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America's Secret Hauntings
Do you think you have heard about the most haunted places in America? Over the past five years, the interest in the paranormal has decidedly come to the forefront. People flock to locations who wish to have experiences of their own and delve into the exciting, quizzical and frightening world of those who have passed on. When speaking about haunted places there are more than a few that are surely recognizable to most people. However, for the avid ghost teller or hunter these long told tales have almost lost their ebullience and the romance is long gone. Discovering new haunts are like diamonds in the rough. Unchartered ghost stories and research are the crème de la crème for anyone who devours such tales. In this book, author and ghost hunter Sarah Ashley will take you on a new adventure of mysterious happenings, strange sights, horrific details of torture and torment and share with you some truly startling evidence from some of the most haunted, yet less glamorized locations across the United States.
- GenresHorror
182 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 19, 2013
38 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 25, 2017
While I am slightly annoyed that my home state was not in this book, Ashley's book is quite a good collection of haunted places, including histories of the places. Nicely done, with illustrations. Ashley's tone is good and engaging. Not a dull read.
May 31, 2021
Very insightful
Each chapter is about a different location and each is very interesting. Good stories of things that have happened and lots of background facts. I definitely recommend it to people who are interested. Definitely recommend to anyone interested in the paranormal.
Each chapter is about a different location and each is very interesting. Good stories of things that have happened and lots of background facts. I definitely recommend it to people who are interested. Definitely recommend to anyone interested in the paranormal.
May 24, 2014
Great read!
This book is full of many great haunted locations with excellent details. I had a hard time putting it down and enjoyed reading it a great deal.
This book is full of many great haunted locations with excellent details. I had a hard time putting it down and enjoyed reading it a great deal.
April 15, 2019
A Tour Guide
This book is a nice tour guide to some places that are reportedly haunted. Now it doesn't really say that haunted houses are real or not. What it does say is there are places that have reputations for being haunted. I enjoyed read about the places and think a good job was done in telling the tales. True this is not a highly academic volume just one to entertain you the reader. So if you like to read about hauntings then this is one to enjoy.
This book is a nice tour guide to some places that are reportedly haunted. Now it doesn't really say that haunted houses are real or not. What it does say is there are places that have reputations for being haunted. I enjoyed read about the places and think a good job was done in telling the tales. True this is not a highly academic volume just one to entertain you the reader. So if you like to read about hauntings then this is one to enjoy.
May 7, 2020
Not very interesting. Very short and not enough information was given about some of the 'houses'. Like what was that 3-4 pages on the former Kansas City Union Station. No haunting. Just an odd and completely basic book.
July 1, 2015
I have read many paranormal and haunting books and I was less than impressed with this one. Starting with the positive, the history this book gave about the locations was great. Each chapter was like a mini history lesson into the background of each location from when it first came into existence to 2012 (when the book was written). I loved learning about buildings like the Remington Arms Factory and areas such as Snug Harbor, along with every other location talked about in the book. The author did a good job of researching and providing enough history and reasoning as to why the location is said to be haunted. Unfortunately the poor writing tended to take away from the stories a little. I was disappointed in a lot of the grammar and punctuation used throughout the book, which had a tendency to make the writing seem a little amateur. There was excessive use of exclamation points and commas throughout the book and some poor grammar spread throughout. (Although that could be more of an issue with the editor than the author.) I feel that at times the author also tried too hard to add dramatic elements to the book where they were not needed. For example, when describing one location the author wrote “Dust swirls, searching for the crevices in which they can continue their journey…” Aside from my disagreement with referring to dust as “they”, I also feel that writing like this is more for fictional books, not an informative book where you are trying to provide history and proof. This is something that the author did throughout most of the book too. Writing like that just seems out of place and too fluffy in a book like this.
One of the main negatives for me was the descriptions of the hauntings. I feel like they were glossed over a little and did not provide much detail. They also seemed more speculation than actual proof or convincing stories. Obviously all stories about haunting are speculation but they are usually more in depth. A lot of the paranormal evidence spoken of in this book in simply “Orbs have been spotted in photos…” which could simply just be dust. Don’t get me wrong, some of the stories spoke of convincing paranormal evidence, but I feel like other stories weren’t given much attention by the author and only provided generalized hearsay. I also think if she provided some of the photos that capture apparitions (which she spoke of often throughout the book) that would have added much more credibility to the stories.
Another downfall of the book, in my opinion, was the lack of history and detail on ghosts, the paranormal and hauntings. I have read many books like this and most of them provide very interesting and informative information on the history of the paranormal and hauntings including how they originate, reasoning, causes, likelihood, etc. While she did provide some I found it to be rather generalized and the same things were often repeated throughout the book. I feel that if you are writing a book trying to convince people of hauntings and paranormal activity then you need to avoid basic generalizations and provide more concrete and historical information.
Don’t get me wrong, the book was not bad. I have just read better and finished this book being disappointed. I am going with three stars though because I was happy with the history provided about the locations and I also liked how the author provided the addresses and specific locations or many of the places so that people can go visit them if they want to. She also provided which ones were off-limits and did not allow trespassers, making sure people have been forewarned before attempting to visit these places. It was also a quick read and good for reading in between other books. I found it enjoyable enough so that is always a good thing too.
One of the main negatives for me was the descriptions of the hauntings. I feel like they were glossed over a little and did not provide much detail. They also seemed more speculation than actual proof or convincing stories. Obviously all stories about haunting are speculation but they are usually more in depth. A lot of the paranormal evidence spoken of in this book in simply “Orbs have been spotted in photos…” which could simply just be dust. Don’t get me wrong, some of the stories spoke of convincing paranormal evidence, but I feel like other stories weren’t given much attention by the author and only provided generalized hearsay. I also think if she provided some of the photos that capture apparitions (which she spoke of often throughout the book) that would have added much more credibility to the stories.
Another downfall of the book, in my opinion, was the lack of history and detail on ghosts, the paranormal and hauntings. I have read many books like this and most of them provide very interesting and informative information on the history of the paranormal and hauntings including how they originate, reasoning, causes, likelihood, etc. While she did provide some I found it to be rather generalized and the same things were often repeated throughout the book. I feel that if you are writing a book trying to convince people of hauntings and paranormal activity then you need to avoid basic generalizations and provide more concrete and historical information.
Don’t get me wrong, the book was not bad. I have just read better and finished this book being disappointed. I am going with three stars though because I was happy with the history provided about the locations and I also liked how the author provided the addresses and specific locations or many of the places so that people can go visit them if they want to. She also provided which ones were off-limits and did not allow trespassers, making sure people have been forewarned before attempting to visit these places. It was also a quick read and good for reading in between other books. I found it enjoyable enough so that is always a good thing too.
June 1, 2020
Very Interesting Read
This read was very interesting and entertaining! While the different locations and their background provided were very informative, more information would have been outstanding. This is a field of study that is still basically in the infant stage but hopefully will be developed and more readily accepted by the academic world.
This read was very interesting and entertaining! While the different locations and their background provided were very informative, more information would have been outstanding. This is a field of study that is still basically in the infant stage but hopefully will be developed and more readily accepted by the academic world.
September 30, 2014
I love reading stories about famous real places that are supposedly haunted. This one was a fun, quick read. I knew about some of the places, but not all of them. Some of the grammar was a bit off putting, but nothing too bad. I don't know that I'm a believer, but I'm certainly open to the idea of ghosts and spirits!
August 8, 2014
I couldn't put this book down!
I couldn't put this book down!
I really enjoyed this book a lot and just couldn't put it down. Sarah Ashley is really a talented author and I have already bought another one of her books to read.
I couldn't put this book down!
I really enjoyed this book a lot and just couldn't put it down. Sarah Ashley is really a talented author and I have already bought another one of her books to read.
December 29, 2016
A great read for believers.
If you are looking for a book to scare the Dickens out of you, this is not the book. The author's intention was not to scare but to inform. She did a great job and I highly reccomend to all whom are interested in hauntings.
If you are looking for a book to scare the Dickens out of you, this is not the book. The author's intention was not to scare but to inform. She did a great job and I highly reccomend to all whom are interested in hauntings.
September 9, 2016
Too much tourist-y information.
July 21, 2014
I found this book to be very interesting. Not only for the hauntings, but for the historical stories. I would have liked to see much more pictures though.
January 17, 2015
Exciting stories
Enjoyed the factual information. The pictures were interesting. The list of what others experienced at the places was very spooky.
Enjoyed the factual information. The pictures were interesting. The list of what others experienced at the places was very spooky.
June 11, 2015
This is an assume book very well written
I liked all the stories in this book I will read more books on this subject matter by this author.
I liked all the stories in this book I will read more books on this subject matter by this author.
August 31, 2015
Enjoyed the history and photos
Well done book on haunted structures around the U.S. Good read for a rainy day! Nice background information on why they were haunted (if they are).
Well done book on haunted structures around the U.S. Good read for a rainy day! Nice background information on why they were haunted (if they are).
March 31, 2017
Decent Job
I was generous with the rating, but it is earned. The subject matter is reheared, but it isn't the author's doing. There are only so many haunted houses. Sarah Ashley did the best she could with what she had to work with. I do wish she had delved deeper, researched, and done extra leg work to tell the story behind the regurgitated "supposedly". Many of these have been told and retold. Hopefully there are one or two the reader hasn't heard.
I was generous with the rating, but it is earned. The subject matter is reheared, but it isn't the author's doing. There are only so many haunted houses. Sarah Ashley did the best she could with what she had to work with. I do wish she had delved deeper, researched, and done extra leg work to tell the story behind the regurgitated "supposedly". Many of these have been told and retold. Hopefully there are one or two the reader hasn't heard.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews