Haunting America: The Making of Myth and Legend

by Karen Stollznow

Join author Karen Stollznow as she hits the road to investigate America's most haunted places. From Alcatraz to Coral Castle, the Myrtles Plantation to the Winchester Mystery House, Stollznow leaves no stone unturned and no "spirit" unsettled in her search for the truth behind the scares.

Genres: Nonfiction

158 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2013

About the author

Dr. Karen Stollznow is a linguist, author, and broadcaster whose work bridges scholarship and public engagement. Her books include Beyond Words: How We Learn, Use, and Lose Language; Bitch: The Journey of a Word; On the Offensive: Prejudice in Language Past and Present; Missed Conceptions: How We Make Sense of Infertility; God Bless America; Language Myths, Mysteries and Magic; and Haunting America. She is also the author of the short fiction collection Fisher’s Ghost and Other Stories.

She co-hosts the award-winning science podcast Monster Talk, contributes regularly to Psychology Today, Cambridge Core, and The Conversation, and has spent many years investigating anomalous claims through the lens of skepticism and science.

Karen holds a PhD in Linguistics and has taught at universities in both the United States and Australia. She previously worked as a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, and is currently a Visiting Scholar at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Born in Sydney, Australia, Karen now lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and their son.

Reviews

[Glenn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karen Stollznow takes several of the purportedly "most haunted" places in the U.S., telling first the ghost stories and legends, then the genuine historical version (always very different). I actually believed everything the guide at the Winchester House said back when I took the tour. Lies! All lies!

[Just Plain Neddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This should be more interesting than it is. It's not bad, exactly, but it's just not very exciting to read. Find place that people say is haunted. Throw down a few facts about it. Say what the ghost stories are. Explain that there are inconsistencies and more mundane explanations. Move on to next place. It does these things. What it doesn't do is give you any reason to care.

[Daniel DeLappe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read Karen's work in the past and always enjoyed her writings. This book is fantastic. Well researched. Paced very nicely. I have known all of these stories over the years and with this book I learned something new on each story. Good stuff.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of some of the allegedly most haunted places in the 'States, the folklore, the urban legends, and the actual histories behind these often very strange places and the people who lived, worked, died, and keep them up as tourist attractions. If you don't mind a healthy dose of reality after hearing the often quite colorful stories told and retold about these locations, then this book is for you.

[Joe Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read…

I know Dr Karen from Monster Talk but this is the first I have read her writing. She has a breezy style that is easy to read but solidly backed by research. An unusual combination! I highly recommend this book. I wonder if Blake Smith helped with section headings. Very punny😋

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short but excellent book. The author has clearly done her research and the writing style is compelling.