Weird Illinois: Your Travel Guide to Illinois' Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets Book

Fabled places, roadside oddities, bizarre beasts and people?if it's weird and it's in Illinois, it's in Weird Illinois. Troy Taylor, long a chronicler of the strangest hauntings the Prairie State has to offer, has taken a long, eerie look at the goings-on around here and has come up with more strange stuff than any one state should legally be able to have.

With notepad and camera in hand, Troy has traveled the back roads, main roads, and all roads in between in search of the odd and the offbeat. He's tracked down impossible-to-believe tales, only to discover an odd grain of truth that gives the story just enough credibility to make one feel a little . . . uncomfortable. Whether it's a man-eating Piasa Bird, an abandoned insane asylum, mystery airships, or the haunted tomb of a certain famous Abe, Troy has researched and chronicled the story and presents it here for you, fellow admirers of the weird.

Turn the pages and visit the hell of Hell Hollow and learn the legend of the Devil's Bake Oven. Find out about the Macomb Fire Starter, the Mad Gasser of Mattoon, and the Curse of Kaskaskia. Go off the beaten path and look for kangaroos and albino squirrels on the loose. Walk down Ghost Hollow Road, see the World's Largest Catsup Bottle, touch Lincoln's lucky nose, gawk at the miniature houses on the prairie, and gaze in puzzlement at the double-deck outhouse and the Leaning Tower of Niles. Read all about the Devil Baby of Hull House, visit the grave of the Chesterville Witch, and meet, if you dare, the demon butcher of Palos Park.

A brand-new entry in the best-selling Weird U.S. series, Weird Illinois is packed with all the info about our state that your history teacher never taught you. So join Troy on his great adventure. It's a journey you'll never forget.

Library Journal

Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman, who brought you Weird New Jersey and then Weird U.S., now as "Creative Directors" bring you weirdness in other states: Florida, Illinois, and Wisconsin. They have picked each author for his or her quirky sensibility and familiarity with the state in question. Indeed, the authors have all previously published eccentric titles on their respective states: Carlson-Strange Florida; Godfrey-The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf; and Taylor-Haunted Illinois. Each volume presents the same table of contents: "Local Legends" (e.g., Devil Baby of Hull House, IL), "Ancient Mysteries" (Lake Okeechobee's Watery Graves, FL), "Fabled People and Places" (Jeane Dixon, WI), "Phenomena" (Malcomb the Fire Starter, IL), "Bizzare Beasts" (Skunk Ape, FL), "Personalized Properties" (Gold Pyramid House, IL), "Roadside Oddities" (Giant Mouse with Cheese, WI), "Roads Less Traveled" (Bloody Bucket Road, FL), "Ghosts" (Old Slave House, IL), "Cemetery Safari" (St. Peter Cemetery, WI), and "Abandoned and Forgotten" (Xanadu, FL). Similar to the "Oddball" series (e.g., Oddball Wisconsin), which also covers these three states plus six more, this series is distinguished by its focus on stories over places and its colorful photos (which take up about a third of each volume); "Weird," however, lacks "Oddball's" more practical directions and contact information ("Weird" offers no maps or specific directions). These titles may hold special appeal to the male middle-school student. Recommended for those public and school libraries located in the state covered by the title and an optional purchase for all others.-John McCormick, Plymouth State Univ., NH Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.