Haunted Houses of California: A Ghostly Guide to Haunted Houses and Wandering Spirits

Rating:
Summary: A ghostly guide to haunted houses and places throughout CA.
Review: "complete and chilly...May has a winner here." (San Mateo Times) "spooky...close encounters put researcher on psychic trail." (San Jose Mercury News)"fun to read and profusely illustrated...nicely put together..good for several hours of entertainment." (Enquirer-Bulletin)"...challenges readers to broaden their awareness to a place where everything and anything just might be possible." (Country Almanac)"carefully reported...painstakingly documented... chilling tales entertainingly told." (The Book Reader)"...brings hauntings closer to home." (Redword City Weekly) "Antoinette approaches everything with a needed skepticism, as well as an open mind... Psychically, I feel she has not even come into her full excellence. With this book and the ones to come, she is certainly achieving it." (Sylvia Brown Medium/co-founder of the Nirvana Foundation) "Antoinette May continues to impress me with her ability to scrutinize the facts. She does not embellish the truth. What she reports and writes about does not change from non-fiction to appear as fiction, or what it is not." (F.R. Nick Noceerino, Psychic Consultant)

Rating:
Summary: A lot of FUN for Californians!
Review: I collect books on hauntings, and a major problem I often find is that the telling of the "incident" or "occurence" can be either dry or so wordy you are bored to tears. This is not a problem with this book. The author attempts the bring the location alive with history and accounts of what (may have) taken place to cause the phenomena. However, it's greatest asset is also it's greatest flaw. As others have stated, some "ghost" stories have very little documentation of the actual hauntings, which is disappointing. Personally, I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it, especially if you are from Califonia. I used it to plan "haunted tours" with friends, and it provides information about each location (address, ph#, when and if it's open to the public) for those who want to experience it themselves. If you know the area(s), familiarity adds to the fun. If you are looking for an in depth study, I wouldn't say this book is for you. It's a fun, spooky, simple read, not an in depth study. But overall, I think people have been too hard on it, I've owned my copy since 1993, and reread it many times. It's pretty much what it claims to be. And really it's the only book I have read so far that is focused exclusively on (the entire) state of California.

Rating:
Summary: A lot of FUN for Californians!
Review: I collect books on hauntings, and a major problem I often find is that the telling of the "incident" or "occurence" can be either dry or so wordy you are bored to tears. This is not a problem with this book. The author attempts the bring the location alive with history and accounts of what (may have) taken place to cause the phenomena. However, it's greatest asset is also it's greatest flaw. As others have stated, some "ghost" stories have very little documentation of the actual hauntings, which is disappointing. Personally, I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it, especially if you are from Califonia. I used it to plan "haunted tours" with friends, and it provides information about each location (address, ph#, when and if it's open to the public) for those who want to experience it themselves. If you know the area(s), familiarity adds to the fun. If you are looking for an in depth study, I wouldn't say this book is for you. It's a fun, spooky, simple read, not an in depth study. But overall, I think people have been too hard on it, I've owned my copy since 1993, and reread it many times. It's pretty much what it claims to be. And really it's the only book I have read so far that is focused exclusively on (the entire) state of California.

Rating:
Summary: Boo!
Review: I just purchased this book upon visiting the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA. The house was a bizarre maze designed by the mind of Sarah Winchester, who was told by a psychic that she must continually add on to her house 24 hours a day to appease the spirits that were killed by her husband's Winchester Rifles. Stairways lead to nowhere, fireplaces don't reach the ceiling, doors open into walls and closets lead to other rooms. This book tells the tale of other haunted houses within California and makes you wonder...what if?

Rating:
Summary: Boo!
Review: I, too, was disappointed by the book. A tourist guidebook could have done the same. The author had not even visited some of the places she listed. She also stated that she had never even seen a "ghost" herself - I find that incredible, after years of ghost hunting!

Rating:
Summary: I agree with the first review by the reader from Palo Alto.
Review: I, too, was disappointed by the book. A tourist guidebook could have done the same. The author had not even visited some of the places she listed. She also stated that she had never even seen a "ghost" herself - I find that incredible, after years of ghost hunting!

Rating:
Summary: Not as detailed or well written as I expected.
Review: Listing Sylvia Browne as one of the authors is somewhat misleading; she writes the forward, and although she is mentioned many times in the book, I believe Antoinette May does most of the talking here. Despite Ms. May's introduction, promising detailed historic fact-finding, etc. for each house described, it seems that most of her information is solely dependent on how much information is available on corresponding travel/tourist brochures. To give an example, most of the information from The Winchester Mystery House [which I've had the pleasure to visit since it's in my town] seemed to be lifted directly from the speeches given by the tour guides. There seems to be no conjecture from the author at all, as to if any of her fact[oids] are even correct or just purely urban legend/myth. The only time she does make a comment is to [flippantly] conclude each chapter; this last aspect of Ms. May's writing is disconcerting considering that she has just finished describing what is sometimes a very grizzly demise of what is now a restless soul.

Rating:
Summary: Not as detailed or well written as I expected.
Review: Really enjoyed the book. Lots of details about Haunted Houses in my area. My 2 teenaged kids enjoyed reading the book. We took it on our vacation. It lended an exciting twist to our campfires & we actually visited two of the Haunted Houses when we passed through the area. I am buying it for several of my friends who enjoy a good story.

Rating:
Summary: Great book for people who live in S.F. Bay Area.
Review: Really enjoyed the book. Lots of details about Haunted Houses in my area. My 2 teenaged kids enjoyed reading the book. We took it on our vacation. It lended an exciting twist to our campfires & we actually visited two of the Haunted Houses when we passed through the area. I am buying it for several of my friends who enjoy a good story.

Rating:
Summary: It's almost like a field guide!
Review: Since I live in the bay area, I'm pretty close to most of the places talked about in the book. It's a pretty fun weekend activity; my friends and I make a mini road trip of it. I've been to the majority of the places listed, and I have to admit that there have been a few times where I've had the ba-jezus scared out of me. Plus, it's a good way to connect with the state history. Unfortuatly, this book is definatly a lot more interesting to someone who lives in California or is planning on visiting. Otherwise, I highly recommend it to anyone who loves anything supernatural.