 1813 continue to march through those battlefields today. Just south of the battle-scarred fields, entrepreneur Jimmy Hayes haunts Angelo’s Northwood Villa, a roadhouse with a questionable past. Down the road at Frog Leg Inn, once a bawdy house, the ghosts of the Licavoli gangsters still linger looking for a good time. Then, there’s Lake Monroe, waiting for the next of its endless drowning victims.

Join author Jeri Holland on a spine-tingling tour of the area’s most paranormally active locales.

Explore the spirits of Michigan’s watering holes/

From the picturesque shores of Manistique to the crystalline waters of Diamond Lake in Cassopolis, Michigan overflows with pubs and bars swirling with chilling legends. The decrepit ghost of Wattie Mullins welcomes visitors into Coonan’s Irish Hub. The spirit of a black-eyed girl has been spotted playing on the steps of the C-Pub at Canterbury Village, and her appearance has left many feeling shaken and stirred. A mysterious soul inhabits a bizarre doll at The Agitated Grape and comes alive when you least expect it.

Local author and paranormal investigator Nicole Beauchamp leads this eerie literary road trip perfect for anyone who likes to eat, drink and be scary.

Over a century of history, pride and tradition.

Armijo High School opened its doors for the first time in 1891. What began in the upstairs classrooms of Crystal Elementary School in Suisun City grew to the sprawling campus on Washington Street in order to serve the rising population of Fairfield, California. Armijo alumni have made indelible marks in numerous fields, including medicine, law, civil and military service, athletics, and the arts. Notable graduates include Noriyuki “Pat” Morita who earned an Academy Award nomination for playing Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid movies, New York Giants Super Bowl champion George Martin and Johnny Colla, multi-platinum recording artist with Huey Lewis and the News.

Join Tony Wade as he delves into the generations of students, parents and faculty that embody Armijo pride.

In the 1950s and 1960s Concord was technically a city, but it more closely resembled a small town. Remote from the larger world, change was slow to arrive – the stunning death of a popular young President, and a war that would tear the country apart and reassemble it as something nobody recognized.

But those innocent decades were a seemingly endless summer, and young residents reveled in it. Riding bikes through the National Guard Armory grounds, hitching a snowy slide on the back of a mail truck and walking barefoot to the corner store for a Coke from the big red cooler. Entertainment was always free, from the Nevers Band to amateur fashion shows.

Author Kathleen Bailey and photographer Sheila Bailey unveil a portrait of a town during a simpler time.

The History of an Historic Cemetery

Founded in 1850 and dedicated in 1852, Knoxville's Old Gray Cemetery is one of the area's most iconic landmarks. It provides an important example of planning and design, and is named after poet Thomas Gray. Join author Judy Loest as she details the history of this renowned cemetery.

Beyond the world famous artists, singers, actors and more from Pittsburgh are the city's celebrities known locally for their quirky style, unique mannerisms, and outlandish behavior. From Joe Barker, the violent street preacher who was elected mayor in 1850--while in prison!--to Curt Wootton, the comedian whose celebrity status comes from being Pittsburgh Dad, on Youtube, the Steel City has had a number of colorful characters throughout its history that defy category.

Author Alan Brown leads readers on a stomach-churning turn through Florida’s dark side.  Florida sunshine beckons, but in can be unrelenting, too. And in the shadows, tragedy strikes. Ted Bundy leads a cast of serial killers who wrought havoc on the state. Storms spin onto its shores with landscape altering fury. Sharks lurk in the sea, and snakes and alligators lie wait in the swamps. Gangsters like Al Capone hit Miami Beach for a respite, but gangsters like Al Capone take no breaks from their trade. A woman spontaneously bursts into flames in St. Petersburg. Anthrax claims a life in Palm Beach. The Bermuda Triangle disappears vessels off the coast. Indeed, Florida knows boundless leisure, but it’s just as familiar with catastrophe.

Explore the history of Ohio’s one-bite wonder!  

From humble origins, the buckeye has become Ohio’s namesake candy. Though a classic combination of chocolate and peanut butter, each producer’s offering is as bespoke as the buckeye is beloved. Taste tradition in Amish country at Coblentz Chocolate Company or sample capital city Columbus’ original stuffed offering from The Buckeye Lady. Visit legendary family businesses like fifth-generation Anthony Thomas, Wittich’s, the nation’s oldest candy shop and Winans, a carriage house chocolatier turned coffee roaster, serving up deliciousness at the seat of the state’s Buckeye Candy Trail. Traverse towns to try long-standing favorites from Esther Price, Marie’s Candies and Marsha’s Homemade Buckeyes alongside artistic interpretations from newcomers The Buckeye Co, Tana’s Tasty Treats and Lohcally Artisan Chocolates./

Join Renee Casteel Cook, author of Ohio Ice Cream/ and coauthor of The Columbus Food Truck Cookbook/, as she unfolds how this bite-sized confection has become Ohio’s sweetest symbol.

