Troy Taylor

Hauntings lurk and spirits linger in the Prairie State Reader, beware! Turn these pages and enter the world of the paranormal, where ghosts and ghouls alike creep just out of sight. Author Troy Taylor shines a light in the dark corners of Illinois and scares those spirits out of hiding in this thrilling collection. From a gallows tree in Greene County where an apparition can still be seen hanging, to the lingering spirits of warring mobsters at the...

Hauntings lurk and spirits linger in the Show Me State Reader, beware! Turn these pages and enter the world of the paranormal, where ghosts and ghouls alike creep just out of sight. Author Troy Taylor shines a light in the dark corners of Missouri and scares those spirits out of hiding in this thrilling collection. From a headless ghost who stalks the aptly named "Murder Rocks", to a large hairy monster that roams the banks of the Missouri River,...

Travel beyond Bourbon Street into the macabre history of one of the most haunted cities in the United States with the author of Wicked New Orleans as your guide. New Orleans-the Big Easy, the birthplace of jazz, home of Cafe du Monde and what some call the most haunted city in America. Beneath the indulgence and revelry of the Crescent City lies a long history of the dark and mysterious. From the famous "Queen of Voodoo," Marie Laveau, who is said...

A trip through the history of the Windy City's lawless districts where you could lose your money and your life-from the author of Haunted Illinois. From the very beginning, Chicago thrived on its reputation as a wide-open town. After the Great Fire, no part of the city was rebuilt more quickly than the vice districts, where bribed cops and brutal force emboldened professional wickedness to celebrate itself with gala events like the First Ward Ball,...

An addictive and fascinating read that traces the criminal history of our nation's capital, from the bloody site of the city's most famous murder to dark deeds involving politicians from both sides of the aisle. Includes a look at the mysteries surrounding the Lincoln assassination, death by duels and the infamous Washington Vampire, presidential mysteries and scandals and the strange tale of the first murderer to be found guilty by reason of insanity-a...

In the company of author Troy Taylor, pull off the trick of coming back alive from some of Chicago's most infamous "one-way rides." Meet the deadly womanizer Johann Hoch, who would propose to a woman within twenty minutes of meeting her and then poison her within a week. Follow "Terrible" Tommy O'Conner as he eluded the gallows for more than fifty years, until the city finally grew "tired of waiting" and dismantled them for the final time. Learn how...

In 1854, Decatur was nicknamed "Hell's Half Acre."? By the 1910s and 1920s, the town was referred to as the "Second Most Corrupt City in Illinois, "? gaining notoriety as a place where murder, bootlegging, prostitution, kidnapping, gambling and political corruption were common. Members of the Decatur police force, like Troy Taylor's great-grandfather, were hard-pressed to bar the door against crime in a town that seemed determined to remain wide-open....

Find out about the strange and mysterious creatures living in Illinois.

Covers the realm of ghost folklore and mythology with over six hundred entries on historical sightings, paranormal research, and supernatural hauntings.