"Missouri is a place of great diversity and amazing beauty, stretching from the Mississippi River to the forests and rolling hills of the Ozarks, with caves, rives, and rugged woodland in between. Out of this land comes scores of ghostly tales, from documented haunting to folk stories that have been passed along from one generation to the next."--Page 4 of cover

For southwest Missouri, the Civil War was an unparalleled period of violence, sorrow and anger. As the torches burned the physical landscape, the depredations inflicted were also scorched upon the psyche of the people who lived through fires. Survey Carthage's battlefield for stubborn holdouts or hold vigil at the Kendrick House for innocent bystanders who were swept up into the stratagems of bushwhackers and guerrillas. Meet the Bloody Spikes, Rotten Johnny Reb and scores more figures from the region's past who continue to trouble its present.

Missouri's state capital groans beneath the burden of its haunted heritage, from the shadow people of Native American folklore to Boogie Man Bill, Missouri's wild child. The muddy river waters hide the shifting graves of steamboat crews, like the one that went down with the Montana, and the savage scars of the Civil War still linger on the land. Join Janice Tremeear for the fascinating history behind Jefferson City's most chilling tales, including a visit to the notorious Missouri State Penitentiary, where the vicious festered for 170 years.

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, there’s no shortage of bone-chilling tales to keep you up at night. It’s even rumored that the devil himself came to St. Louis in 1949, but nobody knows for sure if he ever left. Around the campfire or tucked away on a dark and stormy night, this big book of ghost stories is a hauntingly good read.

St. Louis is a modern metropolis still rich with legends dating back to the early Native Americans, and a history that lives on through many spirits that refuse to die. - Visit the infamous Lemp Mansion and discover its scandalous history; a tragic tale of a wealthy family plagued by multiple suicides, madness, depression, and public ridicule. - Read about the Gehm House, if you dare, where footsteps fall where no man walks and visitors are attacked as they sleep. - Learn about Building 28 at the haunted Jefferson Barracks. - See spirits of children floating on the lawn of the haunted Rock House. - And don't forget to peer back into the past to see the ghost-infested McDowell Medical College! A ghost-lovers paradise, these and other tales will haunt you.

Lonely Hitchhikers. Dirt Roads. Tired Soldiers. Strange Children. Mysterious Ladies. Dark Houses. What do they have in common? They all haunt the pages of this book. From the Lemp Mansion to The Exorcist, from the 1904 World's Fair to Jefferson Barracks, the history of St. Louis, Missouri and its surrounding river towns is filled with stories of haunts and the supernatural. Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories is a collection of over thirty stories from authors across the globe, celebrating these ghosts, banshees, and shadows. Do you believe in ghosts? If you believe or not, this collection of dark tales of the dead and disturbed is sure to keep you awake at night. Lock the doors, turn down the lights, and prepare to be terrified.

Tour the Show-me State to lonely cemeteries, abandoned buildings, and into Bigfoot-infested woods. Tales of the supernatural include a UFO crash and government cover-up, encounters with a mid-Missouri dogman, Bigfoot encounters in Southern Missouri, and the spirits that haunt an abandoned nursing home in Walt Disney's boyhood home. Did Mark Twain dictate a novel through a Ouija board? Does a secret UFO base exist in Jefferson City? Was a Missouri student accosted by black-eyed Kids? Did a Marceline man sleep with an extraterrestrial? Find out in Paranormal Missouri.