And so it happens, you are sitting there, minding your own business, when you hear your child whisper-yell to one of their friends or siblings: "I dare you to say Bloody Mary in the mirror!" It's an odd moment. There is quite of bit of nostalgia and perhaps a bit of sadness but also, excitement. The kids have entered the pre-adolescent era of mythos, terror, and peer-pressured daring. You wonder where their Bloody Mary sources came from if they know to say it three times with the lights off, and if it will be followed by chants of "baby blue, blue baby" or maybe even "Candyman". You also wonder if this will progress the whispers of "light as a feather stiff as a board" and the distrust that comes when that one friend with the ouija board can't be trusted not to push the planchette. You debate the pros and cons of introducing them to stories of shadow people and which mirrors at grandma's house they like to show up in. And you can't help but wonder: Are the kids still staying up late at slumber parties and whispering ghost stories to each other or are they watching them on YouTube now?
Ghosts are everywhere--whether you believe in them or not. Every town has its local legends, and countless books, movies, and TV shows are haunted by their presence. But our obsession with ghosts runs deeper than we know--and is embedded in the very fabric of American history. Writer and historian Marc Hartzman dons the mantle of tour guide, taking readers on a fascinating journey through supernatural history, including: Famous haunted sites like the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia and the LaLaurie House in New Orleans; Famous ghosts like the Bell Witch of Tennessee and the Greenbrier Ghost of West Virginia.
"The mysterious and often violent history of Illinois has made the state a haven for restless spirits. Explores the supernatural side of the Prairie State, with stories on the horrors of an old slave house, the numerous spirits of Alton's McPike Mansion, the cemetery where the dead walk, the Spring Valley Vampire, the ghosts of the Bartonville Asylum, Chicago's famous Resurrection Mary, and the spirit world of Abraham Lincoln"--Back cover.
"Cassandra Khaw's Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a gorgeously creepy haunted house tale, steeped in Japanese folklore and full of devastating twists. A Heian-era mansion stands abandoned, its foundations resting on the bones of a bride and its walls packed with the remains of the girls sacrificed to keep her company. It's the perfect venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends, brought back together to celebrate a wedding. A night of food, drinks, and games quickly spirals into a nightmare as secrets get dragged out and relationships are tested. But the house has secrets too. Lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart. And she gets lonely down there in the dirt. Effortlessly taking the classic haunted house story and turning it on its head, Nothing but Blackened Teeth is a sharp and devastating exploration of grief, the parasitic nature of relationships, and the consequences of our actions"--. Provided by publisher.
The only life Mae has ever known is on the island, living on the charity of the wealthy Prosper family who control the magic on the island and the spirits who inhabit it. Mae longs for magic of her own and to have a place among the Prosper family, where her best friend, Coco, will see her as an equal, and her crush, Miles, will finally see her. Now that she's eighteen, Mae knows her time with the Prospers may soon come to an end.But tonight is First Night when the Prospers and their high-society friends return to the island to celebrate the night Lord Prosper first harnessed the island's magic and started producing aether - a magical fuel source that has revolutionized the world. With everyone returning to the island, Mae finally has the chance to go after what she's always wanted. When the spirits start inexplicably dying, Mae starts to realize that things aren't what they seem. And Ivo, the reclusive, mysterious heir to the Prosper magic, may hold all the answers--including a secret about Mae's past that she doesn't remember. As Mae and her friends begin to unravel the mysteries of the island and the Prospers' magic, Mae starts to question the truth of what her world was built on. In this YA fantasy, Samantha Cohoe wonderfully mixes magic and an atmospheric historical setting into a fantastically immersive world, with characters you won't be able to forget.
"Novelist Aaron Holland Broussard is shattered when his daughter Fannie Mae dies suddenly. As he tries to honor her memory by saving two young men from a life of crime amid their opioid-ravaged community, he is drawn into a network of villainy that includes a violent former Klansman, a far-from-holy minister, a biker club posing as evangelicals, and a murderer who has been hiding in plain sight. Aaron's only ally is state police officer Ruby Spotted Horse, a no-nonsense woman who harbors some powerful secrets in her cellar. Despite the air of mystery surrounding her, Ruby is the only one Aaron can trust. That is, until the ghost of Fannie Mae shows up, guiding her father through a tangled web of the present and past and helping him vanquish his foes from both this world and the next. Drawn from James Lee Burke's own life experiences, Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is a devastating exploration of the nature of good and evil and a deeply moving story about the power of love and family."--Amazon.
"Sent to stay with her aunt in Prague and witness the humble life of an artist, Ilana Lopez-a biracial Jewish girl-finds herself torn between her dream of becoming a violinist and her immigrant parents' desire for her to pursue a more stable career. When she discovers a forgotten Jewish cemetery behind her aunt's cottage, she meets the ghost of a kindhearted boy named Benjamin, who died over a century ago. As Ilana restores Benjamin's grave, he introduces her to the enchanted side of Prague, where ghosts walk the streets and their kisses have warmth. But Benjamin isn't the only one interested in Ilana. Rudolph Wassermann, a man with no shadow, has become fascinated with her and the music she plays. He offers to share his magic, so Ilana can be with Benjamin and pursue her passion for the violin. But after Ilana discovers the truth about Wassermann and how Benjamin became bound to the city, she resolves to save the boy she loves, even if it means losing him forever."--Front jacket flap.
"The Hull family has owned the Gallows Hill Winery for generations, living and working on the beautiful grounds where they grow their famous grapes. However, there's something at play on the property, and the locals whisper that the site of the old prison yard, located on what is now winery property, is cursed. Margot, the daughter of the winery owners, has not seen her childhood home in years, but when Margot's parents die unexpectedly, she inherits the house, the winery, and all of her family's secrets. Now that she's alone on the sprawling, dilapidated property, she begins to believe the curse is more than real... and that she may be the next victim of the house that never rests"--. Publisher's description.
"Christopher Golden's Road of Bones is a stunning supernatural thriller set in Siberia, where a film crew is covering an elusive ghost story about a highway built on top of the bones of prisoners of Stalin's gulag. Kolyma Highway, otherwise known as the Road of Bones, is a 1200 mile stretch of Siberian road where winter temperatures can drop as low as sixty degrees below zero. Under Stalin, at least eighty Soviet gulags were built along the route to supply the USSR with a readily available workforce, and over time hundreds of thousands of prisoners died in the midst of their labors. Their bodies were buried where they fell, plowed under the permafrost, underneath the road. Felix Teigland, or "Teig," is a documentary producer, and when he learns about the Road of Bones, he realizes he's stumbled upon untapped potential. Accompanied by his camera operator, Teig hires a local Yakut guide to take them to Oymyakon, the coldest settlement on Earth. Teig is fascinated by the culture along the Road of Bones, and encounters strange characters on the way to the Oymyakon, but when the team arrives, they find the village mysteriously abandoned apart from a mysterious nine-year-old girl. Then, chaos ensues. A malignant, animistic shaman and the forest spirits he commands pursues them as they flee the abandoned town and barrel across miles of deserted permafrost. As the chase continues along this road paved with the suffering of angry ghosts, what form will the echoes of their anguish take? Teig and the others will have to find the answers if they want to survive the Road of Bones"--. Provided by publisher.
In this eerie thriller of a ghost story, a teenage girl must solve the mystery of the ghost bride that has haunted her community in rural Kentucky for more than a century. Rena Faye believes in things she can see and touch or at least capture through the lens of her camera. Things like the moonbow--a gray-and-white colorless bow that arcs out of Cumberland Falls every month when the moon is full. This natural phenomenon is what keeps her family's motel business afloat, and what puts their tiny Kentucky town on the map. That, and the legend of the ghost bride. Along with everyone else who has grown up near the falls, Rena knows the tragic tale of the bride who walks the cliff on moonlit nights. But when her grandma tells her that the legend is real, and worse, that the ghost bride has cursed the women of their family, she dismisses it as just another of her mawmaw's famous stories. But when Rena Faye's life begins to fall apart, she must delve deeper into the stories surrounding the legend, and reexamine who she can trust, as well as the truth about her town and family history. before the curse takes everything--and everyone--she holds dear. An eerie thriller of a ghost story filled with twists and turns until the final page.
Chrissy has always been able to see ghosts, and her friend Chase turned her affliction into an internet sensation, with the help of Emmaline, the technology expert and Kiki, the presenter. They are planning to film an episode in an infamously haunted hotel in Los Angeles. When they stumble onto something unexpected in the former room of a serial killer, they realize they're in over our heads. Now Chrissy is seeing the terrifying shadow man who started appearing to her when her mother was dying of cancer-- and an internet troll keeps sending death threats to the group. Sometimes it's the dead who need our help-- and the living we should fear. -- adapted from run-on sentence provided and info on back cover
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