Weird Civil War: Your Travel Guide to the Ghostly Legends and Best-Kept Secrets of the American Civil War

by Mark Sceurman, Mark Moran

Weird Civil War delves into the peculiar history and ghastly legacy of the bloodiest period in American history, featuring the era's most gripping tragic tales, fascinating facts, spooky scenarios, and eccentric characters. This brand-new volume—which compiles the most compelling Civil War stories from the bestselling Weird series—will excite precocious history students, Civil War buffs, and the multitude of Americans-young and old-with historical ties to the Confederate and Union armies.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Civil War, 19th Century, War, Paranormal, Travel

208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2015

Reviews

[Nick Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Weird series, and all similar books, are predicated on the notion that the stories are supposedly true. Now obviously there aren't any real ghosts, but the people telling you about how their house is haunted by the ghost of their cat (or Ulysses S. Grant's cat) need to actually believe it for the book to mean anything. At least one story in Weird Civil War is obvious fiction, complete with a monster made of smoke borrowed from Lost, a scene where someone pisses himself borrowed from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, a slew of logical contradictions, and no end of bad ghost story tropes. It's internet creepypasta that somehow made its way into a published book, and it casts suspicion on everything else presented in this volume.

Many of the bits from Weird Civil War also have very tenuous ties to the Civil War. You would think that it'd be easy to fill a single volume with content specifically tied to the war between the states, but apparently that would have involved a minimal amount of actual work that the Marks couldn't be bothered with this time around.

[Llyr Heller-Humphreys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting for readers who enjoy ghost stories

[Don Heiman · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2015 Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran through Stirling Publishing released “Weird Civil War: A Travel Guide to the Ghostly Legends of the American Civil War.” The book presents 17 essays about paranormal hauntings and abnormal aftershocks associated with U.S. Civil war battles and related events. My wife and I toured 76 Civil War sites over the past 8 years and we heard stories about war related “weird” events. Our experiences motivated me to read this book. The pictures are very interesting and the tales told by the authors’ collaborators gave me pause as I reflected on the mysteries of the netherworld. (L)

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky tales with a sprinkling of the macabre, some unknown facts and hauntings. I'm a Civil War buff, as well as, I belong to a ghost hunters group--so the book satisfied both those interests, however I've read a lot on both and was aware of a majority of some of the stories. I really enjoy the layouts and photographs in the "weird" books. So amateurs will find a lot of interesting stuff in this book!!

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the magazine Weird NJ, so I was curious to see how the authors would handle the book Weird Civil War. I wasn't disappointed. They provided a mix of history, ghost tales, and mystery, with a humorous touch. Nonjudgmental, they lay out the facts and let you make your own decisions (or leave you guessing).

[Melon · Rating 3 out of 5]

some of the ghost stories seemed a little far fetched but still an interesting read

[MKF]

DNF

[Shawn Fairweather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a free read thanks to Goodreads First Reads and for that I thank you!

This is a very beautiful and well laid out coffee table/travel companion book and some of the more known Civil War landmarks/travel destinations throughout the country. Its broken down by state and region with a handful of entries for each state included. Excellent use of photos are provided for most entries including the lore's and legends for the site. This would be an excellent resource to refer to when traveling to the areas included or to simply bring along if you find yourself stumbling across a certain cemetery when heading out on a random road trip. My only complaint and its really no fault of the authors because in order to do so would make the book a few feet thick, is that certain locations such as Savannah (a city I love to visit) has so many stories from this era however this book only includes 1 story. Perhaps a Vol 2 could be in the making.

This will make a nice addition to a personal library for fans of Civil War, Paranormal, Southern History, History, American Legends, and Travel reading.
Great Read!

[Marty Crosson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read for fans of history, folklore, or travel. Organized by state, it’s a collection of articles about regional legends relating to events of the American civil war. Haunted bridges, hanging trees… that creepy dirt road through the woods that the locals avoid (Zombie Road, represent!) – this book has ‘em all. The stories’ brevity – most of them are a page or less – make this a great bathroom book, but the design – a hardback with some heft, and lots of photographs – will make you reluctant to risk it in the tub. As a fan of podcasts like ‘Hometown Tales’ and books like ‘Forgotten Towns of Southern New Jersey’, I enjoyed this thoroughly.

[Kayla Tornello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun way to learn a little about the Civil War. I liked that this book was a bigger size and was filled with interesting photographs and drawings. The stories were all intriguing. I also appreciated that addresses and websites are listed with each story, so that readers can visit some of these places and see things for themselves.

I received this book as a Goodreads First-Read. Yay!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Be sure: this book is almost exclusively about ghosts and supernatural phenomena. If you're looking for quirky tidbits and off-the-beaten-path unique sites, this isn't the book for you. One of the entries was for a site more having to do with the Conquistadors, that was maybe-perhaps used in the Civil War. Wasn't really my thing, but good for those who like the ghost stories.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I liked this book. There were some entries that gave me goosebumps and made me shiver a bit. Sadly, my home state didn't have any stories in the book, but I did really like it nonetheless since I'm a Civil War history buff and had to read this. I would recommend this book to youngsters, but it is very good. 4 out of 5 stars. Very entertaining, whether the stories are true or not :).

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very well laid out, highly informative, totally cool, very well written book. This one is great for the coffee table, its a nice hardcover, large size, perfect for conversations and visitors to my home.
I won this on Goodreads in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read, full of history and interesting facts. A excellent guide for those wanting to visit unusual places. Civil War enthusiast will also enjoy this book.


Thanks to Goodreads, Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran for my copy, really enjoyed your book.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read. Lots of interesting stuff, even though some items are only loosely related to the Civil War. would be interesting to Civil War buffs and ghost hunters alike

[Sally]

Mostly legends and lore, with the odd paranormal tale thrown in. There is one tale, though, that probably shouldn't be read just before going to bed...

[Margie Adkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting bits of trivia.

[Francoise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun type of bedside-reading book. A great gift or recommendation for anyone you know who is a Civil War buff.

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

A combination of two of my favorite things - Civil War History and Halloween.