 “…more romance, tragedy and vigorous life than many a city a hundred times its size and ten times its age.” - Historian Hiram M. Chittenden  

Deep in the heart of Blackfoot country on the Upper Missouri River, trade relations opened cautiously in 1831. A series of trading posts and clashes followed. By 1846, Fort Benton had become the center of commerce with Indigenous tribes, including the Blackfoot who dubbed it “many houses to the South.” Drawing settlers from eastern states, the head of steamboat navigation became known as “the world’s innermost port.” As a result, the fort became a multicultural melting pot and home to the “Bloodiest Block in the West.” Award-winning historian Ken Robison brings to life dramatic sagas of a rapidly developing frontier, from vigilante X. Beidler to the Marias and Ophir Massacres.

Examine the inflection points in Chicago’s history of protest.

A word packed with meaning and emotion, “protest” can be synonymous with both free speech and rioting. Chicago’s citizens and city officials have a long and reactive relationship based on the tension between those differences of perspective, from the 1855 Lager Beer Riot to the conversation surrounding Black Lives Matter and the flashpoints of extreme political polarization. But what led to pivotal events like 1886’s Haymarket Affair or 1963’s massive school boycotts? Joseph Rulli seeks to understand what provoked an explosion into violence or elicited a heavy-handed response.

Home to the location where George Washington took command of the troops and to America’s oldest Ivy League university, Cambridge is a city that feels like a town.

Hasty Pudding meetings were enlivened with mock trials spoofing happenings in Cambridge and among the faculty; by 1860 the trials had evolved into shows. In a corner of the Cambridge Common, across from Harvard Yard, a Gilded Age statue of a Puritan has been toppled several times. Letters home from Robert Kennedy were found stashed on a high shelf in a college room he occupied, over 30 years after he graduated.

From protests to the “Beer Garden Summit”, author Jane Merrill shares the stories behind notable landmarks and some significant but little-known facts in and around town. 

How the Bluegrass State Helped Win a War

While not a single battle of the War of 1812 was fought on Kentucky soil, Kentuckians were involved to the very end. Henry Clay and his War Hawks convinced Congress and President Madison to declare war, and helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent that ended it. After two massacres of Kentucky militia on the Northwestern front, Governor Isaac Shelby, still the only sitting governor to lead troops into battle, more than 4,000 locals and a pig marched to Canada to defeat the British and kill Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames. Author Doris Dearen Settles explains how Kentuckians won the war of 1812 and why it is far more significant than textbooks record.p/>

Strange and unusual things lurk behind the calm façade of Dearborn County .

Several legends surround Hillforest Mansion, the home of one of Aurora’s founding families. Many have seen the ghost of a farmer and his mule at Carnegie Hall in Moores Hill. The glowing grave at Riverview Cemetery may connect to the 1941 Agrue family massacre. St. Mary’s Church rectory is said to be haunted by the former priest, and the spirits at Whisky’s in Lawrenceburg are not just in the drinks. Several schools in the area echo with the sounds of former students and staff, and numerous local residences house the spirits of former owners who never left.

Join Mary Ellen Quigley and Rebecca Wilhelm on a chilling tour from Lawrenceburg to Lawrenceville and beyond.

Once the home of trailblazers in industry, the city of Fenton is renowned for its legendary hauntings.

Some of its oldest houses and businesses shelter more than their current owners. Many guests of the Fenton Hotel Tavern and Grille have never checked out. Its friendly spirits enjoy greeting customers while they dine and are known to add a drink to their tab before disappearing. A justice of the peace who died in 1916 believes he still operates his hardware store within the local bookstore. Restless souls linger in the historic city even though the buildings they once inhabited no longer exist.

Join local author Brenda Hasse on an unforgettable tour of Fenton’s past.

Author Tristan Smith offers an insightful guide through two dozen of Houston and Galveston’s most historic cemeteries.

Houston and Galveston’s historic cemeteries lie scattered amongst the neighborhoods and thoroughfares of the nation’s fourth largest city. Some of these portals to the past nestle in hidden pockets of the bustling metropolis. Other cemeteries carve out the kind of contemplative sanctuary that rivals the city’s largest greenspaces. Explore the burial grounds around the Bayou City, where astronauts, musicians, movie stars and civic leaders rest alongside rogues, scoundrels and murderers.

Surveying the sensational newspaper accounts as events unfolded, author and historian Chris Flook recounts this grisly tale of political intrigue and conspiracy .

In the fall of 1902, Indianapolis police uncovered a prolific graverobbing ring operating across the city. At the time, cemeteries across central Indiana were relieved of their dead by ghouls, as they were called, seeking fresh corpses desperately needed by the city’s medical colleges. The ring was also accused of multiple murders. In Hamilton County, a former Confederate soldier named Wade West delivered stolen corpses by floating them down the White River. His counterpart in Indianapolis, Rufus Cantrell, an itinerant preacher and full-time graverobber known as the “King of the Ghouls,” ransacked Indy’s cemeteries for years before being caught./

Wyoming History Enshrined/Created in 1871, Lakeview Cemetery serves as a repository of local and state history. Resting in the historic grounds are eleven of Wyoming’s governors, including the first woman governor in the nation. Other hallowed, eternal residents include a wild west showman, the namesake of a military base, and a famed photographer of the west. Suffragists, Japanese railroad workers, and a young range war victim are buried here too. Authors Starley Talbott and Michael Kassel explore the rich past of the famous and not-so famous citizens of Lakeview Cemetery.

