Customer Reviews

Weird Indiana: Your Travel Guide to Indiana's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Who would have thought that the heartland of America would harbor such a wealth of weirdness? Not me, until I read this book, that is! It's a fascinating look at the oddities of a state that I always assumed was just cornfield, cornfields and more cornfields. Just goes to show how wrong you can be if you judge a book by its cover. This book, like all of the others in this Weird series, is an intelligent, witty and well written survey of the creepy, eccentric and bizarre aspects of Indiana's strange sites, unique history and many unexplained mysteries. Indiana weird? Believe it or not, it really is!

This is the first time I have been unhappy with a "used" Amazon purchase. I planned to give this as a gift, but it was clearly a library book, and I was not told that by the seller. It came complete with the plastic cover and Dewey decimal system code on the spine. Luckily I had my own copy of the book that I was able to give for the present, and I've kept the library book.

The "Weird" series contains some of the oddest collection of stories, facts and oddities you'll find between the covers of any one book. It's such a hodgepodge that it's difficult to know what to make of it and even harder to review. Overall, I more or less enjoyed most of the book, but upon finishing it, I had to wonder if it was worth the time spent. I doubt I'll remember much of the book a week from now.

As you might guess from the title, this book focuses on all the "Weird" in Indiana. And, contrary to the authors' initial supposition, there is plenty of weird in Indiana. My mother's family hails from and still resides in the South Bend area. My father's family is from, and remains in, the Lafayette area. My parents lived in Indianapolis for a number of years and now live in the northwest corner. And I had the dubious pleasure of spending my middle and high school years in Northeast Indiana. Trust me, this book barely scrapes the surface of "Weird" in Indiana.

The book is basically just a series of articles and vignettes organized roughly by themes ranging from "Local Legends and Lore" to "Bizarre Beasts" to "Abandoned in Indiana." There is quite a bit of overlap between sections, such as "Fabled People and Places" and "Local Heroes and Villains"; or between "Personalized Properties" and "Roadside Oddities". Ghost stories seem to make up a good bulk of the stories. The vignettes range from just a few paragraphs to several pages.

The information comes from stories told to the authors by local residents, newspaper and other articles and pictures found at local historical societies and museums and from on-site investigations by the authors themselves. I will give the authors credit for getting hands on and into their work.

While most of the articles are illustrated with photographs - current and historic - of the people and places in question, as well as historical documents, some sections, particularly those featuring bizarre creatures and apparitions, are illustrated by very striking (and not a little unnerving) paintings. My compliments to the artist.

Of course, everyone will have different interests and different sections of this book will appeal to different people. Personally, I found that the ghost stories tended to run together in a blur (although most are just creepy enough to give a little thrill). I also wasn't terribly interested in most of the roadside oddities or personalized property. A chainsaw garden or giant slingshot or statue may be quirky enough to catch attention briefly, but once you've seen it, there's not much left to say (although I did find Crawfordsville's rotating jail rather interesting).

To me, the people were the most interesting, particularly Belle Gunness, LaPorte's "Black Widow" and Alice Marble Gray, aka "Diana of the Dunes". I'm also drawn to ruins and abandoned places, so I liked the section on abandoned buildings, especially Central State Hospital.

One final note about the book is that I wish the had included a map. I'm pretty familiar with most of Indiana, but even I don't know where half the places mentioned are. The book also gives no addresses and few directions to any locales mentioned. I suppose that's to avoid drawing unwanted gawkers, but it also made the book less immediate and more difficult to connect to. With a bit more to go on, I'm sure I would know exactly where many locations are.

If you have some down time to while away on a lazy day, and if you want a different view of the Hoosier State than you're likely to find in any other guidebook, it can be amusing to spend an hour or two flipping through this book. Just don't expect to come away particularly edified.

3.5 stars.

I purchased this book to put in a gift basket for a couple of close friends who were moving to Indianapolis, Indiana. While appearing to be more of a 'children's' book at first glance, I found myself, a 26 year old pseudo-adult, pleasantly captivated by its contents. There are all sorts of interesting, unique, and (sometimes) creepy stories and pictures throughout the book, which make it great for all audiences. It will make a good coffee table book because it's great for conversation! Check out the rest of the 'Weird' series if you have the opportunity.

This is an awesome book! Even if you are not into paranormal and ghosts, this is still an awesome read!

As a lifelong Hoosier, I thorpughly enjoyed this book and have visited one of the oddities I learned about it already; however, the stone head road sign on the front of the book is a sign to Columbus, IN, byt the map in the background is of Columbus, OH with the head right where Columbus, OH is located. Surely this cannot be a conincidence but a mistake by the publisher?

This book has a lot of information crammed in it. I think it would be a plus for any Hoosiers or non-Hoosier to have to. Great service, great delivery time.

Who knew my home state was so "weird". Peel back the veneer of normalcy and...
YIKES!

This book has all kinds of information I haven't heard of. Well entertaining. It could be a great bathroom book! Its interesting.

I like this book because I like to see unusual things that are close to home. Also, the chain saw garden is my exhusband's, so my children think it is cool that this is in a book even though it does not include his name.