Strange secrets and eerie tales shadow the idyllic beauty of the Heritage Valley and the meandering Santa Clara River. The spirit of a playful little boy wanders the halls of the historic Glen Tavern Inn, and the ghostly phantom of the real Zorro, Joaquin Murrieta, guards his buried gold in the foothills of Piru. The chilling cries of La Llorona echo along Sespe Creek, and a beast is still reportedly seen loping upright across the countryside near Santa Paula. Outside Fillmore, the Lady in White lingers by the old sycamore tree, sometimes materializing in cars traveling down Highway 126. Author Evie Ybarra recounts spine-tingling tales and local lore from Valencia to Ventura.

Stories of spirits, séances, and strange events in Southern California history—photos included! From the Chumash legends of the Dolphins and the Whispering Tree to the ghostly sightings at Sedgwick Reserve, hauntings abound here. In beautiful La Conchita, nightfall reveals dark secrets to anyone who will listen. Sightings of mysterious apparitions are common along Creek Road, considered one of the most haunted highways in California. In the 1800s, Summerland was home to spiritualists who held séances in the Big Yellow House. The Santa Barbara Mission is home to many specters, including the famous Franciscan monk said to roam the cemetery and gardens. Discover these stories and more with author Evie Ybarra as she explores the haunted side of history.

Eerie haunts and stories of apparitions stretch along the California coast from Monterey Bay to the Channel Islands. James Dean's presence lingers at the site of his deadly car crash on Highway 46, and a ghost-in-residence presides over the Robert Louis Stevenson house in Monterey. Learn of the ghoulish murders of the Reed family at the San Miguel Mission, the mysterious spirits that haunt the Hearst Castle and the twisted tales of strange occurrences in what was once the Camarillo State Hospital. Join author Evie Ybarra as she explores the unexplained along this infamous coast.

Mexico's history reaches back 4,000 years, beginning with the Olmecs who lived in the Yucatan Peninsula. That remarkable civilization created those huge stone heads with developments that spearheaded and vitalized every subsequent Mesoamerican civilization that followed. The Olmecs, and the Maya, who succeeded them, created the concept of zero, an incredible development in mathematical computation. This book begins with the Olmecs, tracing successor civilizations to the last Mesoamerican Empire, the Aztecs. I describe Aztec life, ritual, cuisine, and development until, in August 1521, this civilization was conquered by Spanish conquistadors. Much of the Aztecs, their people, and royalty are known today by way of Spanish ethnographers and historians who authored codices writing and describing what they saw even as that civilization was changed. That change was permanent. Aztec ritual and its polytheism were altered by Spanish missionaries and enforced by the Inquisition. From 1521 until 1821, Spanish Colonial authorities imposed forced labor in varying forms. Colonialism was overthrown in 1821, and Mexico now entered a new era. This book describes those changes as well as the challenges the government today faces in addressing many disparities in its policies. Healthcare challenges, with systemic poverty as well as the drug war preoccupies much energy in the government's efforts to address them. Mexico also has a large Jewish population whose history was marked by secrecy and Spanish efforts to eradicate this ancient religion. Today's Zocalo, in the heart of Centro Historico, was the place where Jews were burned to death in public admonition against Jewish practice. Another site for such death was the nearby ex-Convento of San Diego, opposite the Grand Palace de Belles Artes. Today's Jews are thriving, and Mexico-Israel relations are strong. This book would not be complete without describing my visits to the country. In My Visit, I describe the different ports I visited while aboard cruise ships. But many more months in the country were spent in San Miguel de Allende and in Mexico City. I describe these visits, their people, and the many nuances of Mexican life. The Mexican constitution recognizes 69 ethnic languages and speakers who are scattered but who primarily live in its southern states. Many ethnic languages are so diverse, that their dialects are unintelligible to the same language group. Language creates the core bonds of society and such multiplicity provides insight into the huge diversity of identity and of life in Mexico. This book is the 14th in the Journey series and is my first book on the American continent. I hope I have done justice to the vast complexity of this society.

STEP RIGHT UP and BEHOLD a stupendous COLLECTION of over 250 FEARSOME and FANTASTICAL CREATURES from Every State in the Union! The Black Dog of Hanging Hills, the Tommyknockers of Pennsylvania, the Banshee of the Badlands—these beasts and hundreds more will hold you spellbound, unable to look away from their frightful features and their extraordinary stories. Come face to face with modern-day dinosaurs, extraterrestrials, dragons, lizard men, giants, and flying humanoids. This illustrated collection includes more than 250 monsters and cryptids that will make your hair stand on end when you hear something go bump in the night. From Alabama to Wyoming and everywhere in between, these enigmatic abominations lurk in the darkest corners and the deepest shadows. This eye-opening book details the origins, appearance, and behaviors of these bizarre creatures so that if you should come across a terrifying beast in the wild, you'll know exactly what you're dealing with. Praise: "Jason Offutt does a special service to the field of cryptozoology with this new book Chasing American Monsters. By keeping all of us up-to-date and incredibly informed—beyond the scope of lesser guidebooks—we have a better head start on knowing where to look for these cryptids. Highly recommended."—Loren Coleman, author of Cryptozoology A to Z and director of the International Cryptozoology Museum

From the Chumash legends of the Dolphins and the Whispering Tree to the ghostly sightings at Sedgwick Reserve, hauntings abound here. In beautiful La Conchita, nightfall reveals dark secrets to anyone who will listen. Sightings of mysterious apparitions are common along Creek Road, considered one of the most haunted highways in California. In the 1800s, Summerland was home to spiritualists who held séances in the Big Yellow House. The Santa Barbara Mission is home to many specters, including the famous Franciscan monk said to roam the cemetery and gardens. Discover these stories and more with author Evie Ybarra as she explores the haunted side of history.

Ted Bundy withheld his darkest secrets from police, journalists, and psychologists. While on death row he shared these hidden insights with his closest friends in the Florida State Prison. Finally, a way to make sense of the mysteries regarding all of Bundy's perversions, his biggest influences, his secret dump sites, and what happened to his victims. Using Erving Goffman's concept of dramaturgy, this book is an insider's guide to the reality of what Bundy shared behind-the-scenes with fellow inmates and how he constructed a different identity backstage to what he revealed at the front stage. This work presents the uncensored, multi-layered, graphic details of this most notorious of murder careers, and in doing so provides readers with a comprehensive and authentic account of Ted Bundy.

"Foreword by Betsy Blanchard Chase"--Cover.

From shimmering specters to mysterious tricks, Varla Ventura's Paranormal Parlor includes original supernatural tales, classic ghost stories, legends, hauntings, séances, superstitions, and death customs. This book showcases a chilling collection of startling ghost stories as told to the author as well as legendary ghosts and haunted locations and an overview of the paranormal parlor games that rose to popularity in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. It also includes hidden history such as the story of Mark Twain's ghost, and the quiet horror writings of the architect who started the Gothic Revival movement (Ralph Adams Cram).

"Josh Sides tells the remarkable stories of homesteaders in California, both those who succeeded and those who did not"--