Troy Taylor

ONE DAY IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGSCARNARVON, CARTER AND THE CURSE OF TUTANKHAMUNBY TROY TAYLOR"Can you see anything?""Yes, wonderful things "Howard Carter and his benefactor, the Earl of Carnarvon, could never have imagined the wonders that awaited them on that afternoon in November 1922 when they peered through a small hole in the doorway of a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. And neither could they the string of mysterious deaths that would soon follow Since 1922, the world has been fascinated with not only the story of Tutankhamun's tomb but also the alleged curse that has claimed dozens of lives since it was opened. In this thrilling book, author Troy Taylor tackles the true story of the so-called "Curse of Tutankhamun" in a way that has never been done before - leaving out the half-truths and sensationalized stories to present a tale that is so strange and so unnerving that it's more terrifying than any fiction. Can we ignore the strange deaths, murders, fires, and tragedies that were linked to Tutankhamun's tomb? Or should we dismiss them all as coincidences? Are they stories simply stories made up by reporters - or was there something far more sinister at work? Discover these mysteries and more for yourself in this exciting and often hair-raising book

HELL HATH NO FURY 213 MORE SPIRITS OF DEPRAVITY AND DESPAIRBY TROY TAYLOR"The female of the species must be deadlier than the male." Rudyard KiplingFor far too long, society has overlooked the achievements of women - in business, politics, science, education, war, literature, and yes, even when it comes to murder. They have claimed more than their share of victims throughout America's history, and yet we have failed to offer them the notoriety that we have given to men. This is a grave mistake, for the murders committed by women are usually more terrifying than anything a man can imagine. Women kill for money, revenge, love, and sometimes, just for pleasure. They have left behind dead lovers, murdered husbands, slaughtered roommates, innocent children, and lingering spirits. They are serial killers, the insane, and the vengeful, and many still demand attention long after death. They are also often victims and, sometimes, enduring ghosts, reminders that their stories need to be told. In this terrifying second installment of Troy Taylor's series, he takes you once more into the dark world of depravity and despair, revealing thirteen more stories of sinners and spirits who left behind a legacy of crime and the supernatural. From unrepentant killers to tortured victims, it's another frightening volume that will leave you wondering who you're sleeping next to at night It's not for the faint of heart

ONE DARK NIGHTMAD GASSERS, BLACK GHOSTS, AND AMERICA'S OTHER SINISTER STRANGERSFor more than three centuries, America has been plagued by phantom figures, strange happenings, and sinister strangers who come and go without explanation. Although usually dismissed as "mass hysteria," these events often involve hundreds of people and even entire towns - all of them chasing after anomalous figures that shouldn't exist - and yet they do These strangers wreak havoc for a time and then vanish without a trace, leaving no clue as to their purpose or why they committed the strange acts that they did. What do they want? No one can say - but whatever these weird apparitions might be, they have left an indelible mark on the haunted landscape of America and have become a part of our strange history that few are familiar with until now Author Troy Taylor presents a book that is unlike anything else he has ever written, uncovering bizarre events and strange happenings that have never appeared anywhere before. Some of these incidents are so strange that you may not believe them and yet they're true: * In the late 1800s and early 1900s, towns across America were visited by "black ghosts," shapeless, often malevolent black creatures that terrified people and physically attacked them.* Starting in the 1980s, a string of evil clown sightings began across America, extending into the present day. * Mysterious "women in black" have been sighted across the country since the late 1800s and each time, they serve as a portent of doom - are they real or fiction?* The Mad Gasser of Mattoon may be one of the most famous sinister strangers of all time, but many don't know that the Gasser - or someone just like him - also struck in Virginia 11 years earlier * From Phantom Stabbers to Invisible Barbers, Leaping Blue Men, Bunny Men, and more, you'll be baffled, unnerved, and even frightened by this book - so you may not want to read it alone

The mysterious and often violent history of Illinois has made the state a haven for restless spirits. This volume explores the supernatural side of the Prairie State, with stories on the horrors of an old slave house, the numerous spirits of Alton's McPike Mansion, the cemetery where the dead walk, the Spring Valley Vampire, the ghosts of the Bartonville Asylum, Chicago's famous Resurrection Mary, and the spirit world of Abraham Lincoln.

DEVIL CAME TO ST. LOUISTHE UNCENSORED TRUE STORY OF THE 1949 EXORCISMThe 1949 exorcism that took place in St. Louis, Missouri, has become one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in American history. But is the story so mysterious because of the events that occurred -- or because so much of the story has been kept secret over the years? After the events in the story concluded, it was decided that further investigation of the case was "counterproductive", and details were buried. The identity of the allegedly possessed boy was hidden to protect his identity. If not for a series of coincidences, the story would have never likely been revealed at all and would never have inspired books, films, documentaries, and more. Author Troy Taylor has spent more than two decades researching the facts behind this chilling story - searching through old records, visiting the sites that still exist, and interviewing the surviving witnesses to the strange events. But even when he published his first book on the case in 2006, it was nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction because so much of the story had been purposely hidden. He had also made a promise that he would not reveal the identity of the family - or that of the boy at the center of it - as long as he was living. This book is the result of a promise that he sadly no longer needs to keep. In this updated and uncensored edition of his acclaimed book, he reveals the complete truth for the very first time, uncovering secret details, stories that have never been told, and a full accounting of a story that goes far beyond anything you've ever heard before. Read new interviews, never-before-published details, and chilling accounts - and then decide for yourself from this new evidence what you choose to believe - or not believe - about the time when the Devil came to St. Louis

NEVERMORETHE HAUNTED LIFE AND MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF EDGAR ALLAN POEThere are very few among those with a love for the supernatural who don't also have a passion for Edgar Allan Poe. Poe wasn't simply a melancholy author who wrote about premature burials, sinister black cats, and talking ravens; he was much more. If you've ever read a modern mystery or horror novel, you can thank Poe. If you've ever read a book like this one - or any of author Troy Taylor's books of true stories of the unexplained -- the influence of Poe is undeniable. Poe invented the modern mystery story, mostly invented science fiction, and was the first writer to take the horror stories of the Gothic era and set them in modern times, starting a trend that continues today. With a lifelong interest in Poe, Troy Taylor decided to take his own look at the mysterious and macabre writer, his tragic life, unexplained death, and lingering hauntings. He invites readers along to delve into the strange and bizarre world of Edgar Allan Poe, from his early life to his tragic marriage, his insane grief, his dramatically failed career, his links to an unsolved murder, and the mystery of what happened to the writer during five days before his unexplained death. Even more than a century and a half later, no one knows what happened to Poe before he was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland - or what killed him. Why did he disappear and then show up in an incoherent state, wearing another man's clothes? Where did he go when he vanished and who was the mysterious "Reynolds" that Poe whispered about in his dying breath? And, perhaps strangest of all, does he haunt the mysterious graveyard where his body is buried? And who is the stranger who appears at Poe's grave each year on the anniversary of his birth, leaving roses and cryptic messages behind? This is a tale of mystery and madness, real-life horror and the supernatural, and it's a book that you don't want to miss

FORLORN HOPEA HAUNTED HISTORY OF THE DONNER PARTYBY TROY TAYLOR"In prosecuting this journey," warned an 1849 guidebook to the West, "the emigrant should never forget that it is one in which time is everything." It was the best advice that any settler going West was given during the days of the wagon trains to California. The clock ticked with each passing mile, sounding an alarm that meant success for most but doom for an unlucky few - like the Donner Party. In Troy Taylor's latest book of historical horror, discover the true story of the Donner Party, which left Illinois in the spring of 1846 and traveled by wagon toward California. Most of us know how the story ends - with cannibalism in the mountains - but most don't know how they ended up there, snowbound in a winter landscape of ice and snow. The Donners began their journey filled with hope and a hunger for new land in the sunshine, but they had no idea what awaited them on the overland trail. Cursed by bad luck, they made careless mistakes, took an untested shortcut, and were plagued by death and bloodshed along the way. Within these pages, you'll travel along with them as they face horrifying storms, cut a new trail through the Wasatch, spend four days in the desert with no water, and banish one of the caravan's best men after a murder in self-defense. They only had to cross the Sierra Nevada before the heavy winter snowfalls - but they didn't make it. Trapped for months in the snow-covered mountains, slowly dying from cold and starvation, they did everything they could to stay alive - even the unthinkable. Discover the events that left them stranded at Truckee Lake, the plight of the first escape attempt by a snowshoe, the horrors found at the camps by the rescue parties, the desperate hunger that led to eating human flesh, the monster that acquired a taste for it and, finally, the eerie hauntings left behind in the wake of the tragedy. This is a story that we all think we know - but there's much more to it than we hear about in school. This is one of the author's strangest and most unsettling books so far

Come along as author Troy Taylor takes you on a cross-country trip to the most haunted cemeteries and burial grounds in America.

