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Weird Travel Guides
Weird Louisiana: Your Travel Guide to Louisiana's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets
“Best Travel Series of The Year 2006” —Booklist
Your travel guide to the land of voodoo, hoodoo, and backwater bayous! Just hearing the name “Louisiana” is enough to conjure up all sorts of strange visions in one’s imagination: haunted Old South plantations, French Quarter mansions, and white marble and limestone towers that house the dead. And, of course, there’s Mardi Gras, the most surreal and extravagant celebration in the country. Author Roger Manley (who caught a “swamp monster” in the bayous behind his family’s home) knows and reveals everything about this state of the weird, wacky, and wonderful.
Your travel guide to the land of voodoo, hoodoo, and backwater bayous! Just hearing the name “Louisiana” is enough to conjure up all sorts of strange visions in one’s imagination: haunted Old South plantations, French Quarter mansions, and white marble and limestone towers that house the dead. And, of course, there’s Mardi Gras, the most surreal and extravagant celebration in the country. Author Roger Manley (who caught a “swamp monster” in the bayous behind his family’s home) knows and reveals everything about this state of the weird, wacky, and wonderful.
- GenresTravelNonfictionHistory
272 pages, Hardcover
First published July 7, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 22, 2019
Not as weird and bizarre as expected but still quite entertaining.
January 30, 2013
Who ever told these guys the story of the Myrtle plantation got it horribly wrong!!! I was enjoying this book until I saw the very small Myrtle plantation information. Makes me think what else in this book was way off.
September 26, 2020
We are planning a trip to Louisiana, and we wanted to explore more areas beyond our normal New Orleans. Not a big fan of traditional tourist stuff (museums, zoos!) i was looking for something different, especially for NO since we visit it every couple of years. My mistake is I thought this was a travel book and it really isn't... it is not set up to pick out cities and sites, even the index doesn't work this way since cities and sites aren't listed in a way to easily explore the state. Instead it is setup by chapters of oddities - history, hauntings, etc. I didn't read all the stories, although they seemed easy to read and would probably be intriguing if I was interested in an all over the state weirdness catalog. I found Abita Springs mentioned, and this was a place i had picked out previously so nice to read more about the house of oddities there. I also found a new parade to check out the next time we are at Mardi Gras. So while it wasn't what I wanted, it was interesting and intrigued me enough to research other "weird" books - Florida has a Weird Florida, so I definitely want to check that out! I also found a website Weird Louisiana that was a better travel planning layout for my needs. Don't discount this interesting book, but be aware its not set up to create a travel itinerary.
February 11, 2012
Didn't think I'd ever get through this book with all the religious relics, but then again, Louisiana is mostly Catholic so it stands to reason there would be a lot of unique religious shrines around the state. There were some good stories and some boring stories. The explanation about the different Mardi Gras parades was interesting as well.
Having read and/or browsed through several other "weird" books... I have to say that most of the Louisiana stuff wasn't exactly "weird". I think my favorite story was about the burning well. The ghost stories were interesting, though... I half wonder if they were placed towards the end of the book to leave off on a high note because it was a little abysmal to get through large portions of this book.
... and there were some things reported as "fact" that didn't match the "facts" that I've found in other locations. For example, the story around page 220 about the asylum and how we used "torture devices" in old asylums. Clearly, the authors have never heard of the Kirkbride system of mental health. It advocated the humane treatment of patients. The "torture" wasn't until the early 20th century (1900s), when they started to phase out the Kirkbride system. This is harshly portrayed in the media and I found it reprehensible that this garbage was reproduced in a book that I thought would have at least done a little research on asylums if they're going to make some comment on the history of the treatment of the mentally ill. Maybe they read Nellie Bly's "Ten Days in a Madhouse" before writing the article? Who knows...
Anyway, I was slightly disappointed by the content.
Having read and/or browsed through several other "weird" books... I have to say that most of the Louisiana stuff wasn't exactly "weird". I think my favorite story was about the burning well. The ghost stories were interesting, though... I half wonder if they were placed towards the end of the book to leave off on a high note because it was a little abysmal to get through large portions of this book.
... and there were some things reported as "fact" that didn't match the "facts" that I've found in other locations. For example, the story around page 220 about the asylum and how we used "torture devices" in old asylums. Clearly, the authors have never heard of the Kirkbride system of mental health. It advocated the humane treatment of patients. The "torture" wasn't until the early 20th century (1900s), when they started to phase out the Kirkbride system. This is harshly portrayed in the media and I found it reprehensible that this garbage was reproduced in a book that I thought would have at least done a little research on asylums if they're going to make some comment on the history of the treatment of the mentally ill. Maybe they read Nellie Bly's "Ten Days in a Madhouse" before writing the article? Who knows...
Anyway, I was slightly disappointed by the content.
February 23, 2016
When I saw this book in the book store, I picked it up and bought it without a second thought. I read the entire book in 2 days. As a Louisiana Native and a Louisiana History teacher, I loved every story, antidote, tidbit of information in this book. My favorite thing to do, while teaching, was pull out some of the ghost stories to read to my students around Halloween time. It was great, because the stories that I would read them would make them even more interested and they would argue and fight (not physically of course) over who go to have the book next. They loved reading it as much as I did. That made me so happy!
October 11, 2011
I'm sure that this book is like the rest of the series: unique like all the rest. LOL There is something weird, unusual, fascinating, spooky and bizarre about every state in the United States. That's why we're all united. We're bound by the bizarre. There were stories in the book I hadn't heard of before and some that I had, mostly because my mother used to be a tour guide. If I had the shelf space, I would probably buy all of the Weird titles, but I don't, so I'll stick with my weird state.
January 29, 2013
I absolutely loved this book! It us wonderfully wrotten and illustrated with lots of great stories about the Bayou State! I recommend this to anyone with appreciation for the arty, the strange, or the occult! Its also a great read if you live here as well.
January 9, 2015
I really enjoyed this book! Living in Louisiana, I'd heard quite a few of these stories before but it was very interesting to read stories about my own state that I didn't know! This is a unique book about a very unique state. You won't be disappointed!
April 17, 2016
The "Weird" series is my favorite non-fiction series of the strange. This series is a curious blend of travelogues, weirdness, spooky stories, history, and roadside attractions, and there's plenty in Louisiana. Not many states are as strange as that one. Well, maybe New Jersey. Almost.
December 5, 2014
This is more for natives, than tourists . That's even a stretch. I may have been quite generous with three stars.
May 13, 2010
Buy it. Interesting stuff right around you.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews