Missouri's Haunted Route 66: Ghosts Along the Mother Road

Haunted America

by Janice Tremeear

Alongside the nostalgic appeal of Route 66 lurk ghostly roadside hitchhikers, the Goatman of Rolla, amusement park spirits, Civil War dead and the shadows thrown by the mighty Thunderbird. Spanning three hundred dangerously curving miles, the stretch of the Mother Road in Missouri earned the title of "Bloody 66, "? and some of its stopping places are marked by equally grim history. The Lemp Mansion saw family members commit suicide one by one. Springfield's Pythian Castle was an orphanage before becoming a military hospital and housing World War II prisoners of war. Follow Janice Tremeear as she takes a detour down Zombie Road, peers into the matter of the Joplin Spook Light and even stays overnight in Missouri's most haunted locations to discover what makes the Show Me State such a lively place for the dead.

Genres: History, Paranormal, Nonfiction

130 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2010

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good references for out of the way places !

Missouri's Haunted Route 66 by Janice Tremeear has a great assortment of places to go to in here. There are the well known places but most are just a hair off the main road. I love in Missouri so I found it interesting for the history. When she tells about the paranormal activity the author stated something like , " dark shadows have been reported" or "sounds of giggling can be heard". She is not in your face with the ghost stuff! 👻 She does give a history of wherever she is talking about which is very interesting. In the beginning she does not that it is believed that limestone, water, tragedy, and death can increase the chance of spirits. I highlighted the big natural events in the beginning. The author discusses more as she visits the individual places. Very interesting even if I don't believe in ghosts!

[Gareld Butler · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess my biggest problem with the book was my expectations. I was expecting some scary ghost stories that would put a shiver down my spine. Instead, what I read was more like a travelogue of old Route 66 from St. Louis to Carthage with some interesting stories from bygone days. It was almost like the author thought there would be more interest based on the number of ghosts identified went up rather than telling really good ghost stories. It is fine to know that a ghost appeared to haunt a particular building but I really want to hear more than that. One story was told about a couple of Black men being falsely accused of sexual assault and being drug out of a jail by a vigilante and hung but that was the end of the story - no account of these men haunting the jail or some section of town afterwards. So many of the ghost stories were related in such a matter of fact manner that the stories might as well have been left out. In many cases, it seemed like the author took someone's word for abnormal events but made little effort to corroborate the stories or do further research. Just not quite what I was looking for.

[Michelle Waters · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spelling and grammatical issues ruined the flow of the book. The book also seemed to jump around between subjects a lot.
I’m not sure if my expectations were too high but the book overall was disappointing.

[Steve Danner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book telling many creepy stories about places that I know! I love a little local history.

[Shandril · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book probably reads better as an audio book with sound effects. The author is a paranormal investigator and often the book feels like field notes rather than narrative stories. Still, some of the accounts are chilling and you can't deny there are some excellent tales. Missouri's seen a lot, and the land itself holds onto memories, spirits, and other psychic imprints. If you are any kind of paranormal investigator, you'll enjoy this book. If you're just looking for some scary ghost stories, stick to fiction.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has a lot of little-known-to-me stories, and I've read on Missouri's paranormal history. Not amazing, not fantastic. The author gets lost in her own memory and then doesn't really even share the ghost part. I guess I'll never find a paranormal book quite like Jim Longo's Ghosts Along the Mississippi!

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the history of route 66 but it didn't seem very haunted.

[Stephanie R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's just a bunch of depressing anecdotes about people who dies unfortunate deaths. I'm not the target audience for this book.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick, fun read

[Ligaya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not well written and more poorly edited, this book is, mercifully, a quick read. It is in need of a couple good maps and a whole slew of photos—at least for the ebook version. (There's a photo of Bertha Gifford's tombstone and an adjacent paragraph describing her life gets the dates, except her death, wrong. Argh!) Annoying that it could have been so much better but it is mildly interesting, particularly if you're a Missourian, as I am.

[Kelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stories are presented very factually rather than sensationally. Okay read but not terribly interesting or gripping...which may have been the intent. The author may have just wanted to capture the stories and then allow the readers to decide for themselves.

[Wayne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

Check up on Actual historical records none of these people in the stories ever existed with the exceptions of well known historical figures. Places listed promoted as haunted are done so for profit. There is no undeniable proof ghosts exist.

[Kell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this very hard to get through. It was a book equivalent to watching someone's boring vacation slides.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. Do these stories really exist? Who knows. I enjoyed the historical places of many things mentioned in book. Would be fun to take 66 and back.