The Maniac in the Bushes: More True Tales of Cleveland Crime and Disaster

by John Stark Bellamy II

“Morbidly fascinating and wickedly entertaining.” ― The Plain Dealer The second volume in Bellamy’s popular series includes 13 more incredible true stories of Cleveland crime and disaster , including … /p> And many other local heroes and villains in these compelling tales of mayhem, melancholy, and mystery.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Local History

302 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

About the author

John Stark Bellamy II is the author of six books and two anthologies about Cleveland crime and disaster. The former history specialist for the Cuyahoga County Public Library, he comes by his taste for the sensational honestly, having grown up reading stories about Cleveland crime and disaster written by his grandfather, Paul, who was editor of the Plain Dealer, and his father, Peter, who wrote for the Cleveland News and the Plain Dealer."

Reviews

[Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Particularly interesting, as I am familiar with many of the areas discussed. A quick read, with plenty of information to fill out the urban legends you've already heard about many of these cases.

[Brandon Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd like to start off by saying that this book is not for the faint of heart. It's graphic, disturbing, and full of stories that make you lose faith in humanity (if you had any left.)
Moving on, it seems there has always been a black cloud hovering over Ohio. One needn't go through the litany of atrocities and horrific incidents that took place here to see that there is something about Ohio that harbors misery, poverty, brutality, and every other ingredient needed to make a lurid tabloid crime.
This book chronicles the most notable examples of terrible Ohioans doing terrible things to other Ohioans in Greater Cleveland in the first half of the 20th century. Most notably, The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury run, the story of a sort of Jack the Ripper who preyed on the homeless and hobos who were just passing through. That story is dispersed between chapters detailing more obscure events, such as a woman who poisoned her family with arsenic, and burned down barns...Just for the hell of it.

I can't necessarily say that this book is entertaining, but it is interesting. . Most of these stories are deeply unsettling, but it has that sort of "car wreck" affect. You shouldn't look, but you can't look away - Well, perhaps that analogy would hold up better if the car wreck dispensed trivia about Ohio.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Per usual, Bellamy takes liberties with his commentary on the tales his book and peppers them with personal theories lacking evidence. That being said, as a Clevelander the book has many interesting stories and paints a very different image of the city than many may be familiar with in present day.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty good, but not quite as good as another book by the same author, They Died Crawling. The main part of this book was about the torso murders, which occurred in the 1930s and was never solved. The "torso interludes" were split up into 12 parts, which I liked. Other stories were presented in between the interludes to keep things interesting. Some of these stories were not as interesting as those in the previous book. The one that really stood out for me was the 1908 Collinwood School fire. I shed many tears reading this tragic story. The torso murders were fascinating, though!

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

what it says on the label, basically. wanted to know more about the ties between the torso murders investigation and the 1936-37 great lakes exposition; this had some decent recaps of (amusingly breathless, gruesome) news from the time.

[Fishface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another swell read by the journalist who brought you "They Died Crawling." This one has another great assortment of riveting news stories from Cleveland's bygone days. Includes the "Torso Interludes."

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cleveland history buffs will like this collection of short stories, essays, and vignettes detailing various "famous" Cleveland crimes and tragedies. The Kingsbury Run Torso murders are highlighted.