Chicago History: The Stranger Side: The Stranger Side

by Raymond Johnson

Former criminal investigator, author, and local historian Ray Johnson takes a new look at nine popular Chicago locations and their history, digging up strange new discoveries and connections. Who may have murdered sisters Barbara and Patricia Grimes in 1956? Who is the seventh body located under the 1893 Columbian Expo Cold Storage Fire Memorial at Oak Woods Cemetery…when there should only be six? Is there more of a link between H.H. Holmes and Chicago's White City than previously thought, and could there also be another connection to England and other murders? What ties Chicago to the Titanic disaster of 1912? What rituals were being performed at El-Sabarum (currently The Tonic Room) that could explain some of the bizarre occurrences reported there? Explore these historic mysteries and read about the stranger side of Chicago. Original illustrations by Kimberly MacAulay.

Genres: History

160 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2014

About the author

I am a former criminal investigator, author, and historian that has lived in the Chicago area my entire life. I have two books currently out; Chicago's Haunt Detective and Chicago History - The Stranger Side both published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd., Atglen PA. I currently live with my wife, youngest son and our 2 dogs in Brookfield, IL

I hated history in school because it was so incredibly boring and I really couldn't relate it to anything in my life. At 18 I took up genealogy as a hobby and history started to come alive for me.

After a career in criminal investigation I put both my genealogical and investigative skills to work and began to dig deeper in popular history, folklore and legend to try to get to the truth and also unearth previously undiscovered stories. It is amazing what one can discover if only they look!

Reviews

[Mary Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take on some bits of Chicago history. I feel like this could have improved with a bit more editing to tighten up the text, as the author tends to head off on wandering tangets and is at times difficult to follow. If you can keep up with his wanderings, though, there is some interesting discussion. It’s part history, part paranormal discussion. As someone with a strong interest in Chicago paranormal history, I did enjoy the paranormal discussions. However, I’m not sure I enjoyed enough to re-read this book.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

He wasn't always very clear and it doesn't have the best writing. It was, though, very interesting and I learned quite a bit! Some stories, I'm going to research.