What do you think?
America's Haunted Road Trip
Ghosthunting Texas
The Lone Star State is so vast it includes just about everything -- including ghosts! This guide is divided into regions to make it easy to find the phantoms. North Texas offers such creepy destinations as the Old Alton Bridge and Miss Molly's Bed & Breakfast. West Texas spooks haunt the Permia Playhouse and Historic Fort Davis. In Central Texas, they've been spotted terrorizing the Driskill Hotel and the Austin Pizza Garden. More than 50 spooky sites are here, along with detailed maps and photographs of each haunted locale.
- GenresNonfiction
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2009
About the author
April Slaughter
10 books9 followersApril is a long time paranormal enthusiast who began her journey into the unknown at the tender age of eight when her family moved into a home rife with activity. Unsatisfied by vague answers to her questions, April began to study various phenomena and was eventually inspired to pursue a career in the paranormal field. Her mentoring began under the direction of Chris and Nancy Peterson of the Utah Ghost Hunters Society in 2002 and she eventually went on to create and manage her own research team. Along with her investigative partner James Boley, the pair managed one of Utah's first paranormal organizations to research all areas of phenomena including hauntings, crypto zoology, psychical research, UFOs and more. April also joined forces with Alien Dave Rosenfeld, Director of the Utah UFO Hunters (UUFOH) and became an active member of his organization.
In 2006, April submitted her first article to TAPS Paramagazine (published by The Atlantic Paranormal Society and the SciFi Channel's Ghost Hunters), entitled The Haunting of Lehi Hospital. She was asked to continue writing for the publication as a staff journalist and also became the magazine's Customer Service Manager. April was presented with the opportunity to travel with Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson to represent the magazine at different events, also assisting with TAPS' merchandising and visiting some of the most famous haunts in the country. She moved with her twin daughters from Utah to Rhode Island to work in the magazine office in 2007.
April met and married Allen Slaughter (also an investigator) in July of that year eventually relocating to Texas while continuing to write for TAPS.
In January of 2008, April and Allen founded The Paranormal Source, Inc. a non-profit research and education corporation based in the Dallas area. The Paranormal Source has created a unique network of experts consisting of some of the most well-respected names in the paranormal field to serve on their Advisory Board of Directors, including such notables as Rosemary Ellen Guiley, John Zaffis, and Loren Coleman. The Paranormal Source, Inc. is also proud to be a TAPS Family Member for the state of Texas. As the Executive Director, April manages the investigative team, marketing for the corporation, and is also often asked to speak at various paranormal functions.
April is one of only a handful of people to own two of the highly controversial Frank's Boxes (engineered and built specifically for her by Frank Sumption of Colorado). Her current studies include a focus on experimentation with these devices, as well as others currently available for research in Electronic Voice Phenomena and Instrumental Transcommunication (EVP & ITC).
She is working on several upcoming publishing projects and continues to investigate all things paranormal.
April and her husband enjoy a quiet life just outside of Dallas and spend their time beyond the paranormal laughing and playing with their girls and a white Miniature Schnauzer named Dexter.
"
In 2006, April submitted her first article to TAPS Paramagazine (published by The Atlantic Paranormal Society and the SciFi Channel's Ghost Hunters), entitled The Haunting of Lehi Hospital. She was asked to continue writing for the publication as a staff journalist and also became the magazine's Customer Service Manager. April was presented with the opportunity to travel with Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson to represent the magazine at different events, also assisting with TAPS' merchandising and visiting some of the most famous haunts in the country. She moved with her twin daughters from Utah to Rhode Island to work in the magazine office in 2007.
April met and married Allen Slaughter (also an investigator) in July of that year eventually relocating to Texas while continuing to write for TAPS.
In January of 2008, April and Allen founded The Paranormal Source, Inc. a non-profit research and education corporation based in the Dallas area. The Paranormal Source has created a unique network of experts consisting of some of the most well-respected names in the paranormal field to serve on their Advisory Board of Directors, including such notables as Rosemary Ellen Guiley, John Zaffis, and Loren Coleman. The Paranormal Source, Inc. is also proud to be a TAPS Family Member for the state of Texas. As the Executive Director, April manages the investigative team, marketing for the corporation, and is also often asked to speak at various paranormal functions.
April is one of only a handful of people to own two of the highly controversial Frank's Boxes (engineered and built specifically for her by Frank Sumption of Colorado). Her current studies include a focus on experimentation with these devices, as well as others currently available for research in Electronic Voice Phenomena and Instrumental Transcommunication (EVP & ITC).
She is working on several upcoming publishing projects and continues to investigate all things paranormal.
April and her husband enjoy a quiet life just outside of Dallas and spend their time beyond the paranormal laughing and playing with their girls and a white Miniature Schnauzer named Dexter.
"
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 13, 2011
I love a good ghost story. Reading so many ghost stories over the years has made me really picky. Some of the qualities I'm looking for in a good book of ghost stories lie in the storytelling. Do I "freak out" over the story? Does the book leave me afraid to be alone in the house? If so, for how long? Do I become afraid to read the book after dark? I read the books for the thrill.
