Troy Taylor

MORBID CURIOUS NO. 11JOURNAL OF GHOSTS, MURDER AND THE MACABREThe Morbid Curious is a journal from American Hauntings Ink that is published twice each year - Samhain and Walpurgisnacht Editions. It's designed to delve into the darker side of American history by revealing true tales of ghosts, hauntings, true crime, the unexplained, and all the things that go bump in the night.IN ISSUE NO. 11 -- THE "HAUNTED HOMETOWNS" ISSUEUNREQUITED LOVE AT MURDER CREEKBY AMANDA R. WOOMERTHE AXMAN COMETH TO COLORADO SPRINGSBY ERIN TAYLOR"GOD MUST HAVE DONE IT, NOT I"THE PORTWOOD MURDERS OF 1905BY TROY TAYLORSINS OF SILENCE - THE FREEMAN MURDERSBY ADAM WHITEHAUNTED SENTINEL 1.4.3 (I LOVE YOU)BY SUSAN JACOBUCCIDEAD WRINGER: MURDER OF VERA HENRYBY JAKE BONNETTSHADOWS OF A TRAGEDY BY WENDY HAYWOOD ESKEWLA PASCUALITA: THE REAL CORPSE BRIDEBY BARRY COLEMANNO STONE UNTURNEDGINA ARMSTRONG AND VICTORIA VANCEKFLICKERING IMAGESHISTORY AND HAUNTINGS OF THE AVON THEATERBY TROY TAYLOR

ONE NIGHT IN PHOENIXTHE TRUE STORY OF "TRUNK MURDERESS" WINNIE RUTH JUDDIn 1931, an attractive 26-year-old medical secretary from Phoenix, Arizona, named Winnie Ruth Judd, arrived at the Los Angeles train station with some very strange baggage - trunks and suitcases that contained the dismembered body parts of her two best friends. And believe it or not, things got even stranger after that.Join Troy Taylor for the true story of the infamous "Trunk Murderess" Ruthie Judd, who was either a misunderstood accidental killer or a depraved, cold-blooded murderer, depending on which side of the story you choose to believe. No matter what Ruthie did - or who wielded the knife - the author reveals the strange secrets of one of the most gruesome murders in American history. But the story behind the murder is just the beginning Things only get weirder after that with drug addicts, "party girls," Prohibition, vanishing bloodstains, cover-ups, leaking luggage, hospital hideouts, unfaithful lovers, prison confessions, insanity hearings, asylum escapes, and one mysteriously haunted house This is one of the strangest books from Troy Taylor's true crime and supernatural collection and it reveals the story behind a case that many recognize by name but will soon discover is much darker, much more twisted, and more insane than they could have imagined. Take a trip back in time to the 1930s - this one is a doozy

DEVIL'S CARNIVALTHE GAFF, THE BALLYHOO, THE MIDWAY, THE FREAK SHOW, PICKLED PUNKS, LINGERING GHOSTS, & SECRET HISTORY OF AMERICAN CIRCUSES AND SIDESHOWSTake a trip back in time with the owner of the American Oddities Museum, Troy Taylor, as he reveals the secret histories of America's circuses, sideshows, midways, and freak shows Discover the rise and fall of a kind of entertainment imported from Europe but one that became purely American on this side of the Atlantic. You'll find out about the big tops, carnivals, sideshows, ballyhoos, baby shows, grind shows, illusions, mitt camps, walk-throughs, and everything in-between - a nearly forgotten part of our history that's been erased by the changing tastes of the American public.This book will take you behind the canvas tent flaps of yesterday to the heyday of the carnival sideshow, when human oddities appeared as "freaks." You'll discover how many of these enterprising performers made a very good living, while others were cheated and abused. But all of them, no matter how strange or unusual they appeared, were also regular people who laughed, loved, and lived a life that few of us can even imagine - lives that sometimes ended in pain, sorrow, and even murder. This is a book unlike anything Troy Taylor has written before -- a rich, colorful history of a secret and sometimes mysterious part of American life, filled with heroes, villains, disasters, fires, trainwrecks, murder, and even ghosts. So, step right up and let this book serve as your ticket to a time and place that has been almost forgotten and take a stroll down the midway of the past where yesterday seems to be "Alive, Alive, Alive "

FEAR THE REAPERAmerica's Rural Mysteries, Hauntings & HorrorsBy Troy Taylor & Rene KruseWOODS AND FIELDS DARK AND WICKED Far away from the bright lights of America's big cities are the woods, forests, fields, and farms of America's heartland. Hidden among these isolated spots are heartbreaking tales of murder, mayhem, brutal violence, and ghosts. Such accounts of depravity and murder seem to be far removed from what we mistakenly believe to have been the "good ol' days" of our country's farms and fields. But, as you'll soon find, those days weren't always good and the isolation, loneliness and despair of country life often led to horrific acts that can hardly be imagined outside of our worst nightmares.From seemingly normal farmers who one day snapped and slaughtered their family to murderous hired hands, dangerous drifters, depraved lunatics, and worse, the reader will soon find there was something sinister lurking in the old woods and forests, the fields, farms, and small towns of America and the tales that remain about that sinister darkness are sure to convince you to make sure the doors are locked after the lights are turned out at night. Discover the chilling stories of the Murders on Saxtown Road; The "Inhuman Butcher;" The Meeks Murders; The "Moonlight Murder;" The Hoskins Family Murders; The Lawson Christmas Murders; The Wolf Family Massacre; The "Babes in the Woods;" The Clutter Murders of "In Cold Blood;" Ed Gein; the Keddie Murders; Fox Hollow Farm; and more If you've ever believed that the most horrendous crimes in history occurred in the big cities, then you'll be both shocked and frightened by those who that occurred in the quiet countryside, along the dusty backroads, in the dark woods, and outside the small farming towns of America - and by the ghosts those crimes left behind.

BLOOD, GUNS & VALENTINESAL CAPONE AND THE GHOSTS OF GANGLAND CHICAGOThe Roaring 20's -- that decade of gangsters, jazz, Prohibition, and flappers - left a bloody mark on Chicago history with speakeasies, violent shootouts, corrupt cops, and a myriad of ghosts those violent days left behind. But there was one man who personified the era more than any other - Al Capone. He rose to the highest levels of the Chicago underworld when he was only 25 years old, becoming one of the wealthiest men in the world with scores of speakeasies, brothels, gambling joints, and hundreds of gunmen under his control. But despite his power, Capone was a man who lived in fear, haunted by the vengeful spirit of a victim of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929. Travel back in time to the years of Prohibition with Troy Taylor and discover the story of Chicago gangland and the era when the streets ran red with blood Unravel the haunting of Al Capone and other Windy City ghosts to the sounds of bootleg liquor bottles, jazz music, and rattling tommy guns - then enter the world of Big Jim Colosimo, John Torrio, the "Terrible Gennas," Dean O'Banion, and more Come along for the rise and fall of Capone, the Beer Wars, crime and corruption, deadly shootings, "One-Way Rides," assassinations and suicides, and other terrifying events that left lingering spirits on the streets of Chicago. You may think you know the stories of Prohibition Chicago - but you ain't seen nothing yet

HELL HATH NO FURY 313 MORE SPIRITS OF THE SINISTER AND THE SLAIN"A villain is just a victim whose story hasn't been told yet."Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned... But have they been scorned because they have been overlooked, ignored, and underestimated for so long? Perhaps, because we do know that women have rarely been given the respect they deserve, even when it comes to homicide. As the unlucky can assure you, murders committed by women are almost always more terrifying than any man can imagine. Frightened yet? You should be. Women kill for money, revenge, love, and, yes, occasionally, just for pleasure. They have left behind slain lovers, dismembered children, and spirits who refuse to rest. They can be insane, vengeful, and malicious, and their ghosts often demand attention long after their deaths. They are also the slain - victims who become enduring specters that beg for their stories to be told.The women within these pages are the lost, disappeared, misguided, spurned, wicked, put-upon, vicious, neglected, misunderstood, sinister, haunted, devious, mistreated, murdered, and spectral - and women you will never forget. After two books about women who prey on the innocent - and who are sometimes the innocent who are preyed upon - Troy Taylor knew there were more stories to be told. In this third volume of the series, he recruited the talents of Amanda R. Woomer to reveal thirteen more tales of the sinister and the slain. It's another book of depravity that's not for the faint of heart

ONE NIGHT IN SALEMTHE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN WITCHBY TROY TAYLORWitchcraft came to America with the first European settlers. They came here and brought with them their histories and traditions, hopes, dreams, terrors, and fear of their gods. They had fled from home at a time when thousands were being accused, tortured, hanged, and burned for being witches. They came to America for a fresh start - and brought that fear of witches with them.The belief in witches - who carried out the Devil's evil deeds - was as real to the colonists as the constant threat of the Devil himself. They believed that witches caused livestock to sicken and die, crops to fail, and babies to be born dead or deformed. Fear and dread became hysteria when evil came to Salem Village, fueling hostility, distrust, and religious fanaticism that claimed the lives of innocents on the gallows. But Salem was not the end of America's obsession with witchcraft. Join Troy Taylor on a trip back in time as he reveals the hidden history of the American witch Discover the strange tales of what happened in America in the wake of Salem, from the persecution and murders of accused witches to the conjure folk, Appalachian folk magic, Hexes and Powwowing, Voodoo and Hoodoo, killings, curses, witchcraft manias, and more This is not another book about Salem, a spell book, or a how-to guide, but a haunted and historic look at how witchcraft came to America and the ways that it continues to thrive today.

ONE BLEAK MIDWINTER NIGHTTERROR AND TRAGEDY OF THE HOLIDAY SEASONBY TROY TAYLORFor most people, the traditional holiday season is about love, family, and joy - gatherings, parties, Christmas traditions, food, presents, and days and nights of laughter, good tidings, and cheer. But it hasn't always been that way. Once upon a time, the holidays were the season for ghosts.And why not? The winter nights were long and dark. It was a time of snow, cold, and ice. Days and weeks were spent huddled around the fire, waiting for warmer weather to return. Candles, oil lamps, and fireplaces were the only light sources - and the only way to keep away the encroaching shadows. It was the perfect time for ghost stories and the spookiest time of year. It was a period that began with Halloween and only ended with the spring thaw - a season of death filled with malicious spirits, demons, and other threatening entities that roamed the night and lurked just outside your door.With this chilling volume, Troy Taylor revives the tradition of the haunted holiday season with dark tales of pagan celebrations, strange customs, sinister solstice creatures, and dozens of stories of American terror and tragedy for Christmas From family massacres to missing children, murders, fires, deaths, and disasters, the author weaves a chronicle of the violence and death that has plagued America during the holidays for the past two centuries.

HAUNTED ALTONTHE HISTORY AND MYSTERY OF ONE OF THE MOST HAUNTED SMALL TOWNS IN AMERICABY TROY TAYLORFor more than two centuries, the Mississippi River town of Alton, Illinois, has gained a reputation for its dark side. Author Mark Twain called it "a dismal little river town," and today, it's known as "one of the most haunted small towns in America" - all thanks to its long and bloody history of death, violence, disease, disaster, and, of course, its ghosts.Author Troy Taylor returns to the streets of Alton for a new, updated, and revised look at the town's weird history with more history and more hauntings than ever before. Filled with chilling tales, you'll find many within these pages that have never appeared in print before, plus new stories and details from places like the Mineral Springs Hotel, Enos Sanitorium, Powder Mills Road, Alton Penitentiary, McPike Mansion, Illinois Glass Works, First Unitarian Church, Lewis and Clark College, and more This is the original book of Alton's ghost stories in a new, revised edition and serves as the inspiration for the award-winning Alton Hauntings Tours. Discover the true story of how Alton became so haunted and how it's earned its moniker of one of the country's most spirited small towns