Haunted Lawrence

Haunted America

by Paul Thomas, Beth Kornegay (Foreword)

Founded in 1854 as an abolitionist outpost, Lawrence is a seemingly unassuming college town with a long history of hauntings. A ghostly guest never checked out of the Eldridge Hotel's mysterious room 506. Sigma Nu's fraternity house, the former home of Kansas's eighteenth governor, is still haunted by the specter of a young woman. Learn the tragic stories of Pete Vinegar, George Albach and Lizzie Madden and uncover the devilish truth behind the "legend" of Stull Cemetery. Author Paul Thomas reveals the ghoulish history behind these stories and many more.

Genres: Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published October 9, 2017

Reviews

[MKF · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a book that gather's the ghost stories of Lawrence in one place. The author does a wonderful job of remaining skeptical and doing research which helps explain away some of the ghost stories. For many this would be a bad thing but it is helping preserve the history behind in the stories which is usually lost or replaced by legends and forgotten. This adds to the ghost stories though since not all these stories can be so quickly dismissed and you are left wondering who or what is haunting these places.

[Bogi Takács]

This was interesting, though I find myself very surprised there were no stories about Watson Library. That building has some really eerie nooks and crannies.

I wish the book had a map of all the supposedly haunted locations though. But granted, most of them are either in very public places, which everyone around town knows, or private residences, where the residents probably do not want random strangers gawking at their house.

I need to get Haunted Iowa City too!

Source of the book: Spouseperson bought it

[Barb Innes · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is not to love! Ghosts and my hometown. Now, to drive by some of the homes that were “new” haunted homes that I wasn’t aware of. The Ghost Tour sounds great, too.

[Natalie Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave me a newfound appreciation for my college town, and all the folks who have lived there and made it what it is today. I can’t wait to get back to visit Lawrence and take in more history - especially the Eldridge!

[Dalton Steinert]

As someone from Kansas, I feel like this book is definitely one for people from eastern Kansas. I have never spent much time in Lawrence so I don’t know a lot of the references and locations. So a lot of this book just felt like reading about haunted places that you don’t know anything about.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun!

[Zoann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of local history, but not a very convincing case for paranormal activity in Lawrence.

[Theremin Poisoning · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining book. The paranormal elements, for me, pale in comparison to the fascinating introduction to local history!

[Tom Shrimplin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A GREAT book if you enjoy local history!