I also read for new information. Have I read this story before? If I have, how does this re-telling differ from other versions? Has the story been discredited? If so, is reference made to the discreditation?
*Ghosthunting Texas" is a fun read. It's very light with each story being a few pages long (easy to put down to absorb the story or to take a break from chills-and-thrills). The writing style is conversational with colloquialisms and slang tossed in.
The author divided Texas into its traditional sections (North Texas, East Texas, South Texas, and West Texas). April Slaughter lives in Dallas which greatly influences the stories selected. The majority of the stories are in North Texas with nearly as many located in East Texas (a car ride away). I'm from South Texas which was severely neglected, in my opinion.
Several of the stories were new to me. Small towns were featured as prominently as the larger cities. While everyone knows about the haunting of the Alamo, how many know about the hauntings of a small inn just outside of San Antonio? I liked learning of the small, not-so-famous hauntings out there.
No ghost story book of Texas would be complete without the school bus story from San Antonio; most people even know about the baby powder trick. I'd have liked to have seen more information rebutting the story (no school bus in San Antonio has ever been hit by a train). I like a more balanced tale.
In addition, April Slaughter relied a lot on anecdotal evidence. I know that it's difficult to provide other evidence in ghost stories but she describes photos and EVP readings. It would be nice if some of that had been included in the book.
She took the photos in the book herself which is a nice change from professional/archived photos. If she couldn't take photos of orbs or share photos of apparitions taken by others, I would have liked photos of the people who provided the anecdotes.
I don't like the direction editors are going. A good editor would have caught some of the errors (the f & l are missing from the word floor in several instances) and a good proofreader would have caught some of the grammatical errors. Unfortunately, good editing is often lacking in ghost stories.
I really like the directions and contact information for visiting the various haunted places. It was really, really good of the author to provide information for other places to visit for a spectral experience. For those with an interest, you could indeed use this book to go on some road trips which featured ghosts.
I'd recommend this book for anyone wanting a different type of tour of Texas.
I also read for new information. Have I read this story before? If I have, how does this re-telling differ from other versions? Has the story been discredited? If so, is reference made to the discreditation?
*Ghosthunting Texas" is a fun read. It's very light with each story being a few pages long (easy to put down to absorb the story or to take a break from chills-and-thrills). The writing style is conversational with colloquialisms and slang tossed in.
The author divided Texas into its traditional sections (North Texas, East Texas, South Texas, and West Texas). April Slaughter lives in Dallas which greatly influences the stories selected. The majority of the stories are in North Texas with nearly as many located in East Texas (a car ride away). I'm from South Texas which was severely neglected, in my opinion.
Several of the stories were new to me. Small towns were featured as prominently as the larger cities. While everyone knows about the haunting of the Alamo, how many know about the hauntings of a small inn just outside of San Antonio? I liked learning of the small, not-so-famous hauntings out there.
No ghost story book of Texas would be complete without the school bus story from San Antonio; most people even know about the baby powder trick. I'd have liked to have seen more information rebutting the story (no school bus in San Antonio has ever been hit by a train). I like a more balanced tale.
In addition, April Slaughter relied a lot on anecdotal evidence. I know that it's difficult to provide other evidence in ghost stories but she describes photos and EVP readings. It would be nice if some of that had been included in the book.
She took the photos in the book herself which is a nice change from professional/archived photos. If she couldn't take photos of orbs or share photos of apparitions taken by others, I would have liked photos of the people who provided the anecdotes.
I don't like the direction editors are going. A good editor would have caught some of the errors (the f & l are missing from the word floor in several instances) and a good proofreader would have caught some of the grammatical errors. Unfortunately, good editing is often lacking in ghost stories.
I really like the directions and contact information for visiting the various haunted places. It was really, really good of the author to provide information for other places to visit for a spectral experience. For those with an interest, you could indeed use this book to go on some road trips which featured ghosts.
I'd recommend this book for anyone wanting a different type of tour of Texas.
September 12, 2012
Quite an entertaining, easy read. I love the first hand accounts of some of the paranormal phenomena, as well as the history behind each place. Some of these are definitely going on my group's list of places to visit.
November 29, 2023
Living in Texas, I was curious about this book. It was pretty much told from the view point of some professional ghost chasers and their equipment. There were also accounts from others who had witnessed the hauntings. I think, perhaps I read and watch a few too many fictional ghost stories so had other expectations.
October 12, 2020
Really nice compendium of haunted locations around Texas. Many we have visited but I can add more to our list!!
February 15, 2012
I wasn't looking for a book that would keep me awake at night, and I certainly wasn't disappointed on that front. It almost has the opposite effect. The paranormal phenomenon reported was very run of the mill and unexciting, when any was actually reported. There are places where she simply recounts old legends without investigating. Perhaps if I lived in Texas and could go to some of the places Slaughter talks about the book might have more value, but to sum it up it was just boring.
July 11, 2014
This was a different sort of Ghost Story read. The author mentions and visits several well-known areas across Texas that are said to be haunted. However, there isn't much scary about these as she tells the story in a light hearted conversational tone. Sometimes I felt she told a little much background or too many stories of others' experiences, but it was still entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews