Haunted Kansas: Ghost Stories and Other Eerie Tales (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: albino woman, hamburger man, ghostly trumpeter, Ida Day, Jacob's Well, Custer House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Who's that? Is someone there? A whisper of air brushes your cheek. Then all is still. Maybe it was just the wind. Or maybe it wasn't. . . .

Maybe you've just been visited by the late Ida Day lurking in the basement of Hutchinson's public library or the widow Tarot staring forlornly from an upstairs window at Fort Scott, or the phantom Earl floating behind the scenes in Concordia's Brown Grand Theater. And maybe the horrific Albino Woman truly does haunt Topeka, turning romantic nights into nightmares. . . . maybe.

Pursuing the stories behind these and other spectral manifestations, Lisa Hefner Heitz has traveled the state in search of its ghostly folklore. What she has unearthed is a fascinating blend of oral histories, contemporary eye-witness accounts, and local legends. Creepy and chilling, sometimes humorous, and always engaging, her book features tales about ghosts, poltergeists, spook lights, and a host of other restless spirits that haunt Kansas.

Heitz's spine-tingling collection of stories raps and taps and moans and groans through a wealth of descriptions of infamous Kansas phantoms, as well as disconcerting personal experiences related by former skeptics. Many of these ghosts, she shows, are notoriously linked to specific structures or locations, whether it is an eighteenth-century mansion in Atchison or a deep--some have claimed bottomless--pool near Ashland.

The evanescent apparitions of these tales have frightened and at times amused Kansans throughout the state's long history. Yet this is the first book to capture for posterity the lively antics of the state's ghostly denizens. Besides preserving a colorful and imaginative, if intangible, side of the state's popular heritage, Heitz supplies ghost-storytellers with ample hair-raising material for, well, eternity. Maybe that person breathing softly behind you has another such story to share. Oh, no one's there? Perhaps it really was just the breeze off the prairie.

From the Back Cover

"Finally, a book not about Dorothy, the Yellow Brick Road, or being bored silly, but one that tells us what we've known all along--Kansas is a spooky place."--James J. Fisher, Kansas City Star

"Heitz has carefully crafted and cleverly recounted the state's best tales, legends, and ghost stories. Whether you are a believer or not, this book will haunt your memory with the eerie, the pathetic, the tragic, and the bizarre. A delight to read and contemplate, Haunted Kansas inspires us to think differently about our state and adds a new dimension to Kansas literature."--Thomas Fox Averill, author of What Kansas Means to Me

"Enjoyable and easy to read, Haunted Kansas tells us a great deal about who we are as Kansans and gives us insights into our values and attitudes. It will also appeal to anyone interested in regionalism, folklore, history, or popular culture."--Jennie Chinn, Kansas folklorist and coauthor of Kansas Quilts and Quilters

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 070060930X
• ISBN-13: 978-0700609307
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #291,221 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes living in Kansas seem worthwhile!, July 10, 2006

By	Rachel Yates (Middle Earth) - See all my reviews

Please don't let this great book fade into the prairie sunset!

As a college student, and a future teacher, I'd like to pat the author, Lisa Heitz, on the back for a job well done. I own this book and have read the "good parts" over and over.

The story that really sticks out for me is "Hamburger Man." I grew up around the Sand Hills near Hutchinson, KS, the setting of that particular urban legend.

By the time I was ten, thanks to a few too many slumber parties, I was terrified of this homocidal, deformed, and cannibalistic maniac!

Despite my high school boyfriend's urgings, we never found our way to any "lover's lanes" near the Sand Hills. No doubt, my mom and dad would be pleased to know this...

But I didn't know even 1/10 of this eerie tale until I found an entire chapter devoted to the infamous Hamburger Man in this book.

Yes, I prefer to sleep with a night light on...

Because of Haunted Kansas, or in spite of it, I've visited many of the places mentioned in the book. And I intend to visit more of them, as time permits.

This is the one stop guide to Kansas ghosts.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really entertaining read, September 25, 2007

By	Cassi "katryn" (Udall, KS USA) - See all my reviews

I was born and grew up in Wichita, and now live out in the sticks near Udall. I loved the stories in this book, and I thought the author did a really great job in telling them.
I always looked for stories close by hoping for a chance to investigate them myself. Definitely recommend this for people looking for a really creepy ghost story to get them through the night.

5.0 out of 5 stars A very fun read packed with history, January 6, 2009

By	A. Volkmer "Tri-athlete in training & mother ... (Chciago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As an annual visitor to Atchison, KS, I purchased this book after I learned a little about the "Haunted History" of Atchison. I loved the book and all of the stories. I love the history that's included and the personal stories. A very fun read.