Coast to Coast Ghosts: True Stories of Hauntings Across America

Ever since having several unexplainable things happen in my own past I have always been fascinated by the paranormal, but up until now I had never read a book about other people's experiences before. At first I was simply drawn to Leslie Rule's "Coast To Coast Ghosts" by the gorgeous, dreamlike cover of wispy curtains flowing in the breeze (or from two lingering lovers dancing on the balcony... whichever) but it's when I read the gripping introduction that I found myself hooked. I knew I was in for a real treat, and I was right about that, but I did find certain parts less desirable than others. I would have liked for Leslie to have gone a bit more in-depth with many of the more intricate stories rather than making room to include a lot of short ones because they mostly just left me feeling disatisfied, wanting to hear more, but I did find most of the stories to be quite intriguing. I also understand that many of these retellings are from personal accounts so it is far more difficult to investigate or elaborate on someone else's experience.With that being said, one of the two more notable stories that quickly come to mind is that of Captain Tony's Saloon in Key West Florida. It is not only built on top of a visible young woman's tombstone who was murdered by her secret lover after becoming pregnant with his child but it is also built around an alleged hanging tree that has left behind one of its victims. She supposedly haunts the place now and is known there as the "Blue Lady". Then there's the horrific documented telling of the Eastland ship that capsized under Chicago's Clark Street Bridge. In 1915 many employees and their families of The Western Electric Company were on their way to a picnic in Michigan when, instead, hundreds of people lost their lives. Shrieks can reportedly still be heard from those who drowned in the river on that fateful day.I also enjoyed the more familiar stories about The Alamo, Myrtles Plantation, The Queen Mary, and my personal favorite, The Whaley House in San Diego which I hope to visit someday. There are many different types of stories featured in Leslie's book with sightings ranging from several various locations across America but it is hardly anything scary that will keep you up at night. She's obviously done her research and has a great respect and understanding of the dearly deceased.

I enjoy books about ghosts--they are a nice change of pace for a person like me who does engineering for a living. "Coast to Coast Ghosts" ranks among my very favorites. It's not just that the writing style is terrific, although of course it is. It's also that the author has a nice, low key approach to the subject that doesn't artificially sensationalize for the sake of story. That kind of honest, yet masterfully authorial approach is very difficult to find. Between the author's evocative pictures, easygoing dialogue, and calm gumption in the face of some pretty unusual goings on, I felt I was just tagging along with a friend who is exploring all the places *I* would like to explore, but am too much of a wuss to come anywhere near. I also appreciated how Ms. Rule didn't hesitate to share her doubts about fishy stories with us. After many a hoax like the Amityville horror--well, Ms. Rule's books are a treat.

Bought as a gift for my daughter who is an avid ghost seeker/reader. There was some information she hadn't came across before. It was well written.

This is not a well written book. In fact, it's quite boring. Both my daughter and I have tried to read it straight through and we keep losing interest. There is a foreword by Ann Rule that is so loooooonnngggggg. I LOVE Ann Rule but even I couldn't make it through that foreword. his was her daughter's book, yet the foreword. We love ghost, spirit books and yet this one is one that I can honestly say "don't spend your money, find something else."

Miss Rule is definitely no Hans Holzer. Her stories are a little too much to pattern, with vocabulary choices at times almost cliche, but the stories in her Coast to Coast Ghosts are quite charming none the less, and she does do a fair amount of background research on her subjects. As with Holzer's books on the paranormal, there is a bit of history incorporated into the discussion of the ghostly encounters. Whether one believes in ghosts or not, the stories still captivate. I didn't care much for the more blatant promotion of hotels with purported ghostly sightings, however. Even the hotel's phone number was included in some instances, just in case the reader might want to make a reservation. That was a little too commercial for my taste, but other readers might in fact like the information. One of the aspects of the book that I very much enjoyed was the lady's photography, since most of the photos in the book, including that on the cover, are her own. She definitely has a way of capturing the feeling of a place with the camera.

n it comes to the paranormal. Figured this would be another ghost story book but this 1 was different. This 1 was very informative with the history of locations and the present stories of the hauntings. Had lots of pictures and information if i wanted to visit the locations. The sale had fast shipping as well as being in perfect condition.

This book provides an hour's worth of amusing reading. Though the author of the work is personable enough and the book's layout and design is clean (and nice to hold in the hand and look at), I had the sneaking suspicion that this collection was written more for teens than adults. The author gives us handy lists in side-bars about how to get rid of ghosts, how to tell if your house is haunted, and other goodies, but she does not go into detail when detail is most called for, especially in cases where the hauntings are well known and well documented. She merely mentions that this or that happened at such and such a time and then quickly--and sometimes abruptly--speeds on to the next story or the next section of stories. This gives the book a "light" touch that is often a bit too light. Another thing that I sorely missed is a good bibliography at the end of the book. Entertaining? Yes. Informative? Somewhat. The photographs are good though "informative" shots appear to lose out in favor of "evocative."