Legends Letter

Boo!!! It's Halloween, and I'm not about to miss this opportunity to load up a whole bunch of creepy, spooky stories!

From the Haunted Places Poll that we ran in the last newsletter, we got a bunch of nominations for haunted cities and places in the American West.  The 15 that received the most nominations will now be ranked for the top ten.  You gotta vote if you wanna see your favorite haunted place in the top ten.

Here's a few of the cities that made the list:

• Atchison, Kansas - Allegedly the most haunted city in the state of Kansas, and home to the infamous Sallie House featured in Sightings, as well as Unexplained Mysteries. 

• Denver, Colorado - In Denver, you'll find ghosts from Colorado's gold rush days to hundreds of buried bodies in Cheesman Park.

• Tombstone, Arizona - Here, dozens of spirits of the Old West are said to lurk throughout the entire town.

A couple of places that are said to be very haunted include:

• The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas

• Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, Missouri

• Queen Mary, Long Beach, California

These cities and places are just a few that were nominated.  Give us your vote on the most haunted cities and places of the American West by clicking HERE! (sorry, ended.)

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If you're new to Legends of America, we focus on travel destinations that appeal to the nostalgic and historic minded.  Not really interested in the glitter and glitz of the big cities, we hunt out those places with a little "elbow room," lots of history, and hidden attractions.   

I truly hope you enjoy the newsletter and the website!!

In this Edition: 

New Additions

Ghosts of Route 66

Featured Book - Ghost Hunters Guidebook

Ghosts of the Old West

Ghost Town Ghosts

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New Additions to Legends of America

Oh ma gosh, did I find a bunch of haunted places for this edition! 

See our new Sleeping With Ghosts in California pages!  With California's long and rich history, the Golden State can't help but be haunted.  Here, you will find dozens of hotels, inns, B&B's and even some campgrounds where you can sleep with a ghost!  California is just the start of what we plan to be the most comprehensive list of ghostly lodging on the world wide web!

Also, check out Ghostly Legends of Cheyenne, Wyoming, The Ghosts of Albuquerque, and Phantom Poker at the St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico , a tale that came from one of our readers.

One of the most fascinating stories I found was of Haunted  Alcatraz.  Not only is this historic place filled with ghosts, but has a very long history that predates its function as a federal penitentiary.

You'll also find several haunted hotels, including the Plains Hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Ghosts of Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and the haunted Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, Colorado.

Last, but certainly not least, you will find several new pages that tell of Celebrity Ghosts.  Lots of these are of the Hollywood variety such as Marilyn Monroe who is said to haunt her former home, as well as the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; Harry Houdini, the magician and escape artist who allegedly didn't even believe in ghosts; and Lon Chaney, the ever popular star of silent movie horror films.  You'll also read about political ghosts such as Abraham Lincoln and Aaron Burr; as well as a few outlaws including Jesse James, Bonnie & Clyde, and Black Jack Ketchum.

Stay tuned!! Once we get our Haunted Places Poll complete, we'll write about all those places too!!

What our readers are saying about Legends of America:

I love your website.  I think it's awesome.  I am into ghosts and all that stuff.  Just keep it up. -Stephanie

Love your site and newsletters.  I am interested in ghost towns and haunted places, the Old West , the Civil War etc.- Genie from  Kansas

This is a great website with lots of information for research and reminiscing. - Shann from Missouri

I enjoyed your site.  Very informative and brings back many pleasant memories of my long ago travels on Route 66, America's Highway to the West.  - Nikos from Pennsylvania

Tell us what you think!

Ghosts of Route 66 

Historic Route 66 has lots of stories to tell including remnants of the unearthly kind.  In Union, Missouri, a malevolent spirit is said to reside in a house that so frightened one of our readers, Stephen LaChance, he was forced to move his family from the home.  He now runs a support website for others who have had terrible experiences at the hands of ghosts.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico you will find a bevy of ghosts. At the Kimo Theatre, you might spy a little boy who was killed in an explosion in 1951, as well as a  mysterious lady who is seen walking along the hallways.  Or, try the Church Street Cafe, an old hacienda that dates back to 1709, where one of its former owners continues to lurk.  Just south of Haunted Albuquerque on Route 66 you will find the Luna Mansion, where a couple of ghostly figures are said to roam.

As you continue your journey down this historic pavement, be sure to check out the Museum Club in Flagstaff, Arizona.  These folks will tell you a number of great stories about an unearthly woman who sits in a booth, "pretends" to be a bartender, and one time, even held a man down by sitting on his chest.

At the end of line, you might want to stay at the Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica, California.  While here, you may very likely spy one of today's flamboyant Hollywood stars, or meet one of its resident ghosts.

From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Strange Highways by Jerry D. Coleman

If You Have Never Believed in the Paranormal Before --- You Soon Will!  Explore the underbelly of American Strangeness with author Jerry D. Coleman as he goes behind the scenes into some of the most mysterious cases in paranormal history. Roaming the country, he presents an amazing phantasmagoria of Bigfoot sightings, visits from beyond the grave, eerie encounters with anomalous creatures, phantom panthers, startling first-hand accounts and much more.

Featured Guides and Books

Ghost Hunters Guidebook by Troy Taylor

Do you believe in ghosts? Want to know how to find them? This guidebook contains not only step-by-step guides to conducting paranormal investigations and info on ghost photography, but material on looking for ghosts, the myths and mysteries of investigations, conducting investigations of cemeteries and sections on ghost detection devices, including all new, detailed instructions on the best ways to use detection equipment in an investigation! This is the essential guide that no ghost hunter should be without!

Bumper Sticker Wisdom

The Old West

Are there still lingering spirits of the Old West ?  Absolutely!  Check out these tales of outlaws, lawmen, and other pioneers of the Old West .

Jesse James Farm - The James Family Farm in Kearney, Missouri is said to have been haunted for more than a century.  Home to a number of lingering spirits, lights are are seen moving  about both inside and outside of the property buildings.  Others report hearing the sounds of pounding hooves, muffled shots and cries that are reminiscent of the area history, dating back to events of the Civil War.

Black Jack Ketchum Lives On! - The notorious train robber of New Mexico allegedly continues to haunt his hideout cave in Blackjack Canyon, near Folsom, New Mexico .

St James Hotel, Cimarron - Perfume wafts throughout the hotel from a 19th century matron, and the malevolent spirit of a gambler killed here haunts one room to such a degree, they won't even rent it out!

Haunted Bullock Hotel in Deadwood - One of our favorite characters from the HBO Series, Deadwood, can potentially be seen at the hotel that Seth Bullock  built in 1894.

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Haunted Ghost Towns

Like lots of other historic places, ghost towns often tend to be haunted.  Perhaps, these spirits are lingering just to remember their good 'ole days.  On the other hand, maybe they're mourning the town that they loved that is all but gone today.

Check out a couple of haunted ghost towns that we've discovered in our travels:

Bodie, California was once a booming town as prospectors flooded the area to find their fortunes.  Like many booming mining camps, Bodie soon earned a reputation for violence and lawlessness.  Killings were sometimes daily events and robberies, stage holdups and street fights were common occurrences in the camp. In its day, Bodie was more widely known for its lawlessness than for its riches.  Today, there are several spirits that refuse to leave this historic place as they peer from windows and make their presence known by rambling through the town's ancient buildings.

In Eldorado Canyon, Nevada which is filled with the relics of its former mining days, we found a fascinating tale of canine spirits.  Reportedly, during the rowdy mining days, many of the prospectors kept dogs at their claim sites to protect their property.  Reared to attack at the slightest trespass by strangers, the dogs were often extremely vicious.  However, when the gold ran out, many of these dogs were just left to fend for themselves, often chained to a miners cabin. Today, they continue to lurk in the canyon, chasing cars and viciously growling at campers and hikers.

In St. Elmo, Colorado - one of the most preserved ghost towns in the state, it is said to be haunted by a former resident, referred to as "Dirty Annie."   Annabelle was a long time resident of the town and was its last resident. When she was still alive, she would protect the town with a rifle pointed at anyone who might want to trespass or do harm to her beloved town.  According to numerous reports, she continues to guard her town in the afterlife.

Readers Stories 

We get a lot of great ghostly tales from our readers!!  Check out a couple of these stories:

• Chickasaw Council House

• The Ghost of Armbruster Pike

• Haunted - Still .....

• A Sad Ghost Story in Pennsylvania

• Sick of Ghosts

What Makes a Ghost?

• Murder

• Accidents

• Suicide

• Broken hearts

• Desecration of a grave

• Greed

• Lack of a proper burial

Feedback and Suggestions

We always appreciate feedback about the website and our newsletter.  Do you have a suggestion about content that you would like to see, or perhaps, would like to contribute a photograph or a story?  We would love to hear about it!  We also want to hear about suggestions for improvement.  See a link that doesn't work or a picture that doesn't appear -- please let us know.  Just drop us a line at our Email address and tell us what you think.

This newsletter is copyrighted 2005 by Legends of America. 

Our reader's e-mail addresses are never sold, rented or

otherwise made public.

Legends of America

A Travel Guide for the Nostalgic & Historic Minded

P.O. Box 19423

Lenexa, KS 66285

913-708-5119

Kathy Weiser

Owner/Editor

   www.legendsofamerica.com

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