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EXCERPTS INTRODUCTION When I first started helping people communicate with earthbound spirits and helping those spirits cross over, I had very little to go on. At first, my grandmother was always with me because I was just a child, but because Grandma didn't have the same ability as me, she wasn't really able to give me much insight into how I should go about things. Along the way, I picked some things up myself, was told some things directly by the spirits, and had my abilities extended by whatever Power gave me this gift in the first place. One of the things I picked up from my own experiences was to always take a notepad and pen with me into every job. It seems so obvious now, but back when I first started doing this in earnest, it didn't occur to me. Usually the spirits were family members and I could just pass their messages on directly, or they were completely unrelated, and, to be frank, no one really cared what they had to say as long as they said goodbye and left them alone. Bess was the spirit who taught me to keep a notebook and pen with me at all times, and she was also the first ghost to ever give me a recipe. I'd never thought about lost recipes until Bess either. In hindsight, I should have expected both things: the need for paper and pen, and the need to pass along recipes. Food is everywhere. We have to eat to survive, if nothing else, but for most of us food defines our days. Morning is the time between breakfast and lunch; afternoon comes before dinner. Yet eating is much more than survival or a way to break up the day. It is a social experience. We conduct business lunches, we raise money with pancake breakfasts, and we share the day's events with loved ones over dinner--and it wasn't too long ago that eating was only half the experience. The other half was preparation. The size of the kitchen used to be much more important than how much space the living room had for a home theater. It used to be that an average kitchen had stove tops crammed with pots of simmering soup stock, drying racks holding freshly baked bread, and chopping boards festooned with chopped vegetables. Times have changed. In this new age of toaster-pastry breakfasts, power lunches, and fast-food dinners, eating has become a chore and cooking is considered a hassle. Even so, most of us still define good times and good memories with food: the cookies a favorite aunt baked, or the chicken soup you always had at Grandma's. I'm sure somewhere out there, some people even fondly remember the aroma of a nut roll made by a woman named Bess. Eleanor, the woman who called me about Bess, lived alone. Her husband had been dead for years, and since then Eleanor had become more involved with the church. That's where Bess first ran into her--when she was alive, I assumed. Eleanor loved to bake, and her specialty was nut rolls. There was only one problem, as Bess explained when I got to Eleanor's house: "She can't bake worth a tinker's cuss." Bess must have been 80 when she died and she was actively trying to get Eleanor to stop baking her nut rolls: She'd blow out the pilot light on the stove, she'd steal key ingredients, she'd put the butter that Eleanor had left out to soften up back into the fridge--anything she could think of. I couldn't fully understand it. Eleanor was actually baking the day I went out there, and the house smelled delicious. "She goes around giving those nut rolls of hers away, and everyone just throws them out. I mean, look at them!" Bess offered, motioning to the cooling rack where Eleanor's signature nut rolls were. I turned and gave them a harder look, and Bess was right. They might smell good, but they sure didn't "look" good. They weren't roll-shaped, for one thing, and they looked more pasty than golden-brown. "What?" Eleanor wondered, seeing me turn to look at her baking. "What's the ghost saying?"Fortunately, I do not have to talk with earthbound spirits out loud. For me, the whole conversation takes place in my head. That has saved me a lot of heartache over the years because it allows me to filter what the spirits are saying. Not that I ever make up things or put words in their mouths, but I can soften the blow when need be. Some ghosts - just like the people they were in life--have very little tact. The things they say can be mean and hurtful, even if they didn't mean them that way. So talking to them in my head gives me the chance to rephrase things and be more polite, sometimes even more diplomatic. "Oh, we're just talking about baking," I replied carefully. I didn't quite know how to tell this sweet old woman that her special nut rolls were so bad most people threw them away the second she'd gone. One glance around her kitchen told me that Eleanor derived a lot of pleasure from baking. "Do you only notice things happening when you're going to bake?" I asked, turning back to Eleanor. "Yes." "Well, Bess was a baker, too," I said. "So that explains that.""Does she like my baking?" Eleanor asked hopefully. "Tell her I like her "cooking,"" Bess said. "She makes good meatloaf and decent chili, and her stew doesn't look bad. She just can't "bake." Can you stop her from baking?" "No," I told the ghost. "It makes her happy. I'm not going to tell her that, and once I'm done here, you won't be able to bother her anymore. So you might as well go into the White Light once I've made it for you." We cook because of that connection to food that is always there. We want to cook for sustenance and joy. What I've learned over the years in talking with spirits is that this connection with food is not broken after death. In fact, some spirits become earthbound "because" of food. Perhaps there's a recipe they didn't intend to take to the grave, or that was passed on incorrectly, and they need to make sure it survives. Maybe they don't like a relative's cooking and are literally haunting them in the hopes of correcting the error. Sometimes they even understand that food can heal in little ways, but only if it's prepared correctly, with the love and attention and ingredients that should go into every dish. Eleanor certainly had the love and attention to put in her nut rolls; she just didn't have a good recipe. "Her nut roll recipe really is just awful," Bess almost pleaded. "How about I give you "my" nut roll recipe for her to use?" "So?" Eleanor cut in. "What's she saying about my baking?""Oh, nothing much, I replied. "Do you have a pen and paper? She's so thankful that you called and got me out here to help that she wants to give you a recipe - "her" recipe for nut rolls." "A secret recipe?" Eleanor breathed, her eyes widening and sparkling. She got up breathlessly and fetched me something to write on and with."I don't know if it's secret, "I answered truthfully. "But this is the first time a ghost has ever given me a recipe." Eleanor smiled broadly, and I could see it in her eyes that this one "secret" recipe summed up for her everything she remembered from her childhood about her family's cooks, and all the "secret" recipes she wished she had now. I also have fond memories of the wonderful smells that always came from Grandma's house. On my mother's side - the Italian side - it was Grandma's spaghetti sauce and Grandpa's pizza. There was homemade wine, with the fragrant aroma of grapes always drifting up from the basement. On my father's Bohemian side, the food was heavier but just as memorable and delicious: nut rolls and doughnuts and the weighty scent of yeast and hops for Granddad's beer. Visits were little more than one long excuse to eat and drink and eat some more. The food never ran out, and the beer and wine flowed in an endless stream. That was the era, though. The women usually stayed home and kept the house, and the week was divided into chores around that: Monday was laundry day, Tuesday was for ironing, Wednesday for cleaning. But Saturday was for cooking and baking for the next week, so when we visited, there was always something fresh and delicious to be had. Cooking, baking, preparing food - that's just the way it was. Now we try to pack all those food-related memories into holidays, and we spend a week off work trying to cook from scratch without really knowing what to do. We follow recipes designed not for taste and nutrition, but for efficiency and show. We try to cram everything into one or two special meals, or one big meal a week, and invariably something goes wrong or the food doesn't come out right or it just doesn't taste like you remember it tasting when Grandma made it. This book sets out to right those wrongs that so many earthbound spirits have perceived. These aren't recipes from TV or created to highlight some trendy ingredient. These are recipes so beloved that the living asked me to get them before a loved one crossed over, or so meaningful that a loved one wanted to make sure it was kept by those they left behind. These are simple dishes from typical homes with basic kitchens, from all over the country. Some recipes are what we'd now call ethnic, while others are tried-and-true recipes with unique twists that add so much to the flavor. The best part is, they can't help but also inspire the kind of love and attention that fills homes with mouthwatering aromas and creates long-lasting memories for guests. These are recipes for some of the best home-cooked meals you can find, because they actually came from homes: straight from the kitchens of the mothers, grandmothers, uncles, and grandfathers who prepared - and perfected - them over a lifetime. We say it's difficult in our modern society to find the time to make a fresh soup, but we still feel like we should try, and for good reason. Nothing will ever beat a home-cooked meal for nutrition, value, and satisfaction - that's one thing every spirit who has passed on a recipe from beyond agrees on. Eleanor called a few weeks after my visit and after Bess had crossed over. She was overjoyed but also circumspect. No one had ever asked for her nut roll recipe before, but since she started using Bess's recipe, suddenly people were, and she didn't know if she should give it out. In the end, she figured it should remain a secret recipe - but I found out much, much later, when she died herself, that Eleanor shared her secret recipe with almost everyone in the parish! And now I'm passing on all these "secret" recipes to you. I think you'll agree with me that everything in this book is beyond delicious.

Author John Kachuba bravely visits more than twenty-five haunted places in Ohio to give readers first-hand frights from the safety of their armchairs. For readers curious -- and courageous -- enough to "e;hunt"e; on their own, maps and travel information are provided to every haunted location.

Lock the doors, draw the curtains, and light a candle as you join author John Kachuba on a guided tour of Illinois's most terrifyingly haunted places. Your hair-raising journey will take you to:* Old State Capital, Springfield -- Lincoln lay in state here before his burial in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Could his ghost haunt the spot where his body lay?* Harpo Studios, Chicago -- When the Eastland steamer capsized in 1915, the building served as a temporary morgue. Oprah's employees have encountered the ghosts of the victims, including the "e;Gray Lady"e; who floats through the halls.* And many more scary sites.Maps and travel information are provided to every haunted location for those brave enough to make the journey in person.

Settled by Spanish explorers more than three centuries ago, San Antonio has a rich haunted history. Ghosthunting San Antonio by local author Micharl Varhola covers 30 haunted locations in or around the cities of San Antonio and Austin and throughout the region known as Texas Hill Country. Each site combines history, haunted lore and phenomena, and practical visitation information. The book is organized into four geographical sections, "e;City of San Antonio,"e; "e;Greater San Antonio,"e; "e;Austin,"e; and "e;Texas Hill Country."e; This hands-on guide also includes an introduction to the subject of ghosthunting in the Lone Star State and all the information readers need to visit the places described within it. It also has an appendix that briefly describes nearly 100 other haunted places.Sites covered include bridges, churches, colleges and universities, cemeteries and graveyards, government buildings, historic sites, hotels, museums, parks, restaurants and bars, and much more. They include the Crockett Hotel, built on the spot where David Crockett and the final defenders of the Alamo are believed to have been slain; the Ghost Tracks, where spectral children are known to move people's stopped cars and the Devil's Backbone, the haunted highway that wends through the hills north of San Antonio.

The Lone Star State is so vast it includes just about everything -- including ghosts! This guide is divided into regions to make it easy to find the phantoms. North Texas offers such creepy destinations as the Old Alton Bridge and Miss Molly's Bed & Breakfast. West Texas spooks haunt the Permia Playhouse and Historic Fort Davis. In Central Texas, they've been spotted terrorizing the Driskill Hotel and the Austin Pizza Garden. More than 50 spooky sites are here, along with detailed maps and photographs of each haunted locale.

All the sites in the book have been chosen with an eye toward several criteria, including how accessible they are to the public, how evocative experience a trip to them is likely to produce, and the extent to which they actually appear to be haunted. A great many in the various regions of Maryland have some connection to the Colonial era, the War of 1812, or the Civil War, all significant aspects of the state's haunted history. Maryland is divided into six regions for purposes of this book: Baltimore, Central, D.C. Metro, Eastern Shore, Southern, and Western. Geographically speaking, Maryland is not a large state. It is, however, among the oldest in the country, and has a rich, varied, and turbulent history that has contributed to an exceptionally high number of haunted sites. Because it is relatively compact, Maryland is in many ways an ideal state for a haunted roadtrip -- especially in an era of historically high gasoline prices -- and many haunted sites within the same area can easily be reached on a single weekend-long trip. Indeed, although my own home is currently in Northern Virginia, on the southern side of the Potomac River from Maryland, its furthest point from me is still somewhat less than 300 miles -- as opposed to nearly 500 for some of the most distant points in southwestern Virginia. Note that this outline includes more listings than there will be room for in the book, and that a number of these will either be cut, reduced to sidebars within larger chapters, or listed in the appendix of additional haunted sites. As with Ghosthunting Virginia, research revealed early on a striking number of sites reputed by various sources to be haunted. With space in this volume for only a limited number of these, the authors carefully attempted to identify a representative selection that both emphasized variety and a struck a balance between "e;must include"e; sites -- such as the graveyard where Edgar Allan Poe is buried -- and more obscure ones that do not appear in any other books.

Welcome to colorful Colorado, home of the infamous Stanley Hotel, ghostly city parks, and of course some of the best mountain viewing around. Just watch out for ghostly hitchhikers.Author Kailyn Lamb looks at locations throughout the state and dives head first into the history behind the ghosts and what made them stay. Join her investigating the history of some of Colorado's most haunted locations, you might find more than gold in those hills.

As part of the America's Haunted Road Trip series, Ghosthunting Oregon takes readers along on a guided tour of some of the Beaver State's most haunted historic locations. Local author Donna Stewart researched each location thoroughly before visiting, digging up clues for the paranormal aspect of each site. In Ghosthunting Oregon, Stewart takes readers to some of the spookiest haunts across the state including: Oaks Park in Portland, where visitors have reported a ghostly apparition of a child in the 1970s style dress; the O'Kane Building in central Oregon, where people have reported seeing "e;ghostly smoke"e; and strange lights; and Pioneer Park in Pendleton, where some have reported apparitions and hearing voices.With a copy of Ghosthunting Oregon in hand, readers can visit some of the spookiest haunts across the state and compare their experiences.

Chicago Haunted Handbook is the newest book in the Haunted Handbook line within the popular America's Haunted Road Trip series. The Haunted Handbooks are city-specific travel guides to nearly one hundred places within a major city. Chicago Haunted Handbook is written with the ghost enthusiast in mind. All 100 chapters contain information on the history as well as the haunting surrounding each location, as well as detailed directions on how to locate each site. Many of the chapters also contain insider information that only a local would know, making it easier for ghost hunters to investigate. Ghost hunters Jeff Morris and Vincent Sheilds explore all the best haunted locales Chicago has to offer, including Resurrection Cemetery, Bachelor's Grove Cemetery, Murder Castle, St. Valentine's Day Massacre Site, and even Wrigley Field.Each two page entry includes directions from downtown, an historical overview of the haunted place, the story of ghostly doings in that place, and advice on visiting the place yourself--if you dare.

In Ghosthunting Southern California author Sally Richards takes readers on an eerie journey through the region on a series of paranormal investigations to historic locations marred by tragedy and unfortunate happenstance that have caused the dead to rise. This collection brings well-known paranormal researchers, history, and evidence collected with state-of-the-art equipment together for chilling non-fiction accounts of haunted Southern California. The stories leave readers with a sense of deep interest to find out what lies in the murky darkness beyond. Sally Richards, historian, paranormal investigator, and spiritualist medium brings history alive as she investigates locations with high-profile paranormal experts using state-of-the-art equipment, historians, and people who share a similar curiosity of the paranormal to bring you the latest on "e;haunted"e; locations throughout Southern California. From the Mexican border to Santa Barbara, readers find chilling accounts of paranormal activity. Whether readers are veterans of ghost hunting, paranormal neophytes, or armchair travelers, this book offers fresh information and a style that puts readers right into the paranormal action.

The city of New Orleans is formed into the shape of a crescent, which is believed by many people to form a sacred chalice which holds and stores energy making it one of the most unique areas in the world in which to perform magic and to see it magnify due to the energy in the land and from the flowing waters of the Mississippi and Gulf of Mexico.Since childhood, Kala Ambrose has seen and felt ghosts and restless spirits. During this journey as your travel guide, Kala explores the history of the city and those who decided to make it their eternal home.Explore New Orleans with Kala Ambrose and prepare to embark on a unique and enticing journey into the haunted history and magical ceremonies of New Orleans. Prepare to be introduced to supernatural rituals and practices in order to fully understand and embrace the cultural significance of the variety of beliefs, superstitions, legends and lore.