From the beginning of World War II, Delaware’s movie theaters played a starring role in the state’s war effort. Delaware and every town in it – from Claymont to Delmar – did its part to support the war. From base theaters to opera houses to movie palaces, Delaware’s theaters sold hundreds of millions of dollars in war bonds. They served as WAAC recruiting stations. They were collection points for resource drives. They screened countless newsreels and documentaries about every aspect of the war. And they hosted the likes of Fay Wray, Gene Lockhart, Gail Patrick, Paulette Goddard, and other Hollywood stars who came to the state to keep morale high, support strong, and dollars flowing. /Author Michael J. Nazarewycz recounts how the First State, the Greatest Generation, and the Dream Factory joined forces when America’s forces needed them most.

Warren township in the southern portion of Herkimer County has been the scene of more than one gruesome event.

In January 1885, locals reeled in horror when disgruntled wife Roxalana Druse shot her husband and dismembered his corpse to incinerate it in a farm house stove. Her trial and hanging was followed up in May of 1901 with two murders in yet another farm house kitchen.

John C. Wallis had allowed his ex-wife Arvilla to return home, one year after running off with hired farm hand Ben Hoyt. Wallis then rehired Hoyt and within months both Ben Hoyt and Arvilla Wallis were dead. Did Ben Hoyt murder Arvilla in cold blood or did John C. Wallis kill both of them?

Author James M. Greiner investigates a mysterious case of marriage, infidelity and multiple murders in turn of the century Herkimer County.

Discover the story behind the Nantucket Civil War Monument, King Alcohol and more in Hidden History of Nantucket.

The celebrated history of Nantucket's great whaling days often overshadows the fascinating changes that took place in the years following. Learn about some named on the Civil War Monument, some left off and some who may not belong. Meet the Cold Water Army of seven hundred schoolchildren who paraded against King Alcohol in hopes that the island would become a temperance oasis. Little remains of the bathing pavilion and water slide of the long-lost town of Coatue that once had big plans for expansion. With surprising facts and captivating tales, authors Frank Morral and Barbara Ann White explore these and other lost accounts of the faraway island.

Remembering the rich past of the Princess City

Mishawaka's history overflows with forgotten stories of people and events that shaped the city and even influenced the nation. The city celebrated one of its most exciting days on July 5, 1909, when thousands watched a massive parade and the dedication of Hotel Mishawaka. A timeless but overlooked photograph captured the patriotism of brave volunteers as they left to fight in World War I on May 10, 1917. The 1926-27 Mishawaka High basketball team made the school's only appearance in the state finals. During the Vietnam War, Talos missiles manufactured in town struck North Vietnam and avenged a captured local pilot.

Author Peter J. De Kever brings to life these and other stories from the Mishawaka of yesteryear.

Oenophile Tom Russ presents the remarkable story of Dr. Konstantin Frank, the father of Finger Lakes wine.

Dr. Konstantin Frank forever changed the palate of American wine. Forced from his home in Soviet Ukraine during World War II, he was astounded by the terroir when he arrived in the Finger Lakes region. Against popular notions, he believed that the vinifera grapes that produced some of Europe's and California's finest wines would prosper in New York. He proved his detractors wrong, and by sharing his knowledge freely with others, Konstantin's innovativeness has allowed the region to produce some of the world's finest Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and other varietals. Four generations of Franks have continued his legacy, and their winery has won record numbers of prestigious awards every year.

Author John E. O’Rourke recounts the crime that rocked a sleepy community and brought the nation’s eyes to North Jersey.

On a spring morning in Morristown in 1992, authorities discovered a car idling in a driveway with the door open and the driver missing. After they learned the driver was Sidney Reso, the president of Exxon International, the FBI joined the investigation. Over the next two months, law enforcement received cryptic communications that led to a cat-and-mouse chase for those responsible. Retired cop Arthur Seale and his wife, Irene, demanded one of the largest ransoms in U.S. history, and authorities struggled to solve the case.

Extreme wealth could buy a mansion in Millionaires' Row but not immunity from unsavory business dealings or shameful behavior.

May Hanna gave her millionaire ex-husband's hired Pinkerton detectives the slip to sneak out of the country. To escape financial embarrassment, James Potter, the manager of a prominent Euclid Avenue apartment building, gave his family cough medicine laced with poison, killing his entire family including himself. Married to a Millionaires' Row doctor, the infamous con woman Cassie Chadwick posed as Andrew Carnegie's illegitimate daughter and forged a fake $5 million check. Author Alan Dutka delves into sixteen tales of anguish and deceit that offer a startling perspective on Cleveland's super-rich.