Dark Mansions

After producing such spine-tingling, if esoteric, volumes as Monstrous Morgues of the Past (2011), Shuttered Horror Hospitals (2011), and Wretched Ruins (2010), is there anywhere left for the Scary Places series to go? Have no fear, fright fans. Dark Mansions separates itself from the haunted houses and castles of previous entries by a slim technical margin, but that doesn’t mean that Williams doesn’t dig up some spooky stuff. The 11 two-page spreads, most of which have roots in the 1800s, include mansion mysteries that involve such high-profile figures as Aaron Burr and Frank Lloyd Wright. Ever better, though, are the grisly, lesser-known stories, such as Indianapolis’ Hannah House, where a fire once killed a basement full of Underground Railroad fugitives: since then, the house has shown many signs of being haunted. Doors have opened and closed on their own. A chandelier has rocked without any wind present, and paintings have fallen from the walls. Most disturbingly of all, people have heard moans and seen ghosts in the shadows of the basement. Haunted Caves, meanwhile, revels in the echoing voices and ghostly tapping of various soldiers, hermits, explorers, and guides who either got lost in the caves or whose spirits couldn’t help but return. A gritty design snazzes up the effective mix of on-site photos and historical snapshots… At the same time, sidebars offer up additional factoids, related hauntings, and further unsourced—but chilling—speculation. Solid new entries in a reliable, reluctant reader-friendly series.

After producing such spine-tingling, if esoteric, volumes as Monstrous Morgues of the Past (2011), Shuttered Horror Hospitals (2011), and Wretched Ruins (2010), is there anywhere left for the Scary Places series to go? Have no fear, fright fans. Dark Mansions separates itself from the haunted houses and castles of previous entries by a slim technical margin, but that doesn’t mean that Williams doesn’t dig up some spooky stuff. The 11 two-page spreads, most of which have roots in the 1800s, include mansion mysteries that involve such high-profile figures as Aaron Burr and Frank Lloyd Wright. Ever better, though, are the grisly, lesser-known stories, such as Indianapolis’ Hannah House, where a fire once killed a basement full of Underground Railroad fugitives: since then, the house has shown many signs of being haunted. Doors have opened and closed on their own. A chandelier has rocked without any wind present, and paintings have fallen from the walls. Most disturbingly of all, people have heard moans and seen ghosts in the shadows of the basement. Haunted Caves, meanwhile, revels in the echoing voices and ghostly tapping of various soldiers, hermits, explorers, and guides who either got lost in the caves or whose spirits couldn’t help but return. A gritty design snazzes up the effective mix of on-site photos and historical snapshots… At the same time, sidebars offer up additional factoids, related hauntings, and further unsourced—but chilling—speculation. Solid new entries in a reliable, reluctant reader-friendly series.

Each book highlights 11… frightening places, with two to three paragraphs of information, a pullout box containing a related fact, and artwork consisting mostly of atmospheric photographs of the places and people involved. There is not a lot of detail about any of the sites, although the text mixes historical facts with information about the supposed ghost sightings and may prompt further research without keeping readers up at night. Mansions is a bit spookier than Caves as it includes an ax murderer and a young girl who broke her neck running into a clothesline, but both books will satisfy readers looking for a good scare… the chilling covers will keep these books in constant circulation.