Haunted Route 66: Ghosts of America's Legendary Highway

by Richard Southall

Pack the bags, hop in the car, and head west on a haunted journey of spine-tingling history and paranormal activity along legendary Route 66! This travel companion brings you from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California, investigating over one hundred ghostly hot spots filled with fascinating facts and lingering spirits.

From amateur and professional ghost hunters to nostalgic fans, everyone can take their own haunted adventure on Route 66. Discover the famous highway through historic locations and gripping ghost stories about Al Capone and the gang wars of Chicago, Charlie Chaplin and the Venice Beach Boardwalk in Los Angeles, and many more. This one-of-a-kind collection, with chapters organized by state, paves the way for your grand tour.

Genres: Paranormal, Ghosts, Ghost Stories, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2013

Reviews

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some interesting stories, but the title was misleading. I expected the book to be about ghosts directly related to Route 66, or haunted buildings right on the highway, but some of the ghosts and stories recounted were hundreds of miles away from Route 66.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an okay read with interesting ghost stories as well as facts about Route 66. I loved the mix of paranormal and history and the balance. Some other books have problems finding that balance but I think this book did that well. I would have given this four stars in the end but it had too many typos that would jar me from reading that I just couldn't give it four stars.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

I've always liked anything paranormal and this didn't fail. It was a wonderful history of an old roadway along with the paranormal aspect,it.

[John Lykins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give it a two. Reason being: Most of the stories in this book are about haunted places in the state that Rt. 66 runs through. I bought it because I am on a Paranormal Investigation Team and plan on driving Rt.66 next year. I wanted to hear the stories about all those great abandoned structures on 66, and the ghosts that frequent it. If I wanted these stories I would have bought Haunted Texas, Haunted Arizona, etc. The stories were well written... But I already know most of them from watching Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures on TV. Opinion? MISLEADING!!!!!

[J. Gowin · Rating 2 out of 5]

While it was sometimes interesting, it crammed in stories from dozens and a few times hundreds of miles away from Route 66 to meet page counts. At the same time it gives only synopses or passing mentions to specific ghost stories. As a result, the book feels like mass market tripe, that was written by someone with access to Google.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always wanted to read book,such as this! Having traveled many miles along this rd. The history alone is worth the read.

[Elaine Stanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love ghost stories and found this a good premise to tell such stories, as most books on ghosts stories are based in one town. However as usual I have the same faults with this book. The lack of photos of said ghosts that are said to be in existence. Also photos of the location I.e Mansion, cemetery. Theses would make a ghost story book way more interesting.

The fluff is fine back history good…..just find myself looking up,photos on my own

[Me · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book while on a Route 66 tour this summer. I wish that I had time to visit some of haunted places mentioned in the book. However, since the author usually lists the address it's easy to find them on Google maps. The book also contains some photos. The amazing aspect of the book is the amount of cases that he cites all along Route 66.

[Anita Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, especially if you'd like to travel along Route 66 and learn all about the history

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing in that a few stories happen 2 to 3 hours' drive from Route 66 instead of actually on or near it. There are also a couple of stories that I have heard before elsewhere.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF - pg 45/210. This book is pretty dry and didn't pull me in. It is good as an index of stories with a short blurb for each Haunting, but it could have done a better job telling the tales.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun non-fiction book about haunted locales along Route 66. The book includes stories from all the states that Route 66 runs through, from Barstow to Chicago and everywhere in between. There are a couple stories that go off the route as there are some states that don't have as much pavement on Route 66 as others do. Best thing about ghost stories, they usually have a history lesson involved so it is a learning experience.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book....provided stories related to Route 66 and the ghosts and stuff from along that road.

Quick read and definitely enjoyable.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically boring. The same stories replayed over and over. Just change the names and locations.

[Anthony De Lucia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but poorly written - it’s incredibly redundant and reads more like a middle school essay where the author is packing in as many words as possible in order to meet their minimum

[Tim Shepard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is a little misleading. One would think these would be ghost stories related to Route 66 or close to it. Some area from other cities or a good amount of travel off the original Mother Road. Like Kansas, where he tells stories from places 3 hours away. I get Kansas only had 13 miles of the original route but he could have stuck to those miles only. At the same time, working on my own book from the same area, it was good research material. The writing is good and well researched. Overall but worth reading once.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept of this book is great and you can tell the author truly cares about and is inspired by the topic. However, the depth in the stories was not there and it felt very much like a surface read. The flow was hit or miss as well. It was definitely more of a jumping-off point of a book, a book to get names and facts to further research on your own.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that was a lot of fun to read.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good ghost stories and urban legends related to historic Route 66.