VICTIMS OF THE AX FIEND MYSTERY, MAYHEM AND THE CHURCH OF SACRIFICE MURDERSAuthor Troy Taylor has been researching American crime for nearly 30 years and has revealed dark tales of murder, mayhem, and horror in book after book - but no other case is quite as horrific as this one. It is the true story of a little-known series of murders that shaped the lives of scores of people in the early twentieth century. It's an account of a real-life monster that prowled the darkness of Louisiana and Texas between 1909 and 1912, claiming the lives of men, women, and children alike. Newspapers called his crimes "The Church of Sacrifice Murders" and blamed them on a "Voodoo" cult, but he was something even more sinister - a lone killer who was preying on poor families in the Deep South. The Axman eventually claimed at least 45 lives as he slaughtered his way across the region and his brutal crimes were never solved - and are now largely forgotten more than a century later. Why? The answer to that is both tragic and regrettable - all the victims of the Axman were black. The murders created panic among the African-American communities of the region as they feared being murdered while they slept. And there is no question, families had every reason to be afraid. No one was prepared for a killer like this - a mysterious Axman who came in the night, wiped out entire families, and vanished without ever being seen. Rumors spread of curses, black magic, and "hoodoo" charms used by the Axman, which was how he avoided detection. And maybe it worked - he was certainly never found. He took the secrets of his killings to the grave. When the murders finally stopped, he was never heard from again, leaving a legacy of terror and mystery in his wake. Take a trip back to another place and time and discover the horrific secrets of the Axman - and be sure to leave the lights on when you're reading this one

TAKING UP SERPENTS AMERICAN CULTS, MESSIAHS, AND MADMENOne man's cult is another man's religion. That's often been said - but is it true? Despite the fact that every mainstream religion in America was considered a cult at one point in history, when does faith go too far? America's past is filled with stories of cults that strike most of us as strange, bizarre, incomprehensible, and even insane, and yet, many of those of "cults" have turned into mainstream churches that can be found in almost every city and town. But what about the rest? The madmen and would-be messiahs whose weird beliefs descended into a horrific and maniacal mixture of death, depravity, sex, murder, mayhem, and suicide? As twisted as they may be, they are fixtures on the American landscape of religious zealotry. Among these pages, you'll find accounts of witch trials, faith healing, snake handling, speaking in tongues, human and animal sacrifices, attempted resurrection of the dead, strange rituals, orgies, and attempts to bring on the apocalypse - and those are just the mainstream churches. You'll also find stories of utopian societies, end of the world predictions, Antichrist prophecies, the rise of Christian Science, Amish life, cults of personality, the dark history of the Mormons, polygamist cults, a religion based on the "Hollow Earth," UFO cults, the sinister Blackburn Cult, Jim Jones and the People's Temple, the Orange People, the Ant Hill Kids, the Children of God, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, Heaven's Gate, Scientology, and much more This is Troy Taylor's largest and strangest book so far - a wild mix of American cults, true crime, and the supernatural, delving into a search for the divine that has, far too often, sent seekers in regrettable directions - and to places from which they never returned. Discover the larger-than-life characters within these pages and find out how the elaborate mythologies of America's homegrown religions have taken us all to a place where horror co-exists with the highest of human aspirations

CABINET OF CURIOSITIES 4 20 KEYS TO HAUNTED HOTEL ROOMS BY TROY TAYLORA hotel room is supposed to be your "home away from home" when you travel - a place of security, comfort, and calm. But what if the hotel room that you check into already has an occupant? An unseen one that turns your evening of peace and quiet into a nightmare? Hotels are among the most haunted places in America. Every hotel room plays temporary host to hundreds of people every year and, in some cases, those visitors leave a little piece of themselves behind - as ghosts. In this new collection from Troy Taylor's Cabinet of Curiosities, readers are handed a set of 20 keys that unlock doors in the most haunted hotels in the country. This is not just another travel guide or one that only skims the surface of a location's history - this is a behind-the-scenes look at Troy's favorite haunted hotels, with little-known history, secret stories, and even first-hand encounters with the resident ghosts Go inside both famous and forgotten places and come face-to-face with the customers of the past who have, of course, checked in and never checked out of America's most haunted hotels Discover the hidden and haunted histories of places like the Cecil Hotel, Chicago's Congress Hotel (the ONLY complete history ever written ), Menger Hotel, Eureka Spring's Crescent Hotel, the Bourbon Orleans, the Seelbach in Louisville, Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Bullock Hotel, Monte Vista Hotel, Hotel Chelsea, the horrifying history behind the Revere Hotel in Boston, Arizona's Copper Queen, Hotel Del Coronado, the infamous Stanley Hotel - and many others

Hauntings lurk and spirits linger in the Show Me State Reader, beware! Turn these pages and enter the world of the paranormal, where ghosts and ghouls alike creep just out of sight. Author Troy Taylor shines a light in the dark corners of Missouri and scares those spirits out of hiding in this thrilling collection. From a headless ghost who stalks the aptly named “Murder Rocks”, to a large hairy monster that roams the banks of the Missouri River, there’s no shortage of bone-chilling tales to keep you up at night. It’s even rumored that the devil himself came to St. Louis in 1949, but nobody knows for sure if he ever left. Around the campfire or tucked away on a dark and stormy night, this big book of ghost stories is a hauntingly good read.

Hauntings lurk and spirits linger in the Prairie State Reader, beware! Turn these pages and enter the world of the paranormal, where ghosts and ghouls alike creep just out of sight. Author Troy Taylor shines a light in the dark corners of Illinois and scares those spirits out of hiding in this thrilling collection. From a gallows tree in Greene County where an apparition can still be seen hanging, to the lingering spirits of warring mobsters at the site of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, these stories of strange occurrences will keep you glued to the edge of your seat. Around the campfire or tucked away on a dark and stormy night, this big book of ghost stories is a hauntingly good read.

Dive into the life and mind of a not so stereotypical African American male. In this book, he describes the emotional struggles of an introverted man living in an extroverted world. Survival stories of being bullied and rejected as a child, lust, fears, pride, sexuality, insecurities, divorce, fatherhood, manhood and the lifelong impact of living in a fatherless environment are all played out in the tale of this author's life. In this book, taboo subjects like men living on the "down-low" and the people who say they love them are discussed from the perspective of a black man who has a profound understanding of both those living in that glass house and the ones peering through the window, rocks in hand. Take a journey into the life and mind of a man who through perseverance and relentless ambition, emerged triumphant in spite of the many hurdles, hurts, and setbacks he was forced to face. Many may still be running through the maze of life, reaching towards the light at the end of the tunnel however life is not ultimately about how you start, it's how you finish.

SUFFER THE CHILDREN AMERICAN HORRORS, HOMICIDES, AND HAUNTINGS BY TROY TAYLORThere have been monsters among us, lurking in the darkest corners of America, preying on children, since the first settlers arrived on our shores. They have always been with us, stalking the innocent, from the days of the original colonies, to the Gilded Age, the Depression, and beyond. These monsters are not the stuff of fiction - they are bloodcurdlingly real - and they still walk among us, always looking for their next victim. In this chilling book by author Troy Taylor, he shines a light on the darkest tales of horror and hauntings from American history and presents a terrifying collection of dark crimes perpetrated against our most tender victims - our children. His most disturbing book yet includes nightmarish tales from the nineteenth century -- when the "good old days" were never good - like the "Monster of the North Wood," the Pocasset Horror and the Girl in the Cellar, and continues into the modern day with accounts of the Kluxen Woods, America's first school massacre, Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, "Babes of Inglewood," Suzanne Degnan, the Girl Scout Camp Massacre, the "Perfect Murder" of Bobby Franks, and many more. Be warned - this is not a book for the faint of heart. These are tales contain some brutal, agonizing, and terrifying scenes of horror. It is not for those easily disturbed and if you are bothered by the subject of this book, then it is not the book for you. Seriously - don't read it. And don't say we didn't warn you.