Ghosts of the West Coast: The Lost Souls of the Queen Mary and Other Real-Life Hauntings (Haunted America) [Hardcover]

Ted Wood (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Haunted America

Chronicles true ghost stories from Washington State, Oregon, and California, including those about the gold miners of Bodie State Historic Park, the Whaley House in San Diego, and the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6A tantalizing trip to publicly accessible occult sites in California, Oregon, and Washington. In the introduction, a dramatically lit photograph of the famous San Jose, CA, Winchester Mystery House highlights Woods account of his own eerie experience there. He then lists some spots reportedly haunted by real ghosts and others that have turned out to be just local legends. The Hotel Del Coronado and the permanently docked Queen Mary boast sad and sometimes frightening apparitions from their colorful past. Here, as well as in missions, a theater, a marketplace, a ghost town, a lighthouse, historic homes, restaurants, Alcatraz, and even a modern toy store, various people relate spooky encounters. Nearly every site is made easily recognizable through large, atmospheric, exterior and interior photographs, sometimes populated by ghostly figures admittedly staged by the author. Simple state maps in the introduction and at each chapters beginning locate the haunted places while the index lists not only sites, but also the names and types of spirits described in the text. For each place, Wood carefully indicates the most likely times and spots where ghosts may be encountered. This is a wonderful combination of guidebook and chilling ghost stories that provides thrills to be savored many times over.Ann G. Brouse, Big Flats Branch Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Wood continues his otherworldly series begun with Ghosts of the Southwest (1997), this time chronicling reports of phantoms from California, Oregon, and Washington. For each location (a variety of hotels, restaurants, homes, ships, prisons, parks, and missions), he provides a history of the site, reports from those purporting to have seen the specter, and accounts of the spirit's supernatural activities. Full-color photos appear on nearly every page; many have been altered so that they seem to include apparitions. Wood makes no effort to discount the reports of his informants or offer rational explanations for these sightings, and some young readers may have difficulty separating fact from fiction., particularly in light of the eerily lit, real-looking photographs. But if you're in the mood for a chilling, can't-put-it-down read, this will hit the spot. Kay Weisman

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company; First Edition first Printing edition (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802786685
• ISBN-13: 978-0802786685
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,223,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ghosts of the West Coast sent chills up up spine!, July 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ghosts of the West Coast: The Lost Souls of the Queen Mary and Other Real-Life Hauntings (Haunted America) (Hardcover)

Ghosts of the West Coast sent chills up my spine and made me want to read more. From the Winchester Mansion to Alcatraz Island, this book is informative, interesting and chilling. I loved every page.

3.0 out of 5 stars Eh... fine for Grades 3-6, May 1, 2006

By 

Ellis Godard (Moorpark, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghosts of the West Coast: The Lost Souls of the Queen Mary and Other Real-Life Hauntings (Haunted America) (Hardcover)

I don't think this is as informative or spine-tingling as the previous reviewer suggests. It's a short book - 48 pages, with large print and lots mostly oversized photos. Most of the text, in fitting with the title, details anecdotes of sightings, rather than saying very much about the location where the sightings purportedly occurred. For someone (young and) interested in a bit of juevenile wonder and/or excitement, it's probably fine.

The main advantage of the book, other than being able to hold it in your hands (maybe with a flashlight, under the covers or in a backyard pup tent), are those oversized photos. But the text itself isn't written with the thrill that might accompany some of the dark and spooky photos, so the photos become even more important.

For informative, there are many other books (and websites, for that matter) about ghosts and supernatural events and sightings. For my own interests/purposes (possibly visiting some of the locales), it wasn't nearly as informative as I'd hoped. An exception would be the Winchester Mystery House, which is acknowledged for its innumnerable architectural oddities and which is an interesting sidestop (not destination) independent of ghost reports. But I actually bought this book there, and haven't yet been compelled by the book to visit others.