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Michael: From the Case Files of S.P.O.O.K.S
In January 1986 the Wheat Ridge Police Department uncovered one of the most vicious crime sprees in Colorado's history. Dating back to 1920, in the small town of Stratton, Colorado, the officers discovered decades of brutal killings and slaughter involving transient farm workers that had been hired to work the fields of the now infamous McCormick farm. With over 70 bodies buried on the 2,800 acre farm and dozens of others scattered around the country, the body count was extreme. But with murder, comes the ghostly remains of the dead. Faced with angry spirits and buckets full of body parts brought up by their plow, the farm's new owners contacted S.P.O.O.K.S Paranormal team for help. Join author Tracy Beach as she digs through mountains of police casefiles, missing person reports, interview's, court transcripts, autopsy reports and two scrap books full of decomposed bodies being removed from the earth, in her quest to piece together the demented mind of Michael McCormick and figure out what made him tick...and who is really haunting the farm. "Whenever I teach a class on how to administer a Polygraph test, I'm always asked if I've ever done one on a Psychopath. I tell them I have only done it once and it was on Michael McCormick... and he passed. Why? Because a Psychopath doesn't feel shame or guilt and you need those to fail the test." --The Wheat Ridge Police Department "I'll give Michael credit for one thing, he knew how to play people and he did it better than anyone I've ever met." --Investigator Michael Gallagher
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
322 pages, Paperback
Published March 30, 2019
3 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 20, 2020
Interesting story. It is sad to think of all those bodies buried on the farm. There is humor in the paranormal team’s bickering. It’s a shame there are so many glaring typos in the book. Did anyone even read it before it was published?
January 29, 2021
It is really too bad. This author found a fantastic story. The story of the McCormick Ranch is the stuff of legends. I live out here, I work with people who handled the evidence, I've heard all kinds of crazy rumors, and even know a Clapper as a family friend. This is a story that is waiting to be told and waiting to send shivers throughout the world.
This author just doesn't do it. Everything with the SPOOKS people is pure garbage. Skip it immediately and don't look back. That cuts this book by about a third, which is nice.
The research is terrible. She made a few interviews, read a few police reports, and couldn't even be bothered to talk with some locals. Not that it mattered because she really only focused on Michael's time away from Stratton. There could literally be HUNDREDS of bodies buried at this ranch, but we spend nearly two chapters running around trying to locate a missing trailer that had nothing to do with the real crimes.
The style is not my cup of tea. I wouldn't fault her for it completely, but this should have been written from an objective stand point, not as a narrative. It hurts the reality of what these men did. We don't need the author's point, we don't need an ominous sense of evil; we need honest work and research and for you to get to the bottom of something.
Finally, and most concerningly, did this author pass high school English? The editing here is absolute garbage. I'm not sure the author knows how to use apostrophes, commas, appositives, paragraphs, or spell. It is a joke that would send someone back to remedial classes. She can't get the right "to," she can't designate possession, and she couldn't even write a half decent bibliography. I don't expect perfection, but a small measure of professionalism may have been in order.
Too bad. In the hands of Krakauer, Dave Cullen, Michael Finkle, or even Stephen Jimenez (who I disagree with in his personal life, but darn can he do some good investigative journalism) this would be an excellent story. This is a story that needs to be told. This book simply doesn't do enough.
This author just doesn't do it. Everything with the SPOOKS people is pure garbage. Skip it immediately and don't look back. That cuts this book by about a third, which is nice.
The research is terrible. She made a few interviews, read a few police reports, and couldn't even be bothered to talk with some locals. Not that it mattered because she really only focused on Michael's time away from Stratton. There could literally be HUNDREDS of bodies buried at this ranch, but we spend nearly two chapters running around trying to locate a missing trailer that had nothing to do with the real crimes.
The style is not my cup of tea. I wouldn't fault her for it completely, but this should have been written from an objective stand point, not as a narrative. It hurts the reality of what these men did. We don't need the author's point, we don't need an ominous sense of evil; we need honest work and research and for you to get to the bottom of something.
Finally, and most concerningly, did this author pass high school English? The editing here is absolute garbage. I'm not sure the author knows how to use apostrophes, commas, appositives, paragraphs, or spell. It is a joke that would send someone back to remedial classes. She can't get the right "to," she can't designate possession, and she couldn't even write a half decent bibliography. I don't expect perfection, but a small measure of professionalism may have been in order.
Too bad. In the hands of Krakauer, Dave Cullen, Michael Finkle, or even Stephen Jimenez (who I disagree with in his personal life, but darn can he do some good investigative journalism) this would be an excellent story. This is a story that needs to be told. This book simply doesn't do enough.
August 1, 2019
"Michael" is a fascinating book. It really needs to be a film but, unfortunately, it seems that Quentin Tarantino is retiring. The book recounts, in alternating chapters, a series of heinous murders that were perpetrated at the ranch belonging to Tom and Michael McCormick (and Tom's father before them) near Stratton, on the eastern plains of Colorado, and a somewhat dysfunctional team of paranormal investigators summoned to the ranch by the current owners.
It is unthinkable that the McCormicks family's bloody history is little known, even in Colorado. The murders of unknown numbers of day laborers (many ex-cons with no family to miss them) and people unfortunate enough to have something the McCormicks wanted (e.g. a truck) were the deeds of evil individuals. Tracy Beach is entertaining whether she is writing about bloody-beyond-belief murders (Michael McCormick casually asks an observer, "Say, did you ever skin a man?") or the Keystone Kops sniping and infighting of the paranormal investigators. The juxtaposition of the bumbling investigators (a hoot for sure) and the horrendous murders is brilliant. Law enforcement investigators and judges made some ridiculous choices that resulted in the freeing of Michael McCormick and deaths of additional individuals.
As others have pointed out, the book could have used the hand of an editor. There are spelling, punctuation, and syntax errors. This did not affect the page-turning quality of the book for me. Tracy Beach's humor, fresh perspective, and zeal for research shines through on every page. Her book is a labor of love and enthusiasm. She saw the potential to shed light on a series of crimes forgotten by almost everyone and has succeeded in making the storytelling engaging and riveting.
It is unthinkable that the McCormicks family's bloody history is little known, even in Colorado. The murders of unknown numbers of day laborers (many ex-cons with no family to miss them) and people unfortunate enough to have something the McCormicks wanted (e.g. a truck) were the deeds of evil individuals. Tracy Beach is entertaining whether she is writing about bloody-beyond-belief murders (Michael McCormick casually asks an observer, "Say, did you ever skin a man?") or the Keystone Kops sniping and infighting of the paranormal investigators. The juxtaposition of the bumbling investigators (a hoot for sure) and the horrendous murders is brilliant. Law enforcement investigators and judges made some ridiculous choices that resulted in the freeing of Michael McCormick and deaths of additional individuals.
As others have pointed out, the book could have used the hand of an editor. There are spelling, punctuation, and syntax errors. This did not affect the page-turning quality of the book for me. Tracy Beach's humor, fresh perspective, and zeal for research shines through on every page. Her book is a labor of love and enthusiasm. She saw the potential to shed light on a series of crimes forgotten by almost everyone and has succeeded in making the storytelling engaging and riveting.
April 30, 2021
Doing a quick search on the self-publishing company Ms. Beach used, I see authors have to pay for editing of their books. I'm afraid it would have been worth it Ms. Beach. Even turning on your autocorrect would have corrected many of the grammatical errors. But if you can look past the ridiculous typos, this is a great story.
At first, the paranormal team irritated me. They appear unprofessional with all their bickering but when they visited the McCormick farm I enjoyed hearing about all they discovered. Law enforcement is not shown in the best of light here. The mistakes and blunders made by the court and detectives may have cost lives! Of course, the real subject is Michael and boy what a subject he is as is his family and the tainted ground they owned.
At first, the paranormal team irritated me. They appear unprofessional with all their bickering but when they visited the McCormick farm I enjoyed hearing about all they discovered. Law enforcement is not shown in the best of light here. The mistakes and blunders made by the court and detectives may have cost lives! Of course, the real subject is Michael and boy what a subject he is as is his family and the tainted ground they owned.
May 2, 2020
While I wish that the editor would have worked a little bit of overtime, I have to say that I am very glad that this book was written. I have delved into this story prior to the release of the book and wasn’t able to find much. I’m glad that the story was laid out and made available to the public. I highly recommend this book for true crime junkies and for any eastern Colorado locals who may find such a chilling history lesson interesting.
September 2, 2025
Oh my goodness! If you’re into the paranormal and those with gifts, this is the book for you! This was intriguing to me, because it’s so close to home. I live near Stratton, a bit more north, but still close enough. I’ve always been curious if anyone investigated that property, and reading a first hand experience was the validation I needed. 10/10 recommend!!! So insightful and informative! Also, fun because we get a bit of insight into other investigations as well.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews