WELCOME, FOOLISH MORTALS, to the Haunted Mansion, one of the most popular attractions in the history of Disney theme parks. The Haunted Mansion: Imagineering a Disney Classic explores how the attraction's "999 happy haunts" were brought to life. Rare early concept sketches, detailed architectural drawings, and stunning still photography illustrate the Mansion's evolution as it was designed and built at each Magic Kingdom park around the world-including Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland. Our tour begins here with a twistedly thorough third edition. Based on the retired title The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies, this newly updated volume confirms or debunks longstanding urban legends, shares fascinating behind-the-screams stories, and reveals how concepts move from inspiration to reality. Readers will discover the latest show enhancements to this classic attraction and find even more artwork depicting the happy haunting grounds in California and Florida as well as Tokyo, Paris, and now Hong Kong. This is one book you'll be dying to have on your shelf!

Spiritualism emerged in western New York in 1848 and soon achieved a wide following due to its claim that the living could commune with the dead. In Haunted Visions: Spiritualism and American Art, Charles Colbert focuses on the ways Spiritualism imbued the making and viewing of art with religious meaning and, in doing so, draws fascinating connections between art and faith in the Victorian age. Examining the work of such well-known American artists as James Abbott McNeill Whistler, William Sydney Mount, and Robert Henri, Colbert demonstrates that Spiritualism played a critical role in the evolution of modern attitudes toward creativity. He argues that Spiritualism made a singular contribution to the sanctification of art that occurred in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The faith maintained that spiritual energies could reside in objects, and thus works of art could be appreciated not only for what they illustrated but also as vessels of the psychic vibrations their creators impressed into them. Such beliefs sanctified both the making and collecting of art in an era when Darwinism and Positivism were increasingly disenchanting the world and the efforts to represent it. In this context, Spiritualism endowed the artist's profession with the prestige of a religious calling; in doing so, it sought not to replace religion with art, but to make art a site where religion happened.

One of the most popular attractions in Disney theme park history is the subject of a new feature film starring Eddie Murphy, set for release November 26th. This book goes into the history of the Mansion with rare sketches and architectural drawings.

A Thriller with a Heart... A group of inner city delinquent boys is engaging in a horrible crime of violence, when suddenly a strange man appears. He is immediately attacked, but he defeats their aggression. He subdues them and makes them listen to scary ghost stories, throughout the night until help arrives. The unwilling audience becomes enthralled by the excitement and thrills, and the mystery, as slowly the stranger captures their hearts and minds. Finally a tale of Islamic Jihad in 12th Century Spain directly relates back to their own conflicts in the modern urban so-called “ghetto”. The tales all touch on art, and the stranger is an artist, a tortured soul whose gifts and skills transform their lives, but at a terrible cost. The characters are very real and believable, as is the harshness of their reality that is motivating their behavior. As the plot builds from crisis to crisis, the changes that occur become clear and understandable, as logical results of the driving action. The ghost stories, embedded in the plot, can stand on their own and are exciting and entertaining in their own right, but their significance is slowly revealed as the book nears its conclusion, when the meaning of all the action begins to dawn on the boys, and the reader. Readers say my book makes them cry, a lot, quite unusual for a violent thriller, which this book certainly is. It does show some insight into the mentoring process taking boys from violent, macho 15 year olds to civilized adult men. Author: The author had formal training in the Fine Arts, had been a painter, and had mentored inner city delinquent boys. The author also amassed a vast collection of antiquities from the world’s ancient cultures, each piece having its own story. These factors in the author’s life were the direct inspiration for this fearful tale of mystery and harsh reality, yet touches the heart with love.

With whimsical, rhyming stanzas, She Wanted to be Haunted offers a delightful, lyrical twist on the ever-important question of how to be your very best self. Clarissa the cottage is adorable . . . bright pink, with windows that wink, and flowers growing all around. But Clarissa doesn't want to be adorable--being cute is boring. Couldn't she be like her father, a creepy castle home to vampires and crypts? Or like her mother, a witch's hut full of spells and smells? If only she were haunted! Then she'd be less ordinary . . . What will it take for Clarissa to go from adorable to horrible?

In almost every town in America there are places where strange things happen. The perfect companion to The International Directory of Haunted Places, this revised and updated edition of Haunted Places is both a fascinating and unusual travel guide as well as an indispensable casebook for those interested in the paranormal. From buildings and parks believed to have resident ghosts and poltergeists to areas where Bigfoot or UFO sightings are most frequently reported, Haunted Places will lead you to more than 2,000 sites of paranormal activity across the United States. Organized alphabetically by state, each entry is referenced to an extensive bibliography of sources-with descriptions, addresses, phone numbers, Web sites, and travel directions provided for all locations.

Tales of ghostly goings-on and otherworldly encounters in Greenwich Village Among New York City’s many treasures is Greenwich Village, a bohemian area filled with creativity and rebellion. Haunted Greenwich Village—a collection of stories of ghosts, mysteries, and paranormal happenings in Greenwich Village—will leave readers delightfully frightened. Meet a colorful cast of spirits and spectres, visit haunted hotels and houses, and experience the eerie and supernatural. Many of the locations are accessible to the public—and some are even open for overnight stays for the truly daring—including: Washington Square: This upper-class neighborhood is haunted bycelebrity apparitions, the spirits of those buried there, the ghosts of those executed at Hangman’s Elm—and even a phantom dog. Third Street: The spirit that haunts a block here sometimes parks his horse and carriage directly in front of NYU’s D’Agostino Residence Hall. This famous early American politician and his daughter, who disappeared at sea, have even disrupted a restaurant about four blocks away in the West Village.

Interpol agent Ana Reisner has big problems. She's been ordered — by the president of France — to solve a murder that hasn't happened yet and recover a stolen item that the owner refuses to name. Worse, she must work with an ultrasexy former thief — a man she could end up arresting — and she's receiving warnings from what Ana can only believe is a ghost. To solve the puzzle, Ana must uncover the truth about her own connection to a lost cult of women, the caretakers of the Black Madonna icon. But as she turns from hunter into prey, Ana realizes that her unknown legacy might just be her death warrant — and that some things are worth dying for.

An engrossing exploration of conflicting and complex narratives about the American West and its Native American heritage, violent colonial settlement, and natural history

Discover just how Jerome, Arizona, became known as “America’s Largest Ghost Town”—and what spirits walk its historic streets. Jerome was once home to the largest copper mine in Northern Arizona, built on the steep terrain of Cleopatra Hill. The small town, population fifteen thousand at its peak, was shockingly nefarious. Diversions for the hardworking miners came by way of saloons, gambling and ladies of the evening. Shootouts and murders, violent accidents in the mines and smelters and fires and diseases scourged its denizens. Life was tough on the mountain—death came too soon for many. When the copper mine closed in 1953, Jerome was rendered a ghost town, and its spirits still lurk among the living. The stories in this book will convince you they are here for a reason. Includes photos!