The Haunting of America: Ghosts & Legends from America's Haunted Past

Rating:
Summary: I found it well balanced & quite interesting!
Review: One must expect a book titled, "The Haunting of America: Ghost & Legends from America's Haunted Past" to ask the obvious and at times perhaps leading questions as found in this book, anything less would be negligence. Are there people found that wish not to talk about their encounters? You bet your boots there are.
The research and history of the locations given alone is worth the read. I enjoyed it a lot and just as in Jerry D. Coleman's wonderful paranormal/cryptozoological book "Strange Highways", the reader is left to decide for themselves, that alone is worth an extra star!
Good job Mr. Taylor!

Rating:
Summary: I found it well balanced & quite interesting!
Review: The author has done impressive research, but unfortunately he is a rather mediocre writer. (Someone should pry the ! off his keyboard out of sheer mercy.) Many interesting places are included, but there is a rather annoying tendency to try and create drama where none exists. All too often the only evidence of haunting is that people sensed "ghostly vibrations" or "eerie feelings". If locals say they have not experienced anything out of the ordinary, they are described as "reluctant to talk" or "tight-lipped" to make it seem as though they're hiding something sinister. Events with logical explanations are spooked up by the author's favorite ploy of asking a question when he is not able to make a statement. (ex: Could there still be spirits roaming about?) But...this is a decent book if you're looking for some history on a lot of really interesting old places. There is a great deal of background detail and some good pictures. Not the best book on haunted houses, but worth a look--just don't make it your only resource.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad but could have been better
Review: The author has done impressive research, but unfortunately he is a rather mediocre writer. (Someone should pry the ! off his keyboard out of sheer mercy.) Many interesting places are included, but there is a rather annoying tendency to try and create drama where none exists. All too often the only evidence of haunting is that people sensed "ghostly vibrations" or "eerie feelings". If locals say they have not experienced anything out of the ordinary, they are described as "reluctant to talk" or "tight-lipped" to make it seem as though they're hiding something sinister. Events with logical explanations are spooked up by the author's favorite ploy of asking a question when he is not able to make a statement. (ex: Could there still be spirits roaming about?) But...this is a decent book if you're looking for some history on a lot of really interesting old places. There is a great deal of background detail and some good pictures. Not the best book on haunted houses, but worth a look--just don't make it your only resource.