As part of the America's Haunted Road Trip series, Ghosthunting Michigan takes readers along on a guided tour of some of the Great Lake State's most haunted historic locations. With a background in library science, author Helen Pattskyn researched each location thoroughly before visiting, digging up clues for the paranormal aspect of each site. Her approach to each site allows readers to decide whether or not the ghost stories are really true. In Ghosthunting Michigan, Pattskyn takes readers along as she explores some of her home state's most haunted locations, starting with a visit to the Whitney in Downtown Detroit. Some of the other sites include Belle Isle, historic Fort Wayne, the Grand Plaza Hotel, Eagle Harbor, the Point Iroquis Lighthouse, and many more.

Twin Cities Haunted Handbook is the newest book in the Haunted Handbook line within the popular America's Haunted Road Trip series. The Haunted Handbooks are city-specific travel guides to nearly one hundred places within a major city.Twin Cities Haunted Handbook is written with the ghost enthusiast in mind. All 100 chapters contain information on the history as well as the haunting surrounding each location, as well as detailed directions on how to locate each site. Many of the chapters also contain insider information that only a local would know, making it easier for ghost hunters to investigate. Ghost hunters Jeff Morris, Garett Merk, and Dain Charbonneau explore all the best haunted locales Minneapolis has to offer, including Dead Man's Pond, Memorial Pet Cemetery, Padelford Packet Boat Company, the Old Jail Bed and Breakfast, and St. Thomas College and the Legend of the 13 Graves.Each two page entry includes directions from downtown, an historical overview of the haunted place, the story of ghostly doings in that place, and advice on visiting the place yourself--if you dare.

Seattle may not be as old as some would expect from a haunted city. But it has a large number of haunted sites and stories. Spooked in Seattle will lead readers on a journey through Seattle's neighborhoods and reveal the city's public locations, history, and tales of strange encounters. For those who love to venture off into corners in search of ghosts and the unknown, this book will set readers forth in the right direction. Spooked in Seattle features more than 150 haunted locations, historic and contemporary photos, top ten questions about ghosts, Seattle's top ten most haunted places, location maps and addresses, Seattle history and haunted facts, Seattle cemeteries and tombstone symbols, and more.Spooked in Seattle presents many locations throughout the city that are believed to be haunted, claim to have ghosts, or have undergone investigation. All of these stories are broken down into sections based on the city's neighborhoods with corresponding addresses to make finding them easier for the ghost enthusiasts. Maps and photos help bring to life the locations, making the Seattle ghosthunting experience easy and enjoyable.

Beyond Delicious: The Ghost Whisperer's Cookbook includes more than 100 recipes given to her through communication with spirits of great cooks who have passed on. Arranged as 2-page spreads, each entry includes a recipe as well as the story of how the author came to learn it. Beyond Delicious, then, is part cookbook and part ghost story anthology. Together these elements create the most entertaining cookbook of the season.

Nashville Haunted Handbook is the second book in the new Haunted Handbook line within the popular America's Haunted Road Trip series. The Haunted Handbooks are city-specific travel guides to nearly one hundred places within a major city.Each of the places in Nashville Haunted Handbook is presented in a two-page spread that includes directions, a brief history, details about how the place is haunted, and advice on visiting the place. Each spread also includes one or two photos. The places are organized into sections, including schoolhouses, roads and bridges, hotels and inns, and others.Nashville Haunted Handbook is written with the ghost enthusiast in mind. All 100 chapters contain information on the history as well as the haunting surrounding each location, as well as detailed directions on how to locate each site. Many of the chapters also contain insider information that only a local would know, making it easier for ghost hunters to investigate.

On this leg of the journey you'll explore the scariest spots in Southern New England. Author Andrew Lake visits more than 30 legendary haunted places, all of which are open to the public--so you can test your own ghosthunting skills, if you dare.Join Andrew as he visits each site, snooping around eerie rooms and dark corners, talking to people who swear to their paranormal experiences, and giving you a first-hand account. Enjoy Ghosthunting Southern New England from the safety of your armchair or hit the road, using the maps, "e;Haunted Places"e; travel guide with 50 more spooky sites and "e;Ghostly Resources."e; Buckle up and get ready for the spookiest ride of your life.

The first book in the new Haunted Handbook line within the popular America's Haunted Road Trip series, Cincinnati Haunted Handbook offers a plethora of eerie spots in the Queen City. Each of the places in Cincinnati Haunted Handbook is presented in a two-page spread that includes directions, a brief history, details about the paranormal activity, and advice on seeing it in person. Sites are organized into sections, including schoolhouses, roads and bridges, hotels and inns, and others. From the winding curves of the spooky Buffalo Ridge Road to the ghost of Music Hall, from the moans heard by the Miamitown bridge to the wispy form that flits through Spring Grove Cemetery, this book offers creepy hideaways that even Cincinnati natives don't know about. Equally suitable as a travel guide or as a diverting read for casual dipping, Cincinnati Haunted Handbook sorts out what creeps and crawls in the Ohio night.

Journey with author Kala Ambrose as she explores the most terrifying paranormal spots in the state of North Carolina. She begins in the coastal wetlands of East Carolina where she explores haunted lighthouses, battleships, forts, and the shipwrecked beaches where Blackbeard and his pirates still roam. She tours the Piedmont area of NC and visits the most actively haunted capitol in the US and interacts with the ghost of a former NC State Governor. Her journey continues west into the Blue Ridge Mountains where the ghost known as the pink lady and her friends await your presence at the historic Grove Park Inn, where many presidents, celebrities and ghosts have stayed over the decades.Travel information is provided to each haunted location for those brave enough to make the journey in person and for paranormal researchers who are interested in exploring haunted North Carolina. Join Kala Ambrose as your guide to Ghosthunting North Carolina as she takes you behind the scenes with detailed information about each destination.

Discover the scariest spots in the Sunshine State. Author Dave Lapham visits more than 30 legendary haunted places, all of which are open to the public so visitors can test their own ghosthunting skills. Join Dave as he visits each site, snooping around eerie rooms and dark corners, talking to people who swear to their paranormal experiences, and giving you a firsthand account. Enjoy Ghosthunting Florida from the safety of your armchair or hit the road, using the maps, "e;Haunted Places"e; travel guide with 50 more spooky sites and "e;Ghostly Resources."e; Buckle up and get ready for the spookiest ride of your life.

On this leg of the journey, readers will explore the scariest spots in the Big Apple. Author L'Aura Hladik visits more than 30 legendary haunted places, all of which are open to the public so visitors can test their own ghosthunting skills, if they dare. Join L'Aura as she visits each site, snooping around eerie rooms and dark corners, talking to people who swear to their paranormal experiences, and providing a firsthand account. Readers may enjoy Ghosthunting New York City from the safety of an armchair or by hitting the road and using the maps to find 50 more spooky sites and "e;ghostly resources."e; Take the A(HRT) Train to the spookiest subway ride of your life.

On this leg of the journey you'll explore the scariest spots in the Garden State. Author L'Aura Hladik visits 34 legendary haunted places, all of which are open to the public--so you can test your own ghosthunting skills, if you dare.Join L'Aura as she personally visits each site, snooping around eerie rooms and dark corners, talking to people who swear to their paranormal experiences, and giving you a first-hand account. You'll go to:The Spy House--one of the most haunted sites on the Eastern Seaboard, which is home to several ghostsThe Proprietary House--haunted by the ghost of a little boy, a Revolutionary War soldier, and others who occupy the ladies' roomCentenary College--where a ghost known as Tillie Smith has been seen on the campus grounds and in her old dormitory, as well as Union Cemetery in HackettstownEnjoy Ghosthunting New Jersey from the safety of your armchair or hit the road, using the maps, "e;Haunted Places"e; travel guide, and "e;Ghostly Resources."e; Buckle up and get ready for the spookiest ride of your life.