The Weird and Mysterious United States: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena across America

by Sean McLachlan, Charles River Editors

*Includes pictures *Describes America's most infamous legends, conspiracy theories, mysteries, and more *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents The states comprising the Northeast have a long history as some of the earliest colonies in the New World. Their rich folklore and colorful history is woven into the national identity, and destinations such as Plymouth Rock, the lighthouses of Maine, and Vermont’s autumn leaves are quintessential symbols of the United States. But the Northeast has always had a dark side, a strange side. Monsters and ghosts lurk in its woods and old houses, and strange monuments that may be from a forgotten civilization puzzle local investigators. All the while, the early inhabitants themselves were always superstitious, as evidenced by history’s most famous witch trials at Salem. The American South has given birth to many of the nation’s great stories and legends. From the earliest Colonial times, it’s been a place of mystery, replete with disappearing colonies and strange apparitions in the woods, but the South’s long and proud history has always had a darker, and stranger, side to it. In fact, one of America’s most famous mysteries was its first. Future settlements in the area would survive and start to flourish, and that would bring more mystery and unexplained phenomena. Tales of monsters and ghosts lurking in its woods and old houses, and strange monuments that may be from a forgotten civilization, puzzle local investigators. The Midwest is rich in history and folklore, and it has more than its fair share of mysteries, too. Strange creatures, Native American legends, haunted houses, and unexplained phenomena are rife in these states, and this book will uncover just a sample of the countless strange tales of America’s heartland. The Wild West captured the imagination of people all the way back to the days when it really was wild. Even in the 19th century, its fame spread thanks to dime novels, travelogues, Wild West shows, and theater plays, and people were thrilled by tales of exploration and gunfights. Naturally, in the process of settling the frontier, the adventures contained countless numbers of strange stories, ranging from tales of monsters and lost mines to those about hidden cities and men coming back from the dead. It was a vast, unexplored country, and many mysteries could hide in the unmapped mountain ranges and seemingly endless plains. For its part, the West Coast of the United States has always been a center of mystery. Native American legends, tantalizing traces of Chinese visits in the Middle Ages, lost gold mines, and supernatural visitations are only some of the phenomena in a region rich with stories of the unknown. The Weird and Mysterious United Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena across America offers a sampling of strange, unexplained, and just plain odd stories across America’s various regions. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the weird and mysterious side of the United States like never before.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Mystery, History, Science

342 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 24, 2016

About the author

Sean McLachlan is a former archaeologist who worked for many years on excavations in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Now a full-time writer, he specializes in fiction, history, and adventure travel. In 2013 he won the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award for his Iraq reportage.

Half of Sean's time is spent on the road researching and writing. He's traveled to more than 30 countries, interviewing nomads in Somaliland, climbing to clifftop monasteries in Ethiopia, studying Crusader castles in Syria, and exploring caves in his favorite state of Missouri.

Sean works in a number of genres, especially historical mystery and science fiction.

Sean is always happy to hear from his readers, so drop him a line via his blog!

Reviews

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited when I started reading this book. The mini weird and strange occurrences that happened across America is mine boggling. There are many different stories to keep you up at night and someday just make you shake your head and wander how could someone live through that. Either way I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves the strange and obscure as I do. Please forgive any grammar or punctuation errors as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own

[Colleen Be · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally really enjoy “weird history” books and books that focus on mysterious unexplained happenings but I didn’t really enjoy this one. Reading it felt strange, it felt both disjointed and abrupt and also certain parts were long and rambling. I’m not saying the history itself isn’t interesting but it wasn’t written in a really engaging or interesting way.

[Deren Kellogg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book interesting, but unfocused. It's a strange mishmash of history, UFOlogy, folklore, acknowledged hoaxes, cryptozoology, and the supernatural. It's almost like the editors just put in everything they thought was interesting, without paying much attention to any sort of thematic unity between the articles. In fact, the California Gold Rush is discussed in two different section of the book using the exact same words; the passage is just repeated. Sometimes the writer (writers?) comments on the stories and sometimes it is just straight reporting. I'm thankful that the writer is not too credulous about things like Mystery Hill or the Newport Tower (both of which are sometimes claimed, erroneously, to be evidence of pre-Colombian European visits to North America).

The writing is fine in most places, but in a few sections it seems really inept. I couldn't make heads nor tails of what the author was saying about the timeline of events surrounding the Lost Colony of Roanoke and had to check an outside source to get the chronology right. In this section at least, the "Charles River Editors" really weren't doing their jobs!

Most of the stories here are interesting, and I was entertained by the book.

[Bettye McKee · Rating 4 out of 5]

More history than mystery

There's a lot of detailed background information in this book covering the first American settlers, the Civil War, the Old West, the Gold Rush, and many other subjects. You'll read about Nessie, Chessie, Altie, Bigfoot and loads of other creatures, myths and legends. You'll read about lost gold and buried treasure and ghosts and outlaws.

You may learn more than you thought you wanted to know, but it's all interesting reading.

If I had proofread this book, I would have made at least 28 corrections.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book divides the United States into various parts and examines the unusual things that are associated with each section. For example, the Northeast has the Salem With Trials and what happened to the Roanoke colony.

The Viking sea crossings are covered and how they found North America at least five hundred years before Columbus 'discovered' anything. The pre-Columbian civilizations are discussed.
Other things discussed in the book include the Betty and Barney Hill UFO abduction, the Lake Champlain monster, globsters, the Pigman, Melon Heads, hauntings, town disputes, vampires, lost Confederate gold, the Bell Witch, Bigfoot, the Phantom Chickens of Seymore, Wisconsin (one of my favorites), the Loveland Frogman (another of my favorites) and lost treasure in the Wild West among other things.
There's also a bibliography.

It's a fascinating book and has a good variety of things which helps.

[Michael Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better "American Mystery " compilations

RECOMMENDED AS: A GOOD COMPILATION OF AMERICAN MYSTERIES, HAUNTINGS, AND LOST TREASURE.

I grew up reading tales of lost treasures and mysteries. When I stayed with my grandfather, I often read from his collection of such stories. I have to say that this compilation is one of the better compilations because it includes endnotes and sources.

That said, this book is not perfect. One chapter includes several pages which appeared in an earlier chapter. There are a few copy editing mistakes in this edition, but only a few. This is a book, not an encyclopedia, so there are many more stories to be told.

[losira13gmail.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some interesting tales of the U.S.

This book has divided into sections of tales from North, South, Mid Western areas and the Pacific & Northwest. Some of the stories or tales I've read before but if course there is always something new to learn or read about the U.S. Folklore. Nothing too frightening here but more of local stories and legendary tales from native Americans to settlers to the new world and even to present day. Would be an enjoyable read for those who like history and mysteries that occur in the U.S.

[Brent Huntsman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much of what the author wrote was interesting. However, much of the subject matter was compiled from information other authors have already published. Very little was new from his "investigative research". I felt he just cut and pasted from other books, changed their analysis to his own (which was flawed) and added the original bibliography.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love weird mysteries. I listen to many different podcasts that have covered a good 90% of this book. This is a nice introduction to weird history book. But for someone like me, i was left wanting more. Every interesting story is just a quick blurb when i want a bit more information on what exactly happened.. I would say great for ages 7-12 but not much more.

[Douglas Reedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. There are many interesting facts and stories about the United States. The author did well not trying to convince the reader of outlandish ideas. Instead, gives you other points of view.

[janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book

I found this a truly interesting book. Many chapters have good food for thought. I especially enjoyed the gold rush chapters.

[Debbi Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

A lot of books of this genre tend to be dry reading but not this one. A very entertaining book. It even has a few things I hadn't found elsewhere.

[Kendall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow but interesting.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting compilation..

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and interesting.