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Images of America: Washington
Tacoma's Haunted History
Tacoma hides in the shadows of Seattle, but what hides in the shadows of Tacoma? The city's paranormal history is riddled with Native American culture, spiritualists, mysterious deaths, tragedy, and curses that dwell in the dark. Much of Tacoma is built directly on top of sacred lands, and many natives to the area can attest that the city is haunted by its past. Desecration of graves can leave troubling results. Hexed citizens can perish. An untimely death can leave behind a soul. These unfortunate circumstances bring forth tales of the strange and unexplainable. Are we alone in Tacoma or accompanied by ghosts of the past?
130 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 3, 2015
Part of a series of nicely published vanity-esque pieces on local history. I’ve enjoyed several of them.
This book and I got off to a bad start. I checked it out hoping for leads on photo opportunities, but I’m abashed to admit I largely stayed for the entertaining editing choices. It is chock full of highly questionable passages such as “Spiritualism, which came about in the 1840s and grew ever so popular by the 1920s, had a strong presence in Tacoma, and a basic form of this practice can be traced back thousands of years to its early inhabitants, the Nisqually and Puyallup tribes. A part of the Coast Salish Native American tribes that populated the northwest coast, they were very spiritual people who held many beliefs in a spiritual world and sacred lands.” (9). Seriously, that got through an editing process?
Once upon a time, NPR reviewed Marilyn Quayle’s novel, Embrace the Serpent. I don’t remember much about the review, but I do remember this: “This book is so bad you want to hit it with a rolled up newspaper while admonishing Bad Book! Bad Book!”
This book is not nearly that bad, but the editing – oh, the editing. Oh, the lack of sources. Oh, the lack of addresses for the places featured.
Good bathroom book.
This book and I got off to a bad start. I checked it out hoping for leads on photo opportunities, but I’m abashed to admit I largely stayed for the entertaining editing choices. It is chock full of highly questionable passages such as “Spiritualism, which came about in the 1840s and grew ever so popular by the 1920s, had a strong presence in Tacoma, and a basic form of this practice can be traced back thousands of years to its early inhabitants, the Nisqually and Puyallup tribes. A part of the Coast Salish Native American tribes that populated the northwest coast, they were very spiritual people who held many beliefs in a spiritual world and sacred lands.” (9). Seriously, that got through an editing process?
Once upon a time, NPR reviewed Marilyn Quayle’s novel, Embrace the Serpent. I don’t remember much about the review, but I do remember this: “This book is so bad you want to hit it with a rolled up newspaper while admonishing Bad Book! Bad Book!”
This book is not nearly that bad, but the editing – oh, the editing. Oh, the lack of sources. Oh, the lack of addresses for the places featured.
Good bathroom book.
December 8, 2015
Creepier than I expected! Murders, accidents, and ghosts! It opens with a note on white/Native American interactions, which I was fascinated to find happened in the late 1800s--really, not that long ago at all. I learned the meaning of Mt. Rainier's old name, Tahoma, and a very unusual way the Native Americans in Tacoma buried their dead. I had to make sure that each house mentioned in the book wasn't mine (yeeek). A lot of the buildings and streets, including the image on the cover, were places I had already stumbled across and fell in love with, so that was cool.
March 26, 2015
Okay as a glimpse of Tacoma's history, but it is not really a haunted history. Mostly it is just "this place is maybe haunted!" I was ready to be scared and move out of town, but I am not scared by reports of random noises and lights.
March 6, 2020
An interesting and quick read kept me glued to the pages. Each section is pretty brief and fun to learn about. The reference to Tacoma in the title is a bit misleading as it covers many locations outside Tacoma - no harm.
The specific mentions of "hauntings" in the older buildings seem so ambiguous at best. The, "could it be the ghost of...sticking around?", was cute with the first couple stories but got old after the later entries saying basically the same thing but with the words rearranged. Granted, there only a limited number of ways to pass along "ghostly encounter" speculations and there is no proof to any of this but merely restating rumors from some people 100-150 years ago seems so disjointed and not really relevant anymore. It's like the ghosts have lost there edginess as time moves on.
Nevertheless, I learned much and google mapped quite a few locations and now realize I pass by them almost daily. Will be fun to relate these fun facts to visitors.
The specific mentions of "hauntings" in the older buildings seem so ambiguous at best. The, "could it be the ghost of...sticking around?", was cute with the first couple stories but got old after the later entries saying basically the same thing but with the words rearranged. Granted, there only a limited number of ways to pass along "ghostly encounter" speculations and there is no proof to any of this but merely restating rumors from some people 100-150 years ago seems so disjointed and not really relevant anymore. It's like the ghosts have lost there edginess as time moves on.
Nevertheless, I learned much and google mapped quite a few locations and now realize I pass by them almost daily. Will be fun to relate these fun facts to visitors.
April 7, 2019
Ross Allison (and co-author) Teresa Nordheim have written an image-heavy book focused on Tacoma's paranormal history. Unfortunately, the photos focus on *locations* as opposed to the "ghosts of the past". Regardless, the historic photos were interesting and, in several places (i.e. Western State Hospital) disturbing. Recommended if you're a history buff
August 21, 2022
Some interesting history. I would call this more of a history of lurid tales rather than a haunted history. But it offers a fascinating look at Tacoma’s history and includes many historic photos. It could use a good edit, but it still worth the read.
September 20, 2018
This was great! Very informative!
December 29, 2020
Great photos and history. The writing style and the "maybe" information about hauntings left much to be desired.
September 1, 2014
While my opinion may be baised....this is a great read for so many reasons.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews