Weird Pennsylvania: Your Travel Guide to Pennsylvania's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets

Weird Travel Guides

by Matt Lake, Mark Moran (Foreword), Mark Sceurman (Foreword)

Praise for Weird Pennsylvania:
“Fun, amazing, and arrestingly illustrated.?  —Booklist

“…a real fine read and can serve as a travel guide for a trek among the unusual, odd and scary parts of our “weird? state.?  —Pennsylvania Magazine

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Paranormal, History, Folklore, Adult, Mythology

272 pages, Hardcover

First published July 25, 2005

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little hokey but I have enjoyed reading this book gradually, over a hot cup of coffee, in the mornings.

I really wish there were more and better photos.
I often found myself googling the topics to get more information on them.
I will definitely read some other books from this series.

[Karen Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, there was "Weird New Jersey." But we Pa. residents knew that our local tales and legends could rival any Pine Barrens camper's story about the Jersey Devil. As if to confirm this, the "Weird" team assembled Pennsylvania's most memorable quirks in a most entertaining book. The books covers oddities, legends, rumors, monsters, aliens, gates to hell, ghosts... Pa. is big, but who knew there was room for all this crazy stuff? Reading this book will have you itching for a road trip.[return][return]Featured people and places get the personal touch through brief personal accounts from those who've been there. Some accounts sound more reliable than others, but it's left up to the reader to make judgments. [return][return]My edition is a few years old, and some things are a little out of date, most notably the deserted mental hospital known as "Byberry" is now torn down to make way for condos. But the piece on its sordid history is a good account of how spooky the place was, and how it became a mecca for the homeless and urban explorers. [return][return]For those who love reading about weird stuff, or for Pennsylvania residents who will cackle at recognition of local oddities, this book is sure to please.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review title: April Fool's roadtrip
This coffee table book is perfect for taking an April Fool's road trip from your armchair. No need to head north (for me) back to PA where I'm from to experience these roadside oddities. After all, its only April 1, and it could still be snowing somewhere in PA, especially the western part of the state where I grew up.

Two problems with books like this:

1). Manufactured weirdness, courtesy of publishers in search of an audience or local visitors' bureaus in search of a tourist, aren't at all interesting to armchair travelers. While tongue in cheek about it, Weird Pennsylvania has more than its share of pages of fluff I just flipped through.

2). The information quickly gets out of date and can be better addressed through a web site. However this web site doesn't have as much updating as I would expect. Roadside America's signature website appears to be more actively updated.

Still, as a Pennsylvania native who spent most of his first 40 years there, and only moved south to follow my job (and found I like the weather here better!), I passed a few hours reintroducing myself to the oddness of home. It felt right.

[Mycala · Rating 3 out of 5]

According to this book, Pennsylvania contains many portals to hell which apparently are pretty difficult to find. Having grown up in Pennsylvania (I would not admit this but sadly there is too much evidence to support it), I have to say I agree -- and there are several portals that the Author has not considered, one of which was the main entrance to my high school. Seriously! If you don't believe me, you can just grab any of my yearbooks and read through the many references my friends wrote inside. Some of us are still trying to get the smell of sulphur out of our hair.

Okay, slight joking aside, this is definitely a weird book. I have been to Gravity Hill and I have also been to Roadside America. The shoe house used to capture my imagination as a kid. There were a few things that made me smile as I was reminded of my past in a location I would not have chosen myself if I'd had any control over my life. This takes some work, I have to tell you. There are enough things missing that they should definitely make a sequel. I'd help, but the flashbacks would require decades of therapy to work through.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weird Pennsylvania is a great book. I've known about some of the places in the book for awhile, but there was so much I didn't know about. Lots of great information about different haunted and weird places in Pennsylvania.

It's a really great book to read if you want to know about Pennsylvania's 'weirdness' and want to check out some of the locations as well. I know after reading this book I'm definitely going to be checking out some of the places.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great look at weird and haunted locations in my home state. Its great to read about familiar and unfamiliar locations in PA. I have used this book for some weekend trip ideas to check out some Weird PA locations.

[Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

With blessings from the creators of Weird NJ, a Brit and current resident of the Keystone State was chosen to chronicle the weirdness of NJ's neighbor state. He had plenty of bizarre legends, roadside oddities, and mysteries to make a very funny book.

[Beau Schemery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. It's renewed my interest in my home state. There are a bunch of places I need to check out now. I'll have to find a brave soul or two willing to join me. Particularly Centralia, Storybook Land and the old Turnpike tunnels. Allons-y.

[Christian Baloga · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was made for individuals like me! I've visited many of the weird places in this book and plan to visit a lot more in the future. Check out my photo gallery of the places I've been HERE.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

random legends and secrets about my home state. I love it.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The weird of Pa. Great local stories, myths, ghosts, etc. Plus, I wrote an entry.

[PJ Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book containing locations and background information about PA's haunts, oddities, and things-that-go-bump. Easy read and interesting. Can't wait to check out some of these sites!!

[Manda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess everywhere has their really quirky places...but my gosh Pennsylvania...I have been here all my life and so far I have a lot to explore :) I am excited!

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I paged through this book and did not realize all the weird places there are in PA. When i go on a roadtrip i will bring it with and try to see more weird places.

[Austin B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this book was really really good. I loved all of the weird animal/people in the book. I would recommend this book to people that like wierd thing like monsters.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grade level partner is a huge PA enthusiast and when she cleaned out her classroom at the end of the school year she decided to clean out this book. My curiosity lead me to pick up this book. It has a lot of weird and interesting places to visit in PA. I have always been curious about Centralia and I'm sad the Graffiti Highway has been covered in dirt to keep the crowds away. I'd also love to visit the Eastern State Penitentiary-creepy and interesting to me.

I've lived in PA for over 14 years and not far from the Appalachian Trail and I have NEVER heard any stories about Big Foot. I always though he was more out west.

Funny places that would be worth a trip to me:
Haines Shoe House in York County
Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum west of Gettysburg
Red Caboose Motel and Restaurant near Lancaster
Stones of Columcille near Bangor
Mutter Museum in Phildelphia
Mercer Museum in Bucks County
Shoe Museum in Philadelphia

I have seen Dauphin's Statue of Liberty - I did a double take the first time I saw it. Now when I pass it, I smile!

[Kurry Swigert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book from a pile on my neighbor's porch - under a sign that said "FREE". You get what you pay for. This book is a collection of oddities, many of which included one or more related stories by locals. I think my biggest complaint is that the author lives in or near Philadelphia and half the book's stories (66 of 136, 48.5%) are from Philadelphia county or the four counties that border Philadelphia county. So, half the book is made up from 7.5% of Pennsylvania's counties. Many of the cities in the center of Pennsylvania have long histories and are rich in local legends and "best kept secrets". Mister Lake should have taken the time to explore more of the state. Other minor issues are things like the man that was buried in his white Corvette - but the photo in the book shows a red Corvette. What can I say - at least I didn't buy this book.

[Sarah Karasek · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a decent mix of places/things I already knew about (born and raised in PA) and also places I've never heard of. I wish the section on weird roadside advertising wasn't quite so long and that the cemetery and paranormal sections were a bit longer though, because there's plenty of those I know of that weren't included and seem a bit more interesting (or at least more evidenced) than some that were included. Also wish there wasn't so much focus on the Philadelphia area. Trust me, there's lots of legends, ghosts, stories, etc. in PA that don't revolve around Philly.

[Sandra Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got interested this book since I have been spending much more time in Pennsylvania. I figured that I could find odd ball places to visit while there. Unfortunately the book does not have a map. This makes it difficult to use it to find sight seeing opportunities on the fly while driving around. Too bad, a road trip book without a map!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was intriguing. These landmarks & places are definitely one of kind. If you plan on traveling to PA any time soon, this could add some stops to your trip. From civil war soldiers, things haunting hotels, and abandoned train track & road ways. Just be careful driving down those dark deserted roads at night. You never know what you might see. And don’t pick up any hitchhikers. lol

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, a lot of places I recognized which was enjoyable. Also a lot of unnecessary sensationalism but that's to be expected

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, a lot of places I recognized which was enjoyable. Also a lot of unnecessary sensationalism but that's to be expected

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I wasn't sure what to make of this book. The short, choppy bits of text written by different authors and grouped loosely around generic topics without many transitions were a little off-putting to me, until I changed my perspective a bit. I had to force myself out of my typical book-reading mindset (you know, looking for a beginning, middle, and end, and some sort of coherent plot line/argument), and pretend I was reading a giant scrapbook. Once I got the hang of this new outlook, I enjoyed the book a lot. While it has a healthy dose of haunting/monster/serial killer-related weirdness, it also presents a lot of non-threatening yet fascinating oddities as well--cool museums/art installations, giant fiberglass Amish people, odd-shaped buildings, unique state parks. I'm already planning trips to the Mercer Museum and Ringing Rocks Park for the summer. Overall, this was a fun, silly, entertaining way to learn some of the history and folklore of my current state of residence.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted this to be a fun book. Sadly, it was vague, repetitive, and dull. It was like reading a self-published book of ghost stories that you get in a gift shop at a crappy local museum. The photos don't have captions. There are no maps. It's poorly organized and needs a decent index. The stories have so little detail, you wouldn't be able to FIND any of the places described. If I was intrigued by any of the stories, I'd have to go research somewhere else for the full story. There are NO citations! Half the book looks like it was submitted over e-mail: "My brother's cousin's grandfather once saw a floating orb over Doylestown..." I used to like ghost stories, then I graduated the third grade.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Weird Books. I wanted to love this one as well, but the book was as boring and dry as driving through the state on Interstate 81. Is it the state that's boring or is it the authors writing about the state? I'm going with the author on this one because I can't believe the entire state of Pennsylvania is made up of satanic cults, the amish, various tidbits about the quakers, coal, and William Penn. The little sidebits written in by people of have sent in the stories?? Most of them have satanic cults on the mind. Not a one of them had a clear thought between them. I;m sorry to say you would get better stories sitting around a boy scout campfire.

[Lori Schiele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird Pennsylvania was written by the authors who published Weird United States and Weird New Jersey. Some of the entries are funny, some scary, and some boring. I admittedly read the majority of each section but didn't necesarily read all of the entire pieces.

If anyone is interested in strange sites, hauntings, unexplained formations (like on Easter Island- not in PA, of course. Just an example )and bizarre phenomenon located in Pennsylvania, this is one of the most bizarre non-fiction books I have read in quite awhile.

[Sheila Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another interesting and intriguing installment in the Weird collection. I like the way the editors provide information on various topics and histories instead of limiting the book to just one (ghosts, monsters, etc) like so many others do. This method provides a more well-rounded introduction to the weirdness of the region.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being from PA i decided to read this book to see what weird things I could find out about this state, come to find out I live nearby many things in this book and in fact have seen them! Pretty interesting.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly uncorroborated ghost stories, but I learned a few things about some of the sites near me. There are some places that are open to visitors but most are private property with no trespassing. Pretty entertaining

[Sheena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where are the Western PA's myths, legends and lore?