Weird Hauntings: True Tales of Ghostly Places

Weird Travel Guides

by Joanne Austin, Mark Moran, Mark Sceurman

From Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman, the authors of the bestselling Weird U.S. series, comes something a little different, designed to send shivers down the spine: a book on America’s scariest haunted places. Some of these spirit-filled spots are well known and open to the public, while others are private residences that will have to remain intriguing from a distance: No visits allowed! The stories include firsthand tales that have a powerful “creepiness factor” and believability. The various sites include haunted houses, ghostly graveyards, cursed roads, eerie eateries, spirited saloons, and more. But be warned: This collection of true tales set in actual locations is so chilling that you may not want to read this alone at night!

Genres: Paranormal, Ghosts, Horror, Nonfiction, Travel, History, Ghost Stories

318 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bookish trip around the USA visiting haunted sites like Alcatraz and Gettysburg.
A ghostly good way to learn some history.

[Will Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weird Hauntings by Joanne Austin is quite good for a book of ghost tale compilations. This is from the same team that does the entire "Weird" series of books (Weird U.S., Weird Arizona, etc.), and reminds me of the best of the books that I would find at my local library as a child with a voracious appetite for the macabre. Off the bat, the introduction by Ryan Doan in which he relates the fact that his father used to hide under his bed as a child starts off the bizarre proceedings on a wonderfully weird note.

In particular, another value in the book is that it details investigations or stories from individuals that have not been repeated ad infinitum in other books on the subject. There is also mention of a few famous areas such as Alcatraz or Gettysburg to keep one interested as well.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's face it...... I loev this stuff. Was this well written? Would it appeal to those who are not believers? I have no idea. This is just my "guilty pleasure" reading and I love every minute of it!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

as a huge fan of the weird series, i picked this up hoping with all hope that it wouldn't just be a collection of things that had already appeared in the other books, and i lucked out in that respect. the book also did its job and successfully creeped me out so that it had me thinking to myself "i'd better not put the book down because if i do, i'm going to see that rocking chair across the room moving..."

on the other hand, because it's all stories of hauntings, there isn't a whole lot of variation, and it gets a little old after a while. in the other weird books, the ones devoted to particular areas, there are at least other kinds of stories, whether they be about giant roadside dinosaurs & lumberjacks or whatever the local version of bigfoot happens to be.

this book is also formatted/written differently, and it loses a bit of the "local" flavor in being so--it's more of a travel guide compiled by editors, rather than reading like listening to a bunch of folks down at the local old man bar talking about the alien they saw last night.

my only other complaint (and it's a relatively minor one) is the art--all is done in the same poorly photo-shopped/collaged manor which feels, in a word, cheesey.

but it's not all bad. if you're a sucker for ghost stories, or want to spook yourself before bedtime, this will definitely do the trick.

[maddie patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I found this one on a trip to Half Price Books, I knew I had to get it. I remember being OBSESSED with this book when I was in middle school, so much so that the librarian at the school had to ask me to refrain from checking it out a few times so that other students could read the book too.

This book is a decently scary collection of short stories, but the real scare for me is the illustrations. I don't know who illustrated this book but holy shit did they do a good job. There are a couple of illustrations that haunted me for literal years and even as an adult I couldn't read this one after dark because the images were spooky. The picture of the man in the cloud on page 35 will always haunt my nightmares tbh.

One other little oddity that I found was that one of the stories featured in this book takes place in the town I go to school in. Logically I know that there was no real way for me to tell that I would be going to college at the school I go to when I was in middle school, but there were a few delightful chills when I reached that section of the book and felt my childhood intersect with my reality. In all, not a bad scary story collection, especially as we get closer to the spookiest month of all.

[Michelle Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This compilation of ghost stories included a lot of vague claims like headaches and nausea, which anyone who watches Ghost Hunters knows that can be caused by chemical vapors or faulty wiring giving off force fields, so ghost presence is one scenario, but not the only one. Also, a lot of stories end with ghost activity dying down in "recent years", which leads me to believe people were exagerating or lying; why would ghosts who bother everyone just stop for no good reason? Renovations should cause more activity, not less. Overall, most of the stories all started to sound similar, like the editor didn't put much care into being selective about what stories made it into the book; pretty boring after a while.

[Bill Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Weird Hauntings" is an entertaining and light collection of purportedly true ghost stories from around the US, produced by the folks who came up with the "Weird US" series. It has good production values (paper, binding and photos), and it's useful as a sampling of ghostly folklore in America--as an added bonus for aficionados of ghosts and hauntings, most of the tales come with information about how to get to the scene of the supposed haunting. The book isn't going to convince anyone who doesn't believe in ghosts, or change the mind of someone who does, but it's a fun read for the lead up to Halloween.

[Melodie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am being SOOOO generous by giving this book 2 stars. It's 1.5 stars at the very best, but the book itself is a nice quality so went to 2 instead of 1. Poorly edited, dumb stories that just seemed cobbled together. Read this over a period of a month or so when I wanted to read something quick. Really not worth the time. Find some good ghost stories.

[Chana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book straight through like I would have a novel. The result was yawning boredom. It is really a reference book. It lists places that are haunted by type, such as schools, jails, hotels etc. Like any reference book, it would be useful to someone who wanted to know. I thought the subject would interest me but it didn't.
What is truly frightening about this book is the artwork.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fun for this time of year and I felt significantly spooked when I read it at night, hahaha. I still am not one to believe in ghosts, though.

[Taylor Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a hard time sleeping after reading about Robert.

[LuAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I consider this junk food reading. Because this book is largely based on reports from the Weird — (Weird Pennsylvania: Your Travel Guide to Pennsylvania's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets, etc.) contributors, certain states are represented frequently while the majority aren't included. Many of the reports are vague—customers and employers report weird noises, strange mists, lights flickering, etc.—but the ones that have more detail are more interesting.

[Linda Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read through this one quickly. I liked how the stories were categorized them by location; prisons, asylums, houses, etc. I stuck to a few that I liked and skimmed through the others. Being a skeptic, I take these stories with a grain of salt and I'm sure a lot of these "hauntings" could be explained away scientifically

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an okay read. Nice for nights when one is bored and has nothing else to do. But don't read if you want sleep as some stories are a bit scary or so I thought anyway. The only downside is it took me awhile to get into the book but finally it picked up and I didn't feel bored when reading it.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are so many different types of stories! I really liked the various authors because the stories were presented differently. I even enjoyed reading stories I already knew. The paper quality and color pictures were an additional benefit.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of places that I had not heard of being haunted prior to reading this book (and some that I had, like Alcatraz). If it is okay to visit, the address is included - so you could plan your own haunted road trip.

[Jandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read a spooky book for the spooky season. This was fun. I’ve always said that ghost stories are 90% history, 10% misunderstandings.
It was very fun. I may visit some of the sites that are close enough.

[Christine Pettigrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love books that have anything to do with true crime and the paranormal, and this book in a way involves both. I plan on adding this book to my collection of books. This book is basically a bunch of short stories.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just felt like so many of the "stories" weren't really stories at all, but just several people's impressions, feelings, catching stuff out the corner of their eye and the like. Felt like too many might have simply been made up!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stories- even some local to me!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was ok. some story's was oood some wad boring

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating Read. Thoroughly enjoyed reading about all the firsthand accounts of people who've had paranormal experiences in the various homes, prisons, and other buildings included in the book.

[Samantha Mix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great content, but horribly photoshopped illustrations.

[Monika Leubner · Rating 2 out of 5]

literally had me paranoid for days

[Jonathan Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book.

[Westley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical ghost sightings compilation.

[Dewin Anguas Barnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, good stories. Only had one I had heard before.

[Kat Hagerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm being extremely generous to this book. The stories were thrown together and they weren't what I was expecting at all. It seemed like it took me forever to actually get into some parts. I skipped over some because they were pure non-sense or pure boring. I'd give this book a 2.5 because some stories were cool/okay enough to read. Some were strange though, which I liked but I didn't really give this book much thought. You could probably read this too a small child that's afraid of legit everything and the kid wouldn't care too much or fear anything from this story unless you through parts in from yourself rather than reading entirely from the book itself.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good scary bedtime book. I read it pretty much in one day and loved getting all spooked. I wish however they would have binded it the same as the other "Weird" series, but it isn't. I think they could have fit more stories and more pictures if they would have. I like it though, it is interesting and fun to relax with. This book would make a good present for those who like to read or don't... It is a fun book

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird Hauntings is a book of true ghost stories. There are many stories in here from different states. Where the paranormal occurrences happen are varied.

Some stories are just about people feeling someone there or hear noises. Other stories are pretty creepy and go beyond just noises, like what Steven LaChance experienced with his family.

I enjoyed this a lot. I'd recommend this to anyone who loves reading true ghost stories.