Have you seen Ida lurking among the books? Perhaps you've tangled with the Albino Woman on a dark and deserted night in Topeka. Pursuing the stories behind these and other disembodied dignitaries, Lisa Heitz traveled the state in search of ghostly lore and narration unique to Kansas. What she unearthed is a fascinating blend of mystery and menace -- a rich lode of ominous oral histories and local legends. Kansas ghosts, Heitz shows, are notoriously linked to a specific structure or landscape, whether it be an eighteenth-century mansion in Atchison or a deep -- some have claimed bottomless -- pool near Ashland.
Heitz's intriguing collection raps and taps and moans and groans through many an oft-whispered fable of infamous phantoms -- sometimes headless, sometimes hanging -- as well as disconcerting personal experiences related by the previously skeptical. In one such case, a south-central Kansas family called the police after seeing a strange man sitting in the car in their closed garage. No one was found yet the garage door was never opened.
Many of the illusive apparitions of these tales have terrorized, and at times amused, Kansans for decades. Yet this is the first book to capture them -- if only on paper -- and record their alleged antics for posterity. Besides preserving a popular, if often intangible, sliver of the state's lively heritage, Heitz supplies sinister storytellers with ample hair-raising ammunition for, well, eternity. Maybe that person breathing softly behind you has another such story to share. Oh, no one is there? Perhaps it was just the wind.
Industry Reviews
"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 "Lisa Hefner Heitz has made an important contribution to Kansas folklore by pulling these stories together for the first time. It is perfect for those who seek a publication containing the most popular poltergeists in Kansas."--Kansas History
