The Haunted Boonslick: Ghosts, Ghouls & Monsters of Missouri's Heartland

by Mary Collins Barile

There is some uncertainty about the exact borders of the region that bounds the Boonslick trail but little doubt about the palpable and unsettling presence of its history. Stir up Missourians from St. Louis to Jackson County with the mention of ghosts, and after a few minutes of demurring, you will soon have more stories than you can shake a sheet at. Attend to the haunting music of John Blind" Boone or the otherworldly poetry of Patience Worth. Crouch down in Civil War battlefields, crowded taverns or the uncomfortable saddle of a headless horse. Wend your way through Missouri's haunted heart: the Boonslick."

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2011

Reviews

[Cheri Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich in history and fascinating hauntings!

My type of ghostly book from beginning to end. I enjoy this type of book very much. The hauntings combined with history has always had me captivated. Since I am no longer able to enjoy traveling to all the wonderfully fascinating places I must read about them. This was a fantastic book!!!

[Terry Pierson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, enjoyable read perfect for micro sessions. The stories herein range in quality and intrigue. The writing is generally pretty straight-forward, like a campfire story, without a lot of flowery language or over saturated prose.

[Resa · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be totally honest, my disappointment with this book is entirely my fault. One of the reasons to actually look at a book before you buy it instead of just grabbing it and saying "that looks good, let's get it!"

I expected this to be more a collection of ghost "stories" of the area than a travel-log type guide to haunted areas and places with a little story (all historical in context) thrown in. This is much more of a historical guide to supposedly haunted or supernatural sites than it is a compilation of actual ghost stories.

That being said, compared to what I had expected, I was bored through no one's fault but my own.

The author has done an excellent job of collecting resources, first-hand accounts, photos, and facts about all of these places, some of which might actually be worth visiting as we get closer to October since this is my home-town and home-town adjacent areas. I just wish there'd been a little more spook in these pages.

Recommend it to: ghost-hunters looking for travel destinations, fans of Missouri history.

Avoid it: readers looking for around-the-campfire ghost stories for the fall.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun collection of anecdotes about haunted places in Missouri--everything from strange creatures described by Native Americans to hauntings by much later inhabitants. As Barile points out, most of Missouri's ghosts are of ordinary folks: steamboat pilots, farmers. But there's an excellent story of John "Blind" Boone playing his piano for an appreciative audience 50 years after his death, actress Maude Adams still present at Stephens College, and poet John G. Neihardt haunting the house where he died. It's possible to point out some gaps (where's the student at Stephens College who fell in love with a young soldier during the Civil War and who still appears at the window of her old dormitory, where she hanged herself after he was killed? For that one, read Haunted Heartland ). But there's also a lot of history in this book. It's a fun--if slightly creepy--read.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it interesting. I'm not from this area moved here some years ago and it taught me a lot about the past history,and of the traffic that came and went through out this area.. The ghost stories were pretty entertaining as well.
Fast Read, wasn't boring.