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The New England Grimpendium: A Guide to Macabre and Ghastly Sites
An insider’s guide to wicked, weird, and wonderful New England.
A rich compendium of macabre and historic New England happenings, this travelogue features firsthand accounts of almost 200 sites throughout New England. This region is full of the macabre, the grim, and the ghastly—and all of it is worth visiting, for the traveler who dares! Author J. W. Ocker supplements directions and site information with entertaining personal anecdotes.Topics include:
Legends and personalities of the macabre
Infamous crimes and killers
Dreadful tragedies
Horror movie locales
Notable cemeteries and gravestones
Intriguing memento mori
Classic monsters
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 20, 2010
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559 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
December 8, 2010
Overall I found Ocker's book to be well written and full of interesting pieces about several different dark events and stories in New England. However I think it might have benefited from a bit less irreverence and a little more impartiality. Why? Well maybe I should explain what sort of book The New England Grimpendium is.
Ocker's Grimpendium while documenting the various darker bits about and from New England is very much the cynics guide to these things. Ocker makes it clear in the introduction of the book that his is a book for those looking for a realist's guide to the paranormal and fun morbid aspects of the area rather than your usual ghosts and bizarre locations books like say Wierd US.
Now ordinarily I really wouldn't have had a problem with this. I'm as much a realist as the next guy but he does spend quite a lot of time snarking on the genre he's technically writing within. Most of the time this means that we get irreverent comments about the odder aspects of the person, place or thing he's discussing or about his own adventures exploring the area or doing research (actually even jokes about himself as often as not) but sometimes it can mean he's being a little less fun and a little more on the insulting side.
What do I mean? Well for example:
When Ocker discuses Stephen King, one of the more popular and living examples of dark New England in his book he makes it quite clear he's no fan and likely resents the author's popularity.
When discussing his visit to Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal he spends more time belittling the man's collection and past than he does detailing the visit.
He indicated that The Black Dahlia (who has a memorial in New England where she grew up)was bound to turn up dead due to her lifestyle.
Ocker spends most of his discussion on the popular reality tv and paranormal research group TAPS taking them down a peg or three.
He also cracks wise about the 2003 fire at The Station, a small club which was set on fire by pyrotechnics set off by Great White who were playing that night. The resulting fire killed 100 of the 472 people there that night and injured several others. Ocker snarks about the deceased dying "for the Day Glo decade" and riffs on the event in other ways that come across nearly as insulting as that statement on its own.
The book still has some merit for its gathering of people, events, locations, ghosts and other momento mori from the New England I just don't think I should consider it my only resource for information on these things, largely because the author's skepticism often gets in the way of reading the whole story. Consider it a brief introduction to the area and if you don't take his occasional insulting tone too personally it can still remain a decent overview.
Ocker's Grimpendium while documenting the various darker bits about and from New England is very much the cynics guide to these things. Ocker makes it clear in the introduction of the book that his is a book for those looking for a realist's guide to the paranormal and fun morbid aspects of the area rather than your usual ghosts and bizarre locations books like say Wierd US.
Now ordinarily I really wouldn't have had a problem with this. I'm as much a realist as the next guy but he does spend quite a lot of time snarking on the genre he's technically writing within. Most of the time this means that we get irreverent comments about the odder aspects of the person, place or thing he's discussing or about his own adventures exploring the area or doing research (actually even jokes about himself as often as not) but sometimes it can mean he's being a little less fun and a little more on the insulting side.
What do I mean? Well for example:
When Ocker discuses Stephen King, one of the more popular and living examples of dark New England in his book he makes it quite clear he's no fan and likely resents the author's popularity.
When discussing his visit to Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal he spends more time belittling the man's collection and past than he does detailing the visit.
He indicated that The Black Dahlia (who has a memorial in New England where she grew up)was bound to turn up dead due to her lifestyle.
Ocker spends most of his discussion on the popular reality tv and paranormal research group TAPS taking them down a peg or three.
He also cracks wise about the 2003 fire at The Station, a small club which was set on fire by pyrotechnics set off by Great White who were playing that night. The resulting fire killed 100 of the 472 people there that night and injured several others. Ocker snarks about the deceased dying "for the Day Glo decade" and riffs on the event in other ways that come across nearly as insulting as that statement on its own.
The book still has some merit for its gathering of people, events, locations, ghosts and other momento mori from the New England I just don't think I should consider it my only resource for information on these things, largely because the author's skepticism often gets in the way of reading the whole story. Consider it a brief introduction to the area and if you don't take his occasional insulting tone too personally it can still remain a decent overview.
November 20, 2023
This well-researched travel guide to (many) things grim and macabre throughout New England was enjoyable and light considering the subject matter. Some of the included attractions were incredibly obscure so kudos to the author for tracking them down! The major drawback, however, was a lack of editing; there are typos and the author listed Stephen King as deceased (NOT YET!). His irreverence kept my interest to a point but ultimately became repetitive and unnecessarily snarky. Overall, this was a good book and much more portable than “Weird New England.” The latter was a bit more interesting and significantly better edited.
September 6, 2018
The New England Grimpendium: A Guide to Macabre and Ghostly Sites by J.W. Ocker is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read in this genre. More than just the usual collection of haunted sites, it contains a listing of homes and birthplaces of authors and entertainers, infamous crimes and criminals, horror movie filming locations, and even creepy plants. This book has everything the eclectic tourist could ask for.
J.W. Ocker was originally from Maryland, but has lived in New Hampshire since 2008. He’s authored several books, including Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe (2014) and A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts (2016), all of which look fascinating. At his blog, Odd Things I’ve Seen (OTIS), he chronicles his visits to hundreds of cultural, artistic, natural, and historical oddities across the country and world.
Although some reviewers found Ocker’s writing style in The New England Grimpendium slightly off-putting (he leans on the snarky, skeptical side), I enjoyed every page of it. The writing is relaxed, focusing not just on the history but also on his experiences visiting the location. The fact visited most if not all the locations in this book also sets it apart from other travel guides that often rely on secondhand sources.
I picked it up in a gift shop in Salem, Massachusetts. I’m always looking for new places to visit, and although most of these are outside my usual diving radius, I couldn’t pass it up. “Grimpendium,” the author’s invention, is a fitting description for the eclectic contents. “Ghostly sites” represent a small portion of the places in this book. Most are related to celebrities and infamous people, but all are wonderfully unique.
One of the most unusual places in the book is “Skull Cliff” in the Lynn Woods Reservation in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. It’s not a popular or well-known destination, at least not at the time of writing. It reads like a wonder the author discovered while on an afternoon hike. It’s a 30-foot-tall sheer rock face covered in white skulls and bones by a graffiti artist in 2001. It’s this type of place that keeps fascination in exploring our backyards alive.
I was surprised to learn how many horror movies have been filmed in New England. Of course, a lot of Stephen King adaptations were filmed there for obvious reasons, but did you know the infamous I Spit on Your Grave (1978) was filmed in Kent, Connecticut? I didn’t. Unfortunately, there’s nothing left of the Beetlejuice (1988) set, but you can still visit the town of East Corinth, Vermont. Don’t look in the library for Adam’s scale-model of the town, though, that is just a rumor.
There’s plenty in here for taphophiles too (whoa there, Chris Hansen, it means people who like cemeteries). The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California is well-known among paranormal enthusiasts, but did you know Sarah Winchester herself is buried in New Haven, Connecticut? From the alleged grave of a Knight Templar in Westford, Massachusetts, to that of “Ocean-Born Mary” in Henniker, New Hampshire, each monument and memorial has a unique story and reveals a rich history.
The New England Grimpendium is full of interesting facts and surprises. It is an indispensable guidebook for tourists looking to spice up their trip to the east coast with something a little off the beaten path.
J.W. Ocker was originally from Maryland, but has lived in New Hampshire since 2008. He’s authored several books, including Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe (2014) and A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts (2016), all of which look fascinating. At his blog, Odd Things I’ve Seen (OTIS), he chronicles his visits to hundreds of cultural, artistic, natural, and historical oddities across the country and world.
Although some reviewers found Ocker’s writing style in The New England Grimpendium slightly off-putting (he leans on the snarky, skeptical side), I enjoyed every page of it. The writing is relaxed, focusing not just on the history but also on his experiences visiting the location. The fact visited most if not all the locations in this book also sets it apart from other travel guides that often rely on secondhand sources.
I picked it up in a gift shop in Salem, Massachusetts. I’m always looking for new places to visit, and although most of these are outside my usual diving radius, I couldn’t pass it up. “Grimpendium,” the author’s invention, is a fitting description for the eclectic contents. “Ghostly sites” represent a small portion of the places in this book. Most are related to celebrities and infamous people, but all are wonderfully unique.
One of the most unusual places in the book is “Skull Cliff” in the Lynn Woods Reservation in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. It’s not a popular or well-known destination, at least not at the time of writing. It reads like a wonder the author discovered while on an afternoon hike. It’s a 30-foot-tall sheer rock face covered in white skulls and bones by a graffiti artist in 2001. It’s this type of place that keeps fascination in exploring our backyards alive.
I was surprised to learn how many horror movies have been filmed in New England. Of course, a lot of Stephen King adaptations were filmed there for obvious reasons, but did you know the infamous I Spit on Your Grave (1978) was filmed in Kent, Connecticut? I didn’t. Unfortunately, there’s nothing left of the Beetlejuice (1988) set, but you can still visit the town of East Corinth, Vermont. Don’t look in the library for Adam’s scale-model of the town, though, that is just a rumor.
There’s plenty in here for taphophiles too (whoa there, Chris Hansen, it means people who like cemeteries). The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California is well-known among paranormal enthusiasts, but did you know Sarah Winchester herself is buried in New Haven, Connecticut? From the alleged grave of a Knight Templar in Westford, Massachusetts, to that of “Ocean-Born Mary” in Henniker, New Hampshire, each monument and memorial has a unique story and reveals a rich history.
The New England Grimpendium is full of interesting facts and surprises. It is an indispensable guidebook for tourists looking to spice up their trip to the east coast with something a little off the beaten path.
October 6, 2020
I’ve read two others by Ocker and liked them very much. With this book I went back to his first try at being an author and it was a little bit of a let down. It shouldn’t stop you from reading it if you really like New England travel, ghoulish graveyards and woo woo stuff. It was pleasant but not as good as his books on Salem, MA and Edgar Allan Poe.
April 22, 2025
Subject matter was interesting but the snark, I could do without. An author in need of an Editor, and proofreader as there were also typos and mistakes. Yale is in New Haven CT, not NH , just one glaring example.
March 6, 2015
I so thoroughly enjoyed J.W. Ocker's Poe-Land that I had to read more from him. The New England Grimpendium is another travelog, in this case arranged by theme rather than location. Ocker scours New England looking for 1) Horror Legends and Personalities, 2) Infamous Crimes, Killers, and Tragedies, 3) Horror Movie Film Locales, 4) Notable Cemeteries, Gravestones, and Other Mememto Mori (one of my favorites), and 5) Classic Monsters (another favorite), which focuses on sites relating to local tales such as alien sightings and alleged abductions, cryptids, witches, vampires, mummies, demons, ghosts, creepy plants, and famous local monsters. Ocker investigates these sights with good-humored skepticism and a relish for the weird.
I enjoyed this volume greatly, although it fails to rank as highly for me as Poe-Land, because the entries by nature are necessarily shorter and somewhat disjointed (that is, there's not the feeling of a thematic road trip here, just a series of separate visits), and because there are far more typos and such that pulled me out of the text. That said, this was charming and laugh-out-loud funny and at times unexpectedly poignant, and perfect for anyone interested in local history, regional lore, small-town (and sometimes large-town) New England, and the macabre.
I enjoyed this volume greatly, although it fails to rank as highly for me as Poe-Land, because the entries by nature are necessarily shorter and somewhat disjointed (that is, there's not the feeling of a thematic road trip here, just a series of separate visits), and because there are far more typos and such that pulled me out of the text. That said, this was charming and laugh-out-loud funny and at times unexpectedly poignant, and perfect for anyone interested in local history, regional lore, small-town (and sometimes large-town) New England, and the macabre.
March 9, 2019
This book is a fun look at different New England locations with dark, tragic, or weird associations. Some of the places are dull or a bit of a stretch to understand their merit in the collection, but some are really interesting to read about. Even for seemingly dull placards, however, Ocker does a great job supplying history, controversy, or whatever pertinent details justify inclusion in this book. Most of these sites I wouldn’t waste my time visiting, even if I was in town, but they’re still interesting to read about. The book offers short blurbs that are written with just enough detail to pique interest, and are also written in a way that encourages the reader to research the topic further elsewhere.
For the most part I enjoy Ocker’s style, but occasionally his jokes or blithe, cynical remarks fell flat or didn’t come across as I assume he intended. His writing is definitely not as good as his later books, and comes across as very “bloggy” (and are often taken from his blog). Despite the faults, it’s still very readable, and interesting, and far superior to the writing in most regional dark tourist travel guides.
Only other major qualm is he had odd choice of photos. Sometimes his photos get the point across but some are really odd choices that don’t really show the cool parts.
For the most part I enjoy Ocker’s style, but occasionally his jokes or blithe, cynical remarks fell flat or didn’t come across as I assume he intended. His writing is definitely not as good as his later books, and comes across as very “bloggy” (and are often taken from his blog). Despite the faults, it’s still very readable, and interesting, and far superior to the writing in most regional dark tourist travel guides.
Only other major qualm is he had odd choice of photos. Sometimes his photos get the point across but some are really odd choices that don’t really show the cool parts.
September 5, 2015
I liked the subject matter of this book, weird things in New England, but the sarcastic tone of the book is off-putting. The author lists many interesting New England oddities and in the same paragraph almost makes fun of anyone that would be curious to see them. It's one thing to discount ghost stories and legends, it's another to make fun of your target audience for being into them. I did like and appreciate all the Pee Wee's Big Adventure references.....
October 5, 2025
J.W. Ocker has given New England its perfect companion for dark-minded day-trippers and armchair explorers alike. The New England Grimpendium is a meticulously researched, wickedly entertaining catalog of the region’s strangest, saddest, and most spectral corners, delivered in a voice that balances genuine curiosity with sly, affectionate wit. Every entry reads like a miniature story—concise, richly textured, and threaded with the author’s firsthand encounters—so the book works equally well as a travel guide, a bedside compendium of chills, or a reference for writers hunting atmosphere.
What makes this book exceptional is its range and attention to detail. Ocker moves effortlessly from graveyard epitaphs and vanished asylums to notorious crimes, literary hauntings, and quirky roadside oddities, always grounding each item with directions, vivid description, and historical context. The photographs, maps, and practical notes make planning pilgrimages easy, while the anecdotes and archival tidbits feed an irresistible sense of place. The tone is playful without being flippant and reverent without being pious—a rare balance in macabre travel writing.
For anyone who loves haunted lore, offbeat history, or the slow accumulation of eeriness, The New England Grimpendium is a delight. It sparks wanderlust for foggy back roads, offers dependable facts for curiosity-driven research, and contains enough small, uncanny moments to make repeated reading rewarding. Highly recommended for horror fans, regional historians, and writers who want a masterclass in making place feel alive with memory and menace.
What makes this book exceptional is its range and attention to detail. Ocker moves effortlessly from graveyard epitaphs and vanished asylums to notorious crimes, literary hauntings, and quirky roadside oddities, always grounding each item with directions, vivid description, and historical context. The photographs, maps, and practical notes make planning pilgrimages easy, while the anecdotes and archival tidbits feed an irresistible sense of place. The tone is playful without being flippant and reverent without being pious—a rare balance in macabre travel writing.
For anyone who loves haunted lore, offbeat history, or the slow accumulation of eeriness, The New England Grimpendium is a delight. It sparks wanderlust for foggy back roads, offers dependable facts for curiosity-driven research, and contains enough small, uncanny moments to make repeated reading rewarding. Highly recommended for horror fans, regional historians, and writers who want a masterclass in making place feel alive with memory and menace.
May 7, 2017
"If New England is a spooky attic at the top of the country, then you're about to read the account of a man who has rifled through the attic as if it were the afternoon before Halloween and he hasn't found a costume yet."
If you are moving to or visiting New England and love the macabre, get this book immediately. It's a road trip guide to 200 sites that are a wee bit morbid. I have read this author's other books, seen him give a lecture, and followed his blog; therefore, much of the contents of this book I was aware of. I have also stumbled on lots of the sites myself just as a person with an interest in darker history and horror films. However, I wish I bought this book when I moved to the area as it is a great travel book of them all contained in one place. You have sites connected to serial killers and heinous murders, horror movies, ghost stories, interesting cemeteries, and monsters of course. The author has brief descriptions of each site with my kind of humor interspersed. I really enjoy his writing style.
If you are moving to or visiting New England and love the macabre, get this book immediately. It's a road trip guide to 200 sites that are a wee bit morbid. I have read this author's other books, seen him give a lecture, and followed his blog; therefore, much of the contents of this book I was aware of. I have also stumbled on lots of the sites myself just as a person with an interest in darker history and horror films. However, I wish I bought this book when I moved to the area as it is a great travel book of them all contained in one place. You have sites connected to serial killers and heinous murders, horror movies, ghost stories, interesting cemeteries, and monsters of course. The author has brief descriptions of each site with my kind of humor interspersed. I really enjoy his writing style.
September 19, 2022
This must have been a lot of work to compile, so I'm sad to say that it's such a bad piece. The author is going about it in a humorous way and he's honest about how much credibility you might be able to lend towards some of the myths and lore in here. That, however, is where the praise ends.
His research is terribly shoddy at times, there are wrong dates and the book is absolutely riddled with grammatical errors. Some things that irked me the most:
- He makes fun of how the Lizzie Borden BnB is run, but instead of doing his own thorough research on the case, he just repeats the same bullshit about her nudity and motives.
- His thinly veiled and unexplained dislike for Stephen King was weirdly distracting.
- He insinuates that it was the Black Dahlias own fault for ending up how she did.
- He's surprised at the lack of statues and commemorative plaques for an even for his time impressively racist author (which he doesn't even touch on).
All in all, this could have been such a fun book for a New England road trip, but it's just bad.
His research is terribly shoddy at times, there are wrong dates and the book is absolutely riddled with grammatical errors. Some things that irked me the most:
- He makes fun of how the Lizzie Borden BnB is run, but instead of doing his own thorough research on the case, he just repeats the same bullshit about her nudity and motives.
- His thinly veiled and unexplained dislike for Stephen King was weirdly distracting.
- He insinuates that it was the Black Dahlias own fault for ending up how she did.
- He's surprised at the lack of statues and commemorative plaques for an even for his time impressively racist author (which he doesn't even touch on).
All in all, this could have been such a fun book for a New England road trip, but it's just bad.
June 2, 2018
If you're a fan of the macabre, the odd, and occasionally the vaguely cheesy, this is the travelogue for you. J. W. Ocker takes readers through the New England states to visit a variety of places, from the graves of infamous murderers and their victims to strange museums and memorials to movie locations and birthplaces of celebrities. Ocker's approach is often self-deprecating and skeptical, so you don't have to be a hardcore fanatic or a conspiracy theorist to enjoy the book. If you've always wondered where you might be able to view a book bound in human skin or contemplate a possible alien encounter, this book will direct you on how to get there or just let you take an armchair trip without letting on that you're a fan of the creepy and weird.
November 13, 2018
I loved the idea and the cover art for this book, but the author spent so much time explaining his skeptical and cynical beliefs regarding the people, places and things he wrote about that I felt like I was being talked out of reading the book almost the whole time. The author actually created the sense of apathy I felt towards his work. Im giving this book a generous 3 stars because underneath the negative editorializing, the subject matter was interesting, and as a New Englander I will likely be referencing this book for future day or weekend trip ideas. And I have a soft spot for cool cover art.
March 2, 2021
Disappointing. I loved Ocker's book about Salem, but this is just short entries about various places. And many of the places, it's clear, disappointed him. I think he expected more from places and then was disappointed that they weren't what he expected. Some of this is reported in a funny way, but ultimately it doesn't convey the sense that these things are worth a visit, which is what a travel book should do. I found myself wondering whether he'd contracted to do this specific book and then realized while working on it that it was not a good idea for a book, but he was still obligated to justify it.
December 1, 2022
"Tell me something is paranormal, and I’ll think it’s cool while simultaneously finding it complete rubbish. It’s one of about two dozen conflicts always raging inside me."
The New England Grimpendium is a fun overview of weirdness in my favorite region of the United States. J.W. Ocker takes a snarky, skeptical perspective on all of the material.
Title: The New England Grimpendium: A Guide to Macabre and Ghostly Sites
Author: J.W. Ocker
Yearh: 2010
Genre: Nonfiction - New England travelogue, history, & folklore
Page count: 306 pages
Date(s) read: 11/24/22-12/1/22
Reading journal entry #314 in 2022
The New England Grimpendium is a fun overview of weirdness in my favorite region of the United States. J.W. Ocker takes a snarky, skeptical perspective on all of the material.
Title: The New England Grimpendium: A Guide to Macabre and Ghostly Sites
Author: J.W. Ocker
Yearh: 2010
Genre: Nonfiction - New England travelogue, history, & folklore
Page count: 306 pages
Date(s) read: 11/24/22-12/1/22
Reading journal entry #314 in 2022
October 28, 2023
This is the second book I’ve read by Ocker and will most likely be my last. I give him props for the amount of work and travel it must have taken to write this but I don’t like how the cynical/skeptical tone he writes in. I get he’s not a true believer in the stuff he’s writing about when it comes to the paranormal but the way he talks about it borders on disrespectful. Also as someone who has heavily researched both the Lizzie Borden case and The Black Dahlia I really did not like the way he wrote these sections, especially the one about Elizabeth Short. He mentioned that Elizabeth “was known for partying and being promiscuous” however that is not at all accurate.
June 15, 2024
This seems generally well researched, which is great, and doesn't get lost in vague woo, which is also really good. Not every entry is terribly interesting. This is especially so in the first section, covering actors and writers with tangential relationships to New England. Skipping this entire section probably would have made the whole book better. The tone is so irreverent that it becomes tacky at times, like with the weird dig at the victims of the Station nightclub fire.
February 6, 2020
I absolutely love J.W’s work. I am lucky enough to have him as a “local” author. I live in Salem and he is in NH, so I get to frequent some of his talks and the places he has put in this grimpendium.
I am a member of his OTIS Club and blog. If you even have a passing interest in this kind of stuff, I highly suggest you check it out!
Love everything he churns out!
I am a member of his OTIS Club and blog. If you even have a passing interest in this kind of stuff, I highly suggest you check it out!
Love everything he churns out!
April 25, 2022
a really neat collection of all things spooky in new england, from horror icon locals to famous headstones and hauntings. It includes a section on a few places where some pretty well known horror movies were shot and another on tales of some of N.E. known monster tales.
informative and interesting, i learned a lot about the area i live in.
informative and interesting, i learned a lot about the area i live in.
April 11, 2019
He’s covering some of my favorite topics but he’s also so desperate to show off his cleverness and skepticism. I was going to try to keep going but then got to the Rain Man joke in the Stephen King section. I’m all set on this. And it’s a shame because I love some of his other work.
June 7, 2024
The subject matter was interesting and I appreciated the author detailing where some of these places were exactly located. However, the author's attempt at humor and sarcasm fell flat and actually ruined some of the descriptions for me. He should just stick to the facts.
June 16, 2017
Lightweight, but cool tour of creepy sites in New England. The author clearly shares my taste for the dark and morbid.
December 7, 2021
Enjoyable Book!
I enjoyed this author's turn of phrase very much. I have ordered two paperback copies for Christmas gifts to family who visited New England in October.
I enjoyed this author's turn of phrase very much. I have ordered two paperback copies for Christmas gifts to family who visited New England in October.
September 28, 2012
I have to say this was one of the only non-boring tour guides I have ever read. Ocker made sure he kept enough of his personality in this book through and through.
It was well written and not just some "ghost chase" like a lot of the paranormal books out there. It was honest, if he didn't see some amazing event he didn't sugar coat it for extra interesting. It wasn't even all about that, it had the weird places that really describe New England (You can't really deny that it ISN'T a weird place.) It was especially interesting when he talked about places where they filmed horror movies that I just watched last week, that just happened to be filmed a town away, not even.
It's definitely a cool book, there was a couple grammar mistakes here and there. If you live in New England or plan on moving there, this is a book to read just to realize how different it is.
It was well written and not just some "ghost chase" like a lot of the paranormal books out there. It was honest, if he didn't see some amazing event he didn't sugar coat it for extra interesting. It wasn't even all about that, it had the weird places that really describe New England (You can't really deny that it ISN'T a weird place.) It was especially interesting when he talked about places where they filmed horror movies that I just watched last week, that just happened to be filmed a town away, not even.
It's definitely a cool book, there was a couple grammar mistakes here and there. If you live in New England or plan on moving there, this is a book to read just to realize how different it is.
December 16, 2011
If you want to look up spooky places in New England, take this book along. If you want great writing, this is not the book to read. I barely made it through the book because of the "oh so clever" banter of the author. Ugh.
The book had some fascinating nuggets of joy and macabre, so it is worth a try, especially for graveyard ethusiasts.
The book had some fascinating nuggets of joy and macabre, so it is worth a try, especially for graveyard ethusiasts.
December 7, 2011
This is a very fun travelogue of obscure information. There was all sorts of cool and creepy trivia about scenic New England.
The author is a blogger. Sometimes his writing is really funny, but sometimes it's a little too conversational and a touch annoying.
The author is a blogger. Sometimes his writing is really funny, but sometimes it's a little too conversational and a touch annoying.
March 30, 2016
If you are interested in the most obscure of the obscure about supernatural New England this is your volume. I loved it in spite of the sometime weird gothic style the author writes in. I may even go buy it or at least have someone give it to me as a Christmas present.
January 4, 2011
I originally thought this wasn't a book I'd want to own. Then I read it, and it was so much more, and so much better, than I expected.
February 19, 2011
This book has everything for looking for the bizarre in new england and the directions on how to get there. Also check out Ockers great website Odd Things I've Seen
June 6, 2011
I've been a fan of the Odd Things I've Seen website for several years and this book did not disappoint. J.W. Ocker's writing is quirky, witty, and delightful. This book is great.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews