HAUNTED READING LIST - FALL 2020
aS THE VEIL BETWEEN THE WORLD GROWS THIN AND THE DAYS GET SHORTER, IT’S THE PERFECT TIME TO STAY HOME WITH A GOOD BOOK!
Author Troy Taylor has put together a morbid reading list of new 2020 titles about ghosts, hauntings, and the unexplained for you to peruse during this darkest time of the year. Check them out and support your favorite writers by using the links to add their titles to your winter reading list!
CURSED OBJECTS BY J.W. OCKER
Strange but true stories of the world’s most infamous items will appeal to true believers as well as history buffs, horror fans, and anyone who loves a good spine-tingling tale. They’re lurking in museums, graveyards, and private homes. Their often tragic and always bizarre stories have inspired countless horror movies, reality TV shows, novels, and campfire tales. They’re cursed objects, and all they need to unleash a wave of misfortune is . . . you. Many of these unfortunate items have intersected with some of the most notable events and people in history, leaving death and destruction in their wake. But never before have the true stories of these eerie oddities been compiled into a fascinating and chilling volume, which includes everything from the Annabelle doll to the Dybbuk Box, and many more! BUY HERE!
A NIGHTMARE IN VILLISCA
Investigating the Haunted Axe Murder House BY RICHARD ESTEP
In the early morning hours of June 10, 1912, an intruder forced his way into the house of Josiah Moore and his wife, Sarah. During the nightmare that followed, everybody in the house — Mr. And Mrs. Moore, their four children, and two young girls who were visiting for the night — were murdered with an axe. The small town of Villisca, Iowa, would be scarred forever. Today, the infamous Villisca Axe Murder House has a fearsome reputation for being haunted. Each year, hundreds of fascinated people flock to the house, seeking an encounter with the paranormal. Some get more than they bargained for. This is the first book that I have seen that spends more time delving into the haunted events at the house than the mystery that leads up to it — the perfect balance for the book MURDERED IN THEIR BEDS! BUY HERE!
CALLING ALL SPIRITS BY LISA MORTON
This new title investigates the eerie history of our conversations with the dead, from necromancy in Homer’s Odyssey to the emergence of Spiritualism, when Victorians were entranced by mediums and the seance was born. Among our cast are the Fox sisters, teenagers surrounded by “spirit rappings;” Daniel Dunglas Home, the “greatest medium of all time;” Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose unlikely friendship was forged, then riven, by the afterlife; and Helen Duncan, the medium whose trial in 1944 for witchcraft proved more popular to the public than news about the war. The book also delves Ouija boards, modern psychics and paranormal investigations! As most readers know, I have always been fascinated with Spiritualism and have written my own books about it, but this is a fascinating and entertaining addition to my collection. It will be a great addition to yours, too! BUY HERE!
GHOSTS IN PRINT BY ADAM BENEDICT
I’m just going to say it — I love these books that Adam puts together! He did an earlier book of this kind called MONSTERS IN PRINT and this one follows in the same vein as “An Assemblage Of Spirits, Spooks, & Specters From Newspapers Of Old.” It’s an immensely entertaining collection of over 200+ articles, direct from newspapers of the 1800s and 1900s, brings some of North America’s strangest, most unique, and truly unbelievable ghost encounters out of the past and into your hands! You cannot go wrong with this collection — it’s perfect reading for a dark night by candlelight! BUY HERE!
THE UNIDENTIFIED BY COLIN DICKEY
The author of one of my favorite haunted history books of all time, GHOSTLAND, returns with a new title! In a world where rational, scientific explanations are more available than ever, belief in the unprovable and irrational--in fringe--is on the rise: from Atlantis to aliens, from Flat Earth to the Loch Ness monster, the list goes on. With the same style that made GHOSTLAND so good, Colin looks at what all fringe beliefs have in common — the attempt to find meaning in a world stripped of wonder. Dickey visits the wacky sites of America's wildest fringe beliefs--from the famed Mount Shasta where the ancient race (or extra-terrestrials, or possibly both, depending on who you ask) called Lemurians are said to roam, to the museum containing the last remaining "evidence" of the great Kentucky Meat Shower--investigating how these theories come about, why they take hold, and why as Americans we keep inventing and re-inventing them decade after decade. BUY HERE!
AMERICA’S HAUNTED BREWERIES, DISTILLERIES, AND WINERIES BY AMANDA R. WOOMER
Amanda — known more infamous as “Spook-Eats,” introduced a new book this fall for haunted travelers! From battles to murder, and stouts to Merlots, learn about the darker side of America's liquid libations as you journey to some of the most haunted breweries, distilleries, and wineries in the country. You might even find some boos to go with your booze! Sip on a Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout in Denver's oldest brewpub, enjoy a pint of Shanghai'd IPA above Portland's infamous Shanghai Tunnels, or try a taste of butterscotch moonshine in one of America's most haunted prisons turned distillery. Whether you're searching for rich history, delicious drinks, or a few ghosts lurking in the shadows, this book is the perfect companion for your next haunted road trip! BUY HERE!
KANSAS CITY HAUNTINGS BY BECKY RAY
Kansas City is one of the most haunted cities in America but is woefully underrepresented when it comes to ghost books — until now! Take a trip back in time to the early days of the city and discover how the events of the past created the hauntings that still linger in Kansas City today. Go behind the scenes of the most spirited places in the region with author Becky Ray as she reveals a colorful collection of favorite haunts, stories you’ve never heard before, and takes you behind locked doors for the true stories behind some of your favorite local haunts! You’ll be shocked and terrified by historical tales of crime and murder with lurid stories of gangsters, killers, thieves, and cold-blooded murderers that haunt the many wicked locations in Kansas City and the surrounding area! Part history book, part true crime thriller, and part ghost book, this volume is sure to have you looking over your shoulder as you turn the pages at night! BUY HERE!
HELLEBORE NO. 3 - THE MALEFICE ISSUE
I would be negligent not to recommend the new new fall issue of one of my favorite magazines, HELLEBORE. Produced in the UK (but mailed to the states), it’s a perfect mix of folk horror, legends, witchcraft, and more! Beautifully created, the theme of the new issues is “malefice,” a piece of evil sorcery. An evil spell or enchantment. Curses and hexes are a recurring trope in folk horror and occult fiction. They’re active forces, invisible and unstoppable, disrupting the social order and threatening the Establishment. The issue explores the complex relationships of witchcraft and magic with structures of power, and analyse the fear of malefice throughout history. Power and fear, subversion and repression, exclusion and belonging. The third issue of HELLEBORE is a history of our anxieties, because, as Shirley Jackson said, “to learn what we fear is to learn who we are.” BUY HERE!
THE MORBID CURIOUS NO. 1 - SAMHAIN ISSUE 2020
Sorry, I know this is a shameless plug for our own journal, but I wouldn’t recommend it if I didn’t think you’d like it! This is the first edition of The Morbid Curious, a journal from American Hauntings Ink that is committed to bringing you tales of ghosts, hauntings, true crime, and the unexplained from the haunted history of America. The issues includes words from Amanda R. Woomer, Trevalyn Florence-Thomas, Rene Kruse, Michelle Hamilton, and Troy Taylor! BUY